Lesley Choyce

Lesley Choyce (born 21 March 1951) (m. Linda Choyce) is a Canadian author of novels, non-fiction, children's books, young adult novels,and poetry.

He is the author of 94 books for adults, teens and children, and teaches in the English department and transition year program at Dalhousie University. He is a year-round surfer and founding member of the 1990s spoken word rock band, The SurfPoets. Choyce also runs Pottersfield Press, a small literary publishing house and hosted the national TV show, Off The Page, for many years. His books have been translated into Spanish, French, German and Danish and he has been awarded the Dartmouth Book Award and the Ann Connor Brimer Award.

He lives at Lawrencetown Beach, Nova Scotia.

Bibliography

Autobiographical

• An Avalanche of Ocean (1987)
• Transcendental Anarchy: Confessions of a Metaphysical Tourist (1993)
• Driving Minnie's Piano: Memoirs of a Surfing Life in Nova Scotia (2006)
• Seven Ravens: Two summers in a life by the sea (2009)

Fiction

• Eastern Sure (1980)
• Downwind (1984)
• Billy Botzweiler's Last Dance and Other Stories (1984)
• Conventional Emotions (1985)
• The Dream Auditor: Short Stories (1986)
• Coming Up for Air (1988)
• The Second Season of Jonas MacPherson (1989)
• Magnificent Obsessions (1991)
• The Ecstasy Conspiracy (1992)
• The Republic of Nothing (1994)
• The Trap Door To Heaven. Kingston Quarry Press, 1996. (science fiction)
• Dance the Rocks Ashore (1997)
• World Enough (1998)
• The Summer of Apartment X (1999)
• Clear Cold Morning (2002)
• Shoulder the Sky (2002)
• Sea of Tranquility (2003)
• The End Of The World As We Know It (2007)
• The Book of Michael (2008)
• Reaction (2011)
• Raising Orion. Saskatoon: Thistledown, 2010. (novel)
• Cold Clear Morning – Revised Edition. E. Lawrencetown: Pottersfield, 2012. (novel)

Non-fiction

• Edible Wild Plants of the Maritimes. Halifax: Wooden Anchor Press, 1977.
• December Six/The Halifax Solution (1988)
• Nova Scotia Shaped by the Sea: A Living History (1997)
• The Coasts of Canada (2002)
• Nova Scotia: Shaped By the Sea, Revised Edition. E. Lawrencetown: Pottersfield, 2007.
• Peggy's Cove: the Amazing History of a Coastal Village. E. Lawrencetown: Pottersfield, 2008.
• How to Fix Your Head. Hamilton: Wolsak and Wynn, 2011. (nonfiction)

Anthologies

• Alternating Currents (editor). Halifax: Wooden Anchor Press, 1977.
• Chezzetcook (editor). Halifax: Wooden Anchor Press, 1977. (fiction and poetry)
• ACCESS (editor with Phil Thompson), Porters Lake, NS: Pottersfield Press, 1979.
• The Pottersfield Portfolio, Volumes 1 7 (editor). Porters Lake: Pottersfield, 1979 -1985.
• Visions from the Edge (editor, with John Bell). Porters Lake, NS: Pottersfield, 1981.
• The Cape Breton Collection (editor). Porters Lake: Pottersfield Press, 1984, 1989.
• Ark of Ice: Canadian Futurefiction (editor). Porters Lake: Pottersfield Press, 1992.
• The Mi'kmaq Anthology. (ed. with Rita Joe) E. Lawrencetown: Pottersfield Press, 1997.
• Atlantica: Stories from Atlantic Canada. (editor) Fredericton: Goose Lane, 2001.
• Pottersfield Nation. (editor) E. Lawrencetown, Pottersfield Press, 2004.
• The Mi'kmaq Anthology Vol. 2. (ed. with T. Meuse, J. Swan) Pottersfield, 2011.

Children's Literature

• The Hungry Lizards (1990)
• Go For it Carrie (1997)
• Carrie's Crowd (1998)
• Famous at Last (1998)
• Carrie Loses Her Nerve (2003)
• Skunks for Breakfast. Halifax: Nimbus, (2006)

Young Adult Literature

• Skateboard Shakedown (1989)
• Wave Watch (1990)
• Wrong Time, Wrong Place (1991)
• Some Kind of Hero (1991)
• Margin of Error (1992)
• Clearcut Danger (1992)
• Full Tilt (1993)
• Good Idea Gone Bad (1993)
• The Dark End of Dream Street (1994)
• Big Burn (1995)
• Falling Through the Cracks. Halifax: Formac, 1996. (young adult novel)
• Couleurs Troubles Saint-Laurent: Editions Pierre Tisseyre, 1997. (young adult novel)
• Roid Rage (1999)
• Far Enough Island (2000)
• Carrie's Camping Adventure (2001)
• Refuge Cove. Victoria: Orca, 2002. (young adult novel)
• Smoke and Mirrors'' (2004)
• Thunderbowl (2004)
• Sudden Impact. Victoria: Orca, 2005. (young adult novel)
• Deconstructing Dylan (2006)
• Wave Warrior. Victoria: Orca, 2007. (young adult)
• Skate Freak (2008)
• Hell's Hotel. Toronto: Lorimer, 2008. (young adult novel)
• Living Outside the Lines (2009)
• Last Chance. Toronto: Lorimer. 2009. (young adult novel)
• Los Pandemonium. Victoria: Orca, 2009 (Spanish young adult)
• Rock. Munich: Hase und Igel, 2009. (young adult novel)
• Running the Risk. Victoria: Orca, 2009. (young adult novel)
• Random (2010)
• Reckless(2010)
• Gone Bad. Toronto: Lorimer, 2011. (young adult novel)
• Dumb Luck (2011)
• Accro d'la Planche Victoria: Orca, 2012. (French young adult novel)
• Breaking Point Victoria: Orca, 2012. (young adult novel)
• Rat (2012)
• Crash Victoria: Orca, 2013. (young adult novel)
• Jeremy Stone. Toronto: Red Deer, 2013. (young adult novel in verse)
• Into the Wasteland. Toronto: Red Deer, 2014. (young adult novel)

