Will Ferguson

2025-10-22T01:54:30Z

2604:3D09:1B7D:A2D0:4129:E718:DE50:6B6C: /* Fiction */

{{short description|Canadian travel writer and novelist|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{other people||William Ferguson (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox writer 
|birth_name = William Stener Ferguson
| name = Will Ferguson<br><small>{{postnominals|country=CAN|AOE}}</small>
| image =
| imagesize = 220px
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1964|10|12|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Fort Vermilion]], [[Alberta]], Canada
| occupation = Writer
| period =
| genre = {{plainlist|
* Humour
* Travel
* Canadian [[History of Canada|history]] and [[Culture of Canada|culture]]
* Fiction
}}
| notableworks = {{plainlist|
* ''[[419 (novel)|419]]''
* ''Happiness™''
* ''Why I Hate Canadians''
* ''Hitching Rides with Buddha''
}}
| website = {{URL|willferguson.ca}}
| alma_mater = [[York University]]
}}
'''William Stener Ferguson''' {{postnominals|country=CAN|AOE}} (born October 12, 1964) is a Canadian travel writer and novelist who won the [[Giller Prize|Scotiabank Giller Prize]] for his novel ''[[419 (novel)|419]]'' (2012).

== Biography ==
Ferguson was born fourth of six children in the former fur trading post of [[Fort Vermilion]], Alberta, approximately {{convert|800|km|abbr=on}} north of [[Edmonton]].

Ferguson completed his high school education at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School in [[Red Deer, Alberta|Red Deer]] and was awarded the Alexander Rutherford Scholarships in all available categories. He then joined the Canadian government funded programs [[Katimavik]] and [[Canada World Youth]]. The latter program sent him to [[Ecuador]] in South America, as described in his book ''Why I Hate Canadians''. He studied film production and screenwriting at [[York University]] in Toronto, graduating with a B.F.A. (Special Honours) in 1990.

Ferguson joined the [[JET Programme]] in the early 1990s, and lived in [[Kyushu]], [[Japan]], for five years teaching English. He married his wife, Terumi Matsumoto, in [[Kumamoto]] in 1995. While living in Asia, he travelled to China, South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia. After moving back to Canada, he experienced a severe reverse [[culture shock]], which became the basis for his first book, ''Why I Hate Canadians''. He details his experiences hitchhiking across Japan in ''Hokkaido Highway Blues'', later retitled ''Hitching Rides with Buddha''.

== Other activities ==
Ferguson is on the board of directors of the Chawkers Foundation, which provides support for literary, artistic, environmental and educational projects.

== Personal life ==
He currently resides in [[Calgary]], [[Alberta]]. His son Genki Ferguson is the author of the novel ''Satellite Love''.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Valleau|first=Natalie|date=September 8, 2020|title=Two Calgary authors, who are also father and son, will kick off Wordfest event|work=[[CBC.ca]]|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/wil-ferguson-genki-wordfest-author-calgary-1.5715967|access-date=June 21, 2021}}</ref> His older brother, [[Ian Ferguson (writer)|Ian Ferguson]], won the Stephen Leacock Medal for his memoir ''Village of the Small Houses'' in 2004. Another brother, Sean Ferguson, is currently the dean of music at McGill University.

==Awards and honours==
{{Incomplete list|date=October 2024}}

=== Honors ===

He received an honorary degree in English from [[Mount Royal University]] in 2016.

