Chris Turner (author)

Chris Turner (born July 25, 1973) is a Canadian journalist and author.

Chris Turner
Chris Turner
Chris Turner
Born (1973-07-25) July 25, 1973
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
OccupationWriter
LanguageEnglish
NationalityCanadian
Alma materQueen's University, Ryerson Polytechnic University
SpouseAshley Bristowe
Children2
Website
www.theleapworks.com

Biography

Turner was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where his father, a fighter pilot, was stationed with the Canadian military. As a military brat, he lived in the Canadian North, the American Midwest, and Germany. He graduated from Queen's University, in Kingston, Ontario, in 1996 with an honours Bachelor of Arts in history. He also holds a journalism degree from Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto (1998). While at Ryerson, he completed an editorial internship at Shift magazine.[1]

Following graduation from Ryerson, Turner reported on culture and technology for Shift from 1998 to 2003. His writing has also appeared in, The Walrus, The New Yorker, The Globe and Mail, The Independent, The Sunday Times, Time, The Guardian, Utne Reader, Adbusters and The South China Morning Post. His latest work is How To Breathe Underwater (2014), a collection of his award-winning magazine writing from the last 15 years. He is currently working on a new book for Simon & Schuster with a working title of The Patch, which will be an analysis of the importance and history of the oilsands.[1]

Turner was the recipient of a Fleck Fellowship at the Banff Centre in 2010. In 2009 he co-founded CivicCamp in Calgary. He was featured speaker for the Deakin Innovation Lectures in Melbourne, Australia, in 2008. He has given keynote addresses or lectures at thirteen university campuses, four literary festivals and approximately thirty major professional and industrial conferences nationwide. In 2013 Turner was the writer-in-residence at Berton House in Dawson City, Yukon.[2]

Turner lives in Calgary, Alberta, with his wife, the photographer Ashley Bristowe, and two children.

Literary career

Turner's works include the bestselling Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation, published in 2004, and Geography of Hope: A Guided Tour of the World We Need, which was nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award and the National Business Book Award and was listed on the Globe and Mail's 2007 "Globe 100" list of the best books of the year.[2]

Turner's magazine writing has earned him nine Canadian National Magazine Awards,[3] including the 2001 President's Medal for General Excellence (the highest honour in Canadian magazine writing).[1]

Books

Books written by Turner include the following:[2]

  • How to Be a Climate Optimist: Blueprints for a Better World (Random House Canada, 2022)
  • The Patch: The People, Pipelines and Politics of the Oilsands (Simon and Schuster, 2017)
  • How to Breathe Underwater (Biblioasis, 2014)
  • The War on Science (Greystone Books, 2013)
  • The Leap: How to Survive and Thrive in the Sustainable Economy (Random House, 2011)
  • The Best Canadian Essays 2010 (Tightrope Books, 2010; contributor)
  • The Best Canadian Essays 2009 (Tightrope Books 2009; contributor)
  • The Geography of Hope: A Tour of the World We Need (Random House, 2007)
  • Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation (Random House 2004, revised ed. 2008)

Awards

The Leap was a finalist for the 2012 National Business Book Award and longlisted for the BC National Award for Canadian Nonfiction. The Geography of Hope was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for Nonfiction, the National Business Book Award and the Alberta Literary Award for Nonfiction.

Turner has received seven Canadian National Magazine Awards for his work in Shift, The Walrus and Alberta Views. His essay "Why Technology Is Failing Us (And How We Can Fix It)", won the 2001 President's Medal for General Excellence, the highest honour in Canadian magazine writing.

In 2023 he won the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing for his book How to Be a Climate Optimist: Blueprints for a Better World.[4]

Electoral politics

Turner ran as the Green Party candidate for the Calgary Centre federal by-election held on November 26, 2012.[5][6]

Canadian federal by-election, November 26, 2012: Calgary Centre
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeJoan Crockatt10,19136.87−20.81$95,251
LiberalHarvey Locke9,03332.68+15.15$97,025
GreenChris Turner7,09025.65+15.74$100,180
New DemocraticDan Meades1,0643.85−11.01$90,148
IndependentAntoni Grochowski1410.51–$0
LibertarianTony Prashad1210.44–$255
Total valid votes/expense limit 27,640 100.00–$102,128.86
Total rejected ballots 92
Turnout 27,73229.51
Eligible voters 93,984
Conservative hold Swing −35.96
By-election due to the resignation of Lee Richardson.
Source: "November 26, 2012 By-elections". Elections Canada. November 27, 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2012.

Notes
  1. The Green Interview. Chris Turner Bio Archived April 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on: 2012-07-21.
  2. Canadian Writers Group. Chris Turner Biography Archived 2012-07-22 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on: 2012-07-21.
  3. National Magazine Awards. Who Won the Most? Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on: 2012-07-21
  4. Ian Bailey, "Chris Turner wins Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for climate change book". The Globe and Mail, May 11, 2023.
  5. CBC News (September 6, 2012). "Green Party candidate's campaign launches with transit focus".
  6. "Calgary author Chris Turner to run for Greens in byelection". Calgary Herald. September 13, 2012. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
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