Pierre Berton

Photo from CBC Life and Times

Although Pierre Berton is not a writer of fiction, he is definitely a literary icon in Canada. A journalist, broadcaster and historian, he worked for CBC, Macleans, and The Toronto Star.

Pierre Berton was born in 1920 and died in 2004. He was raised in the Yukon and worked in mining camps during his university years. He began his career as a journalist in Vancouver, where at age 21, he became the youngest city editor of a Canadian daily paper. He also served in the armed forces and taught at the Royal Military College in Kingston.

He wrote fifty books, many on Canadian history topics. The National Dream concerns the plans begun in 1871 to tie the new nation of Canada together with a transcontinental railroad. Klondike: The Last Great Gold Rush (2001), describes the rush of miners to the Yukon and the consequent opening of the west. This book won the Governor General's Award for Non-fiction.

Berton's contribution to Canadian history and non-fiction was enormous and in recognition of this he received numerous honorary degrees, a place in the Newsman's Hall of Fame. In recognition of a lifetime of outstanding achievement, he was also made a Companion of the Order of Canada.

As a service to professional colleagues, in 1996 this author also initiated the Berton House Writers Residence Retreat. Today the program is owned and operated by the Writers' Trust of Canada, Yukon, with support from the Klondike Visitors' Association and the Dawson City Community Library Board. Writers stay in Berton's old family home.