David Day (Canadian author) explained

David Day (born October 1947)[1] is a Canadian author and poet. He is best known for his books on J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth.[2] Day has published 46 books that have sold over 3 million copies.[3]

Early life

David Day was born and raised in Victoria on Vancouver Island, Canada.[4] His father worked as chief fireman for area military bases. Day was editor of his high school's newspaper, and also contributed high school sports columns to the Victoria Daily Times, graduating from Victoria High School in 1966.[5] After finishing high school, Day worked as a logger for five years on Vancouver Island before graduating in 1976 from the University of Victoria.[6]

Career

Day has published over 46 books of poetry, natural history, ecology, mythology, fantasy and children's literature. Day has been a columnist for Punch. He is best known for his books on the life and works of J. R. R. Tolkien.[7]

In 2015, Day received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Victoria.

Works on Tolkien

Day has published at least 15 books pertaining to Middle-earth, the world created by Tolkien. His first book, A Tolkien Bestiary, released in 1979, is an illustrated reference book on Middle-earth's fauna, flora and people. The book has been translated in 20 languages and reprinted numerous times since.[8] The Dutch version reached the best-seller list.[9]

The Tolkien family's publishers, HarperCollins, commissioned Day to write The Hobbit Companion, but dropped the book when Christopher Tolkien objected and threatened a lawsuit.[10] Day was forced into bankruptcy by the protracted legal battle.[11] [12] He later found another publisher for the book,[13] and the rewritten version was approved by the Tolkien estate.[14] With the release of series, Day's 2019 An Encyclopedia of Tolkien debuted on the Toronto Stars list of bestselling books in Canada on October 12, 2022.[15]

Other books

Day's first book of poetry, The Cowichan, was based on a journal he kept during his logging years.[16] He collaborated with Japanese artist Warabe Aska on three children's books, writing poems to accompany Aska's illustrations.[16]

Day explored his theory that Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was written in mathematical code in his book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: Decoded,[13] based on 18 years of research studying more than 1,000 different editions of Carroll's book.[17]

Reception

Time magazine and The Observer named Day's The Doomsday Book of Animals the critics' book of the year in 1981.[16]

Colin Tudge, writing in New Scientist reviewed The Doomsday Book of Animals, writing:

A review in Quill & Quire wrote of Nevermore:

Books

Personal life

Day is married to Róisín Magill[18] and has a daughter.[19] As of 2020, he lives in Toronto.[7]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: 0319-0714 . 6 . Kritzwiser . Kay . 'Inspired knight' writes to scale mystical heights . The Globe and Mail . Toronto, Ontario, Canada . July 1, 2021 . December 20, 1984 . .
  2. http://www.abcbookworld.com/view_author.php?id=489 Biography at ABC Book World
  3. News: 2 . Parry . Malcolm . No whines for these wines . The Vancouver Sun . Vancouver, B.C., Canada . July 1, 2021 . October 31, 2015 . .
  4. Book: Day, D. . Nevermore: A Book of Hours . Fourfront Editions . 2011 . 978-1-926802-69-5 . July 27, 2021 . 248 (About the Author).
  5. News: 7 . King . Lee . Vic High's illustrious Class of '55 . Times Colonist . Victoria, B.C., Canada . July 1, 2021 . May 13, 2018 .
  6. Web site: Distinguished Alumni List for 2015 – University of Victoria . UVic.ca . April 18, 2020.
  7. Book: About The Author . Simon and Schuster . April 18, 2020 . May 22, 2020 . 9781684129997 .
  8. News: David Day . September 20, 2020 . bcbooklook.com . September 22, 2016 . October 20, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201020141409/https://bcbooklook.com/2016/09/22/193-david-day/ . dead .
  9. News: 0319-0714 . 11 . Freedman . Adele . The best-seller that got away David Day's Tolkien Bestiary wasn't Canadian enough for McClelland and Stewart . The Globe and Mail . Toronto, Ont., Canada . July 1, 2021 . December 24, 1979 . .
  10. Web site: The Gamer . Author David Day on Tolkien, the Rings of Power, and Being Banned from the Tolkien Society . Sledge . Ben . 3 February 2024 . 3 February 2024.
  11. News: The Observer (London) . July 6, 1997 . 77 . McCrum on war of the words .
  12. News: The Guardian . 17 July 1997 . 38 . The Loafer .
  13. News: Times Colonist . Victoria, British Columbia . December 20, 2001 . 46 . Chamberlain . Adrian . A Tolkien ringer .
  14. News: 0951-9467 . 10 . Williams . Alexandra . Peace breaks out in Middle Earth . The Independent . London (UK), United Kingdom . July 1, 2021 . July 6, 1997 . .
  15. Web site: The bestselling books in Canada for the week ending Oct. 12, 2022 . Toronto Star . October 12, 2022 . October 13, 2022.
  16. News: Times Colonist . Victoria, British Columbia . 39 . October 15, 1994 . David Day: From East Sooke to expert in so many different fields . Heiman . Carolyn .
  17. News: 1 . Dedyna . Katherine . Decoding Alice; Victoria native David Day spent 18 years studying the rabbit holes of Lewis Carroll's masterpiece . Times Colonist . Victoria, B.C., Canada . July 1, 2021 . October 25, 2015 . .
  18. Book: Day, David . The Heroes of Tolkien . dedication . Thunder Bay Press . June 5, 2018 . 9781684121045.
  19. News: 0319-0781 . 1 . White . Nancy J. . Mad but true: How we ruin the environment . Toronto Star . Toronto, Ont., Canada . July 1, 2021 . October 22, 1989 . .

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