Brian Brennan (author)

Brian Anthony Brennan (born October 4, 1943) is an Irish-Canadian author and historian who specializes in books about the colourful personalities of Western Canada's past.[1][2]

Brennan in 2015

Born in Dublin, Ireland, he migrated to Canada in 1966 and has 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
  • 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.
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References
  1. "Chronicler feels affection for Alberta's larger-than-life folks," by Dana McNairn, Edmonton Journal, Jan. 13, 2003
  2. "Rogues, rebels and 'little surprises'," by Eric Volmers, Calgary Herald, Oct. 3, 2015
  3. "Critic-turned-author has led a charmed life," by Stephen Hunt, Calgary Herald, Sept. 17, 2011
  4. "Put to bed: The strike that broke the news at the Calgary Herald."
  5. "Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award, a Canadian writing contest with emphasis on social justice issues". www.greberwritingaward.com.
  6. http://www.greberwritingaward.com/links.htm
  7. http://www.factsandopinions.com/galleries/art/san-miguel-de-allende-nafta-of-literary-festivals/
  8. "Why I'm leaving The Writers' Union of Canada". May 26, 2018.
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