Wangersky, Russell 1962-

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Wangersky, Russell 1962-

PERSONAL:

Born 1962, in New Haven, CT; immigrated to Canada at the age of three; married Barbara Pratt (divorced); children: two sons. Education: Arcadia University, B.A. (honors), 1984.

ADDRESSES:

Home—St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.

CAREER:

Journalist, writer. Previously worked as a researcher for the Southam News, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Sunday Express, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, reporter, 1986-91; CBC Television, St. John's, 1991-96; Telegram, St. John's, columnist, 1997—, editor-in-chief, 2002—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

National Newspaper Award for best editorials, 2002; gold medal for short fiction, from the Independent Publisher Book Awards, for The Hour of Bad Decisions; Maclean Hunter Endowment Award, 2004, 2005; Western Magazine Award for personal journalism, 2005.

WRITINGS:

The Hour of Bad Decisions (short stories), Coteau Books (Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Russell Wangersky was born in New Haven, Connecticut, but moved to Canada with his family when he was only three years old. There he went on to study at Arcadia University and begin a career in journalism, working as a reporter, a columnist, and an editor, as well as serving as a volunteer firefighter for many years in his free time. He eventually landed a position as editor-in-chief of the Telegram in St. John's, Newfoundland. Wangersky's work has been nominated for numerous awards, and he has been a National Magazine Award finalist four times. He is also the author of The Hour of Bad Decisions, a collection of seventeen short stories. Wangersky's experience as a fireman is apparent in several of the stories, such as "Burning Foley's," in which the protagonists set fires, and "Mapping," which features a firefighter named John Hennessey. Charlene Martel, in a review for the Literary Word Blog, said of the latter story that "the author writes with such emotion and detail that as the character's emotional state changes, it draws the reader along for the ride too." Maureen O'Connor, in a review for Booklist, remarked of the collection that "one can only wonder at the creative imagination of the writer, marveling at his ability to find the perfect metaphor." Willis M. Buhle, writing for Reviewer's Bookwatch, called the book "a riveting collection."