And in 2024, Ferguson was made a member of the [[Alberta Order of Excellence]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://calgaryherald.com/news/alberta-order-of-excellence-2024|newspaper=Calgary Herald|date=June 7, 2024|title=Three Calgarians to be named to Alberta Order of Excellence|first=Michael|last=Rodriguez}}</ref>

=== Literary awards ===
{{More citations needed|award table|date=October 2024}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Title !! Award !! Category !! Result !! Ref
|-
! 2002
| ''Generica'' (later renamed ''Happiness'') || [[Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour]] || — || {{won}} ||
|-
! rowspan="2" | 2005
| ''Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw'' || [[Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour]] || — || {{won}} ||
|-
| — || [[Governor General's Awards|Governor General's History Award]] || Popular Media || {{won}} ||
|-
! 2010
| ''Beyond Belfast'' || [[Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour]] || — || {{won}} ||
|-
! 2012
| rowspan="2" | ''[[419 (novel)|419]]'' || [[Giller Prize]] || — || {{won}} || <ref>[https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/1280103--will-ferguson-takes-giller-prize-for-novel-419 Will Ferguson takes Giller Prize for novel 419] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121227223357/http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/1280103--will-ferguson-takes-giller-prize-for-novel-419|date=2012-12-27}} ''[[Toronto Star]]'', October 30, 2012</ref>
|-
! 2013
| [[Libris Award]] || Fiction Book of the Year || {{won}} ||
|-
! 2021
| ''The Finder'' || [[Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence]] || [[Crime Writers of Canada Award for Best Novel|Novel]] || {{won}} || <ref name="qiao">Vicky Qiao, [https://www.cbc.ca/books/will-ferguson-among-the-winners-of-2021-crime-writers-of-canada-awards-1.6043919 "Will Ferguson among the winners of 2021 Crime Writers of Canada Awards"]. [[CBC Books]], May 28, 2021.</ref>
|}

==Bibliography==

===Fiction===
* ''Happiness™'' (2001); originally titled ''Generica''
* ''Spanish Fly'' (2007); published in the UK as ''Hustle''
* ''[[419 (novel)|419]]'' (2012)
* ''The Shoe on the Roof'' (2017)
* ''The Finder'' (2020)

===Miranda Abbott mysteries===
* ''I Only Read Murder'' (2023), with [[Ian Ferguson (writer)|Ian Ferguson]]
* ''Mystery in the Title'' (2024), with [[Ian Ferguson (writer)|Ian Ferguson]]
* ''Killer on the First Page'' (2025), with [[Ian Ferguson (writer)|Ian Ferguson]]

===Travel===
* ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to Japan'' (1998)
* ''Hokkaido Highway Blues'' (1998); republished in 2005 as ''Hitching Rides with Buddha''
* ''Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw: Travels in Search of Canada'' (2004)
* ''Beyond Belfast: A 560-Mile Walk Across Northern Ireland on Sore Feet'' (2009)
* ''Road Trip Rwanda: A Journey into the New Heart of Africa'' (2015)

===Humour===
* ''Why I Hate Canadians'' (1997)
* ''How to Be a Canadian'' (2001), with [[Ian Ferguson (writer)|Ian Ferguson]]
* ''Canadian Pie'' (2011)

===Popular history===
* ''Bastards and Boneheads: Canada's Glorious Leaders, Past and Present'' (1999)
* ''Canadian History for Dummies'' (2000, revised 2005)

===Personal memoirs===
*''I was a Teenage [[Katimavik|Katima-victim]]!'' (1998)
*''Coal Dust Kisses: A Christmas Memoir'' (2010)

===As editor===
* ''The Penguin Anthology of Canadian Humour'' (2006)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website |https://www.willferguson.ca/}}
* {{LCAuth|n98012888|Will Ferguson|15|ue}}

{{Giller Prize}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Will}}
[[Category:1964 births]]
[[Category:Canadian male novelists]]
[[Category:People from Mackenzie County]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Canadian republicans]]
[[Category:Stephen Leacock Award winners]]
[[Category:Canadian expatriates in Japan]]
[[Category:York University alumni]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian novelists]]
[[Category:Canadian travel writers]]
[[Category:Canadian male essayists]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian essayists]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian memoirists]]
[[Category:Members of the Alberta Order of Excellence]]
[[Category:Novelists from Alberta]]

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Will Ferguson