David Day (born October 1947) is a Canadian author and poet. He is best known for his books on

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

Middle-earth Middle-earth is the Setting (narrative), setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Midgard, Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf'' ...

.Biography at ABC Book World
/ref> Day has published 46 books that have sold over 3 million copies.

Early life

David Day was born and raised in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

, Canada. 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 The ''Times Colonist'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was formed by the September 2, 1980 merger of the ''Victoria Daily Times'', established in 1884, and the ''British Colonist'' (later the ' ...

'', graduating from Victoria High School in 1966. After finishing high school, Day worked as a logger for five years on

before graduating in 1976 from the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

Career

Day has published over 46 books of poetry,

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

, ecology,

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

, 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

. 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

, 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. The Dutch version reached the best-seller list. The Tolkien family's publishers,

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

, commissioned Day to write ''The Hobbit Companion'', but dropped the book when

Christopher Tolkien Christopher John Reuel Tolkien (21 November 1924 – 16 January 2020) was an English and naturalised French academic editor and writer. The son of the author and academic J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher edited 24 volumes based on his father's P ...

objected and threatened a lawsuit. Day was forced into bankruptcy by the protracted legal battle. He later found another publisher for the book, and the rewritten version was approved by the Tolkien estate. With the release of '' The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power'' series, Day's 2019 ''An Encyclopedia of Tolkien'' debuted on the ''Toronto Star''s list of bestselling books in Canada on October 12, 2022. The 2025 ''A Dictionary of Tolkien Deluxe Edition'' debuted on the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

list of best-sellers in the US at number 12.

Other books

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

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

'' was written in mathematical code in his book, ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: Decoded'', based on 18 years of research studying more than 1,000 different editions of Carroll's book.

Reception

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' named Day's ''The Doomsday Book of Animals'' the critics' book of the year in 1981. Colin Tudge, writing in ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a popular science magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organ ...

'' reviewed ''The Doomsday Book of Animals'', writing: A review in ''

Quill & Quire ''Quill & Quire'' is a Canadian magazine about the book and publishing industry. The magazine was launched in 1935 and has an average circulation of 5,000 copies per issue, with a publisher-claimed readership of 25,000. ''Quill & Quire'' reviews ...

'' wrote of ''Nevermore'':

Books

* ''The Cowichan''. Oolichan Books, 1975 * ''Many Voices''. North Vancouver, 1977 * ''The Burroughs Bestiary''. UK: New English Library, 1978 * ''A Tolkien Bestiary''. London: Chancellor Press, 1979 * ''The Scarlet Coat Serial''. Canada: Press Porcepic, 1981 * ''The Doomsday Book of Animals''. New York:

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheimer and then acqu ...

, 1981 * ''The Animals Within''. Canada: Penumbra Press, 1984 * ''Castles''. New York: Bantam Books, 1984 * '' Gothic''. Canada: Exile Editions, 1986 * ''The Emperors Panda''. Canada:

McClelland & Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Random House of Canada, Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. ...

, 1986 * '' The Whale War''. UK: Rutledge, 1987 * ''The Emperor's Panda''. London: Piccadilly, 1988 * ''The Eco Wars''. London: Harrap, 1989 * ''The Swan Children''. London: Piccadilly Press, 1989 * ''The Encyclopedia of Vanished Species''. UK: Universal Books, 1989 * ''Noah’s Choice''. London: Viking Penguin, 1990 * ''True Tales of Environmental Madness''. London: Pelham Books, 1990 * ''The Sleeper''. London: Piccadilly Press, 1990 * ''Tolkien: The Illustrated Encyclopedia''. London: Mitchell Beazley, 1991 * ''The Walking Catfish''. New York: Macmillan, 1991 * ''Aska’s Animals''. Canada: DoubleDay, 1991 * ''Aska’s Birds''. Canada: DoubleDay, 1992 * ''A-Z of Tolkien''. London: Mandarin, 1993 * ''Tippu''. London: Piccadilly Press, 1993 * ''King of the Woods''. London: Anderson Press, 1993 * ''Aska’s Sea Creatures''. Canada: DoubleDay, 1994 * ''The Complete Rhinoceros''. London: EIA Books, 1994 * ''Tolkien’s Ring''. London: Harper Collins, 1994 * ''The Quest for King Arthur''. London: De Agostini, 1996 * ''The Visions and Revelations of St Louis De Metis''. Canada:

Thistledown Press Thistledown Press is an independent literary publisher based in Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River ...

, 1997 * ''Just Say No To Family Values and Other Rants, Howls, and Moans''. Toronto: Exile Editions, 1997 * ''The Hobbit Companion''. London: Pavilion Books, 1997 * ''The World of Tolkien: Mythological Sources of Lord of the Rings''. London: Mitchell Beazley, 2003 * ''Nevermore: A Book of Hours''. Toronto: Quattro Books, 2012 * ''A Dictionary of Tolkien''. London: Cassell, 2013 * ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: Decoded''. Toronto: Doubleday, 2015 * ''An Atlas of Tolkien''. London: Cassell, 2015 * ''The Battles of Tolkien''. London: Cassell, 2016 * ''The Heroes of Tolkien''. London: Cassell, 2017 * ''The Dark Powers of Tolkien''. London: Cassell, 2018 * ''The Hobbits of Tolkien''. London: Cassell, 2019 * ''The Illustrated World of Tolkien''. San Diego: Thunder Bay Press, 2019 * '' The Ring Legends of Tolkien''. London: Cassell, 2020 * ''An Encyclopedia of Tolkien: The history and mythology that inspired Tolkien’s world''. San Diego: Canterbury Classics, 2019 * ''The Illustrated World of Tolkien: The Second Age''. Thunder Bay Press, 2023 * ''A Dictionary of Tolkien Deluxe Edition''. Thunder Bay Press, 2025

Personal life

Day is married to Róisín Magill and has a daughter. As of 2020, he lives in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Day, David 1947 births Living people People from the Capital Regional District Poets from British Columbia Canadian male poets Canadian male biographers Tolkien scholars 20th-century Canadian biographers 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Canadian children's writers Canadian literary critics University of Victoria alumni