Gordon Kirkland

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Gordon Kirkland is a Canadian author, newspaper columnist, and entertainer. He was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1953. At the age of six he moved to Maple, Ontario where he spent the bulk of his elementary school years. His family moved to London, Ontario in 1967 where he attended secondary school. He studied Canadian literature under such notable writers as Irving Layton and Dennis Lee at York University.

Kirkland started writing his syndicated column, "Gordon Kirkland At Large" in 1994 for the Times & Transcript in Moncton, New Brunswick. It quickly moved on to other newspapers in Canada and the United States. The column continues each week in cities and towns from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to West Chester, Pennsylvania.

In 1999, his first book, Justice Is Blind - And Her Dog Just Peed In My Cornflakes, was published and it was nominated for the 2000 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, receiving the Stephen Leacock Award of Merit for Humour as a finalist for the medal.

His second book, Never Stand Behind A Loaded Horse, was published by Thistledown Press of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 2004. It was nominated for the 2005 Leacock Award, and once again received the Stephen Leacock Award of Merit for Humour as a finalist for the medal. Also in 2004, Kirkland released his first comedy CD, I'm Big For My Age and an audiobook on CD, Never Stand Behind A Loaded Horse - Live!.

In 2005, his third book, When My Mind Wanders It Brings Back Souvenirs, was released by AuthorHouse in the United States. Following the lead of his two previous books, it too was nominated for the Leacock Award in 2006, and received the Stephen Leacock Award of Merit for Humour as a finalist for the medal.

I Think I'm Having One Of Those Decades is Kirkland's fourth book, released early in 2006 by AuthorHouse. In 2007, Kirkland's fifth book, I May Be Big But I Didn't Cause That Solar Eclipse was scheduled to debut at BookExpo America in New York.

Kirkland is a regular guest and faculty member at writer's conferences, festivals and workshops throughout North America. In 2004, he was the first Canadian writer invited to join the faculty of the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop at the University of Dayton, a post he continues to hold. He is also a regular guest on radio and television programs in Canada and the United States.

Kirkland often speaks at conferences and conventions about disabled issues, using humor to deal with pain and stress, and other related topics.

He was married to the former Diane Thompson in in 1973, and they now live near Vancouver, BC. They have two adult sons. In 1990, he was seriously injured in an automobile accident, which left him partially paralyzed and suffering from long-term chronic pain syndrome.