PO Box 473
Shawville QC J0X 2Y0
CANADA
Current
- Reviewer at Strange Horizons (freelance/occasional; Jun 2020 – present).
- Blogger at Tor.com (freelance/occasional; Nov 2018 – present).
- Blogger at The Map Room (self-employed; Mar 2003 – Jun 2011; Jan 2016 – present).
Past
- Reviewer at AE: The Canadian Science Fiction Review (freelance/occasional; Nov 2014 – Jul 2019).
- Senior Editor/Writer, Executive Correspondence Division, Health Canada (contract; Jul 2007 – Jun 2008; May – Dec 2009).
- Writer/Editor, Ministerial Correspondence Division, Public Works and Government Services Canada (contract; Sep – Oct 2008).
- Volunteer, Pontiac Archives (volunteer; 2005 – 2008).
- Reporter, The Equity (Aug 2003 – Jan 2004).
- President, Ottawa Amphibian and Reptile Association (volunteer; Nov 2001 – Apr 2003).
- Legislative Revisor, Legislative Services Branch, Department of Justice (May 2000 – Feb 2003).
- Editor/Publisher, The Ontario Herpetological Society News (volunteer; Sep 1999 – Sep 2001).
- Planning and Analysis Officer, Income Security Programs Branch, Human Resources Development Canada (Sep 1999 – Apr 2000).
Major Projects
- The Map Room (Mar 2003 – Jun 2011; Jan 2016 – present), a blog about maps.
- Ecdysis (Dec 2013 – Dec 2015), a science fiction fanzine.
- DFL (Aug 2004 – Aug 2008), a blog about last-place finishes at the Olympics.
- Gartersnake.info (2004 – present), a website for people interested in garter snakes.
Select Publications
- “Celebrating Christopher Tolkien’s Cartographic Legacy,” Tor.com, 22 Jan 2020.
- “Where Do Fantasy Maps Come From?” Tor.com, 23 Sep 2019.
- “An Exercise in Telling: Sylvain Neuvel’s Themis Files,” AE, 10 Jul 2019.
- “Fantasy Maps Don’t Belong in the Hands of Fantasy Characters,” Tor.com, 28 May 2019.
- “What Does a Fantasy Map Look Like?” Tor.com, 19 Mar 2019.
- “A Literary Love Letter to Maps: The Writer’s Map,” Tor.com, 26 Nov 2018.
- “The Dúnedain and the Deep Blue Sea: On Númenórean Navigation,” Tor.com, 7 Nov 2018.
- “God and the Machines: The Short Fiction of Peter Watts,” AE, 25 May 2015.
- “Dieu et les machines : les nouvelles de Peter Watts,” afterword to Peter Watts, Au-Delà du Gouffre (Le Bélial’, 2016); trans. Erwann Perchoc.
- “Here Be Blank Spaces: Vaguely Medieval Fantasy Maps,” The New York Review of Science Fiction 300 (Aug 2013).
- “How Snake Keepers Should React to the Python Tragedy,” Ottawa Citizen, 8 Aug 2013.
- “Raising Baby Garter Snakes: Some Personal Observations,” The Garter Snake, Apr 2005.
Education
- Provisional Ph.D. candidate, History, University of Alberta (1996 – 1999). Withdrew from program.
- Master of Arts, History, University of Waterloo (1996).
- Bachelor of Arts (Honours), History, University of Winnipeg (1994).
Awards, Scholarships and Nominations
- Finalist, Best Fan Publication (English), Prix Aurora Awards (2015, 2016).
- SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship (Apr 1998).
- Walter H. Johns Graduate Fellowship, University of Alberta (Apr 1998).
- Province of Alberta Graduate Scholarship, University of Alberta (Sep 1997).
- Walter H. Johns Graduate Tuition Scholarship, University of Alberta (Sep 1996).
- Graduate Tuition Scholarship, University of Waterloo (Sep 1994).
- Academic Proficiency Scholarship, University of Winnipeg (Sep 1991).
Skills
- Government work: editing and writing briefing notes, executive correspondence and memoranda; knowledge of legislative and regulatory processes and of the principles of legislative drafting.
- Editing and writing: book reviewing, copyediting and proofreading, fact-checking, journalism. .
- Internet: blogging and content management systems (Movable Type, WordPress), social media (all), web design (including HTML5, CSS3, PHP). .
- Other: historical research, photography, public speaking.