Brian Brennan (author)
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Brian Anthony Brennan (October 4, 1943 - February 21, 2021) was an Irish-Canadian author and historian who specialized in books about the colourful personalities of Western Canada's past.[1][2]
Born in Dublin, Ireland, he migrated to Canada in 1966 and had lived in Calgary, Alberta, since 1974. He spent 25 years as a staff writer with the Calgary Herald writing columns and feature stories.[3]
Brennan was part of an attempt by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada to organize a union local for the newsroom and negotiate a first contract with the Calgary Herald. Before and during the eight-month strike by journalists in 1999 and 2000, Brennan was a member of the union's bargaining committee.[4] When the strike ended in June 2000 with the dissolution of the union, he left the Herald to devote himself full-time to writing books. He was the first winner of the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award,[5] presented in 2004 for his book Romancing the Rockies.[6]
A longtime National Council member of The Writers' Union of Canada, he quit the union in 2018 when the union executive supported a decision by the editor of the union magazine to kill a story about a writers' conference in San Miguel de Allende Mexico[7] that she had commissioned Brennan to write.[8]
Bibliography
[edit]- Building a Province: 60 Alberta Lives. Calgary: Fifth House, 2000.
- Alberta Originals: Stories of Albertans Who Made a Difference. Calgary: Fifth House, 2001.
- Scoundrels and Scallywags: Characters from Alberta's Past. Calgary: Fifth House, 2002.
- Boondoggles, Bonanzas, and Other Alberta Stories. Calgary: Fifth House, 2003.
- Romancing the Rockies. Calgary: Fifth House, 2005.
- How the West was Written: The Life and Times of James H. Gray. Calgary: Fifth House, 2006.
- The Good Steward: The Ernest C. Manning Story. Calgary: Fifth House/Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2008.
- Leaving Dublin: Writing My Way from Ireland to Canada. Calgary: RMB | Rocky Mountain Books, 2011.
- The Calgary Public Library: Inspiring Life Stories Since 1912. Calgary: Kingsley Publishing, 2012.
- Rogues and Rebels: Unforgettable Characters from Canada's West. Regina: University of Regina Press, 2015.
- Family Energy: The Story of Bob and Carole Brawn. Calgary: Kingsley Publishing, 2016.
- Brief Encounters: Conversations with Celebrities. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace, 2017.
References
[edit]- ^ "Chronicler feels affection for Alberta's larger-than-life folks," by Dana McNairn, Edmonton Journal, Jan. 13, 2003
- ^ "Rogues, rebels and 'little surprises'," by Eric Volmers, Calgary Herald, Oct. 3, 2015
- ^ "Critic-turned-author has led a charmed life," by Stephen Hunt, Calgary Herald, Sept. 17, 2011
- ^ "Put to bed: The strike that broke the news at the Calgary Herald."
- ^ "Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award, a Canadian writing contest with emphasis on social justice issues". www.greberwritingaward.com.
- ^ "Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award, a Canadian writing contest with emphasis on social justice issues".
- ^ "San Miguel de Allende: "NAFTA of Literary Festivals" | Facts & Opinions". www.factsandopinions.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018.
- ^ "Why I'm leaving The Writers' Union of Canada". May 26, 2018.
External links
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