EP 26: Kevin Major

Hold Fast for today’s interview. (That’s a hint, by the way.) Today my guest is well-known to most people. He’s the author of more than twenty books for both young people and adults. He has won numerous awards in Canada - too many for me to list but they will be in his biography below and his work has been translated into several languages. How cool is that? Meet Kevin Major.

It’s not always that you get to sit down with (albeit, virtually) an author who has had such a profound influence on the literature of our province, Newfoundland and Labrador, to say nothing of Canadian literature. In this delightful chat, Kevin and I discuss how writing in our province has evolved over the years and how he has maintained his enthusiasm for his profession. His latest books are part of a series that not only introduces a witty new protagonist who happens to be that unique combination of a tour guide and a private investigator. He also drops some great tips for aspiring writers and talks about his stint as an historian on  I hope you enjoy the show and please share your comments and let me know from where in the world you are watching!

 

Here is my guest’s impressive biography.

Kevin Major is the author of 20+ books, for both young people and adults. The first, Hold Fast, won several awards in Canada and was placed on the Hans Christian Andersen Honour List. It was released in 2014 as a feature film. His second book, Far From Shore, was the winner of the first Canadian Young Adult Book Award. Others which followed include Blood Red Ochre and Eating Between the Lines, winner of the CACL Book-of-the-Year Award.

 

In 1992 Kevin was given the Vicky Metcalf Award, for an outstanding body of work of significance to young people. The languages into which his work has been translated include French, Danish, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Hebrew.

 

An adult novel, No Man's Land, about the Newfoundland Regiment in World War I, was published in 1995 to much acclaim. Kevin’s adaption of the story was brought to the stage by Rising Tide Theatre and has played for more than a dozen years.

 

His more recent books include the Christmas classic The House of Wooden Santas, and a history of Newfoundland and Labrador: As Near To Heaven By Sea (a Canadian best-seller and finalist for the Pearson Non-Fiction Prize). Ann and Seamus, a verse novel released in 2003 was shortlisted for a total of ten awards. It has since been turned into an opera. The adult novel New Under the Sun was published in 2010, book one of a trilogy of historical fiction. The second, Found Far and Wide, was released in 2016, and the third, Land Beyond the Sea, in 2019.

 

In 2018 Kevin started the Sebastian Synard series of crime novels with One for the Rock. Two for the Tablelands followed in 2020. The third will arrive in bookstores in the fall of 2021.

 

Kevin has been named Memorial University’s Alumnus-of-the-Year, and the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council’s Artist-of-the-Year . He has been awarded an honourary degree by Memorial University.

 

John Moss, writing in “A Reader's Guide to the Canadian Novel,” has said, "Kevin Major is among the best Canadian writers of his generation.  He has established himself as a figure of singular importance in our literature."

 

www.kevinmajor.ca

www.facebook.com/kevinmajor

https://www.breakwaterbooks.com/books/two-for-the-tablelands

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