 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. (June 2018) |
Brian Anthony Brennan (October 4, 1943 - February 21, 2021) was an Irish-Canadian author and historian who specialized in books about the colourful personalities of Western Canada's past.[1][2]
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Born in Dublin, Ireland, he migrated to Canada in 1966 and has lived in Calgary, Alberta, since 1974. He spent 25 years as a staff writer with the Calgary Herald writing columns and feature stories.[3]
Brennan was part of an attempt by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada to organize a union local for the newsroom and negotiate a first contract with the Calgary Herald. Before and during the eight-month strike by journalists in 1999 and 2000, Brennan was a member of the union's bargaining committee.[4] When the strike ended in June 2000 with the dissolution of the union, he left the Herald to devote himself full-time to writing books. He was the first winner of the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award,[5] presented in 2004 for his book Romancing the Rockies.[6]
A longtime National Council member of The Writers' Union of Canada, he quit the union in 2018 when the union executive supported a decision by the editor of the union magazine to kill a story about a writers' conference in San Miguel de Allende Mexico[7] that she had commissioned Brennan to write.[8]
- ^ "Chronicler feels affection for Alberta's larger-than-life folks," by Dana McNairn, Edmonton Journal, Jan. 13, 2003
- ^ "Rogues, rebels and 'little surprises'," by Eric Volmers, Calgary Herald, Oct. 3, 2015
- ^ "Critic-turned-author has led a charmed life," by Stephen Hunt, Calgary Herald, Sept. 17, 2011
- ^ "Put to bed: The strike that broke the news at the Calgary Herald."
- ^ "Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award, a Canadian writing contest with emphasis on social justice issues". www.greberwritingaward.com.
- ^ "Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award, a Canadian writing contest with emphasis on social justice issues".
- ^ "San Miguel de Allende: "NAFTA of Literary Festivals" | Facts & Opinions". www.factsandopinions.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018.
- ^ "Why I'm leaving The Writers' Union of Canada". May 26, 2018.