Poetry

• Re-Inventing the Wheel (1982)
• Fast Living (1982)
• The End of Ice (1985)
• To the Top of the Heart (1986)
• The Man Who Borrowed the Bay of Fundy. Brandon: Brandon Univ, 1988. (poetry)
• The Coastline of Forgetting (1995)
• Beautiful Sadness (1998)
• Caution to the Wind (2000)
• Revenge of the Optimist. Victoria: Ekstasis Editions, 2004. (poetry)
• I'm Alive. I Believe in Everything. Wreck Cove: Breton Books, 2012. (poetry)

Discography

• Long Lost Planet. Halifax: Deep Nine/Pottersfield, 1996. (music/poetry)
• Sea Level. Halifax: Deep Nine/Pottersfield, 1998. (music/poetry)

Radio, TV, Film and Video Credits

• An Island to Stand On. 5 part radio drama: national CBC show Morningside. (script writer)
• The Halifax Solution. Halifax: Pottersfield Productions. Documentary. (writer, performer)
• A Hard Chance. Halifax: Pottersfield/Acadian. Documentary. (writer, co-producer)
• East Coast Authors. Halifax: Channel Ten. (writer, host of 60 shows)
• Choyce Words. Halifax: Eastlink/ PBS Maine/ Vision TV. (writer, host of 200 shows)
• Off the Page. Halifax/Toronto: Vision TV; also airing on BookTelevision, Canadian Learning Television and ASN. (writer, co-producer, host for five seasons)
• The Skunk Whisperer. Half hour docudrama. Co-production of Pottersfield Productions.(script writer, co-director with Lulu Keating). Aired on CBC-TV, CTV, Animal Planet.
• Dead Surf Poet Society. Half hour docudrama. Pottersfield Productions. (writer, director).
• Music videos: "Traction," "Long Lost Planet," "Beautiful Sadness," "Twelve More Miles to Runaway Bay."
• Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise, 2006. CBS TV movie. Directed by Robert Harmon, starring Tom Selleck. (Poetry consultant.)
• The Republic of Nothing. Feature film in production, IMX. (Co-screenwriter).
• A Hard Chance. Half hour documentary. Arcadia Productions, 2007. (Writer, co-producer)
• "It's in the Stars." Supernatural Investigator. Sorcery Believes Inc. 2009. Halifax: airing on Vision Network. (Actor, host)

Awards

• Finalist for the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Award, 1981.
• First place in short fiction and the novel: Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia Literary Awards.
• Pierian Spring Editor's Award for poetry.
• The Order of St. John Award of Merit.
• Short-listed for The Stephen Leacock Medal, 1987.
• The Dartmouth Book Award, 1990, 1995; short-listed 1991, 1992, 1993.
• Event magazine's Creative Nonfiction Competition, winner 1990.
• Ann Connor Brimer Award for Children's Literature, 1994, 2003; short-listed 1992, 1993.
• Manitoba's Young Reader's Choice Award, finalist, 1994, 2008.
• Authors Award, Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Letters, co-winner, 1995.
• Short-listed for the Hackmatack Award for children's writing, 2000.
• Short-listed for White Pine Award, 2004, 2008, 2010.
• Finalist for Canadian Librarians Association Young Adult Award, 2005.
• Short-listed for Stellar Book Awards, 2007.
• American Library Association Quick Pick, 2008.
• Short-listed for the Foreword Magazine Book Award, 2008
• Finalist for the Alberta Book Award, 2008.
• First Place: Canadian Surfing Championships, 1995.
• Landmark East Literacy Award, 2000.
• Poet Laureate for the Peter Gzowski Invitational Golf Tournament, 2000.
• Best Writer of Halifax (Coast Magazine): 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006.
• Finalist: Book of the Year Award –ForeWord Magazine
• Teaching Excellence Award – Dalhousie University Student Union, 2009.
• Short-listed for Red Cedar Award, 2009.
• Atlantic Poetry Award, 2013.
• Finalist: Governor General's Literary Award 2014

References

• Canadian Who's Who. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, etc..
• Contemporary Authors, Volume 130. Chicago: Gale Research, 1989.
• Contemporary Authors, Volume 211. Chicago: Thompson Gale, 2004. (feature biography).
• Dictionary of International Biography. Cambridge: International Bibliographic Centre, 1999.
• International Authors and Writers Who's Who. Cambridge: Int. Bibliographic Centre, 1996.
• International Who's Who. London: Routledge, 2009.
• Something About Authors. Chicago: Gale Research, 1997.
• Who's Who in America. Chicago: Marquis Publishing, 1985.
• Who's Who of North American Poets. Cornwall, Ont.: Vesta Publishing, 1987.
• Who's Who in Canadian Literature. Toronto: Reference Press, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, etc.
• Who's Who in the World. Eight Ed. Wilmette, Ill.: Marquis, 1993.
• Who's Who in Entertainment. New Providence, NJ: Marquis, 1997.

External links

• Lesley Choyce