Harley Rustad is a Canadian journalist, magazine editor, and author of ''Lost in the Valley of Death: A Story of Obsession and Danger in the Himalayas'' and ''Big Lonely Doug: The Story of One of Canada’s Last Great Trees.''

Early life

Rustad was born on

Salt Spring Island Salt Spring Island or Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada, and Vancouver Island. The island was initially inhabited by various Salishan peoples before being settled ...

, British Columbia, Canada, where he spent the first few months of his life in a tent while his parents built their home. He lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Journalism career

Rustad has been an editor and writer at

The Walrus ''The Walrus'' is an independent, nonprofit Canadian media organization. It is multi-platform and produces an eight-issue-per-year magazine and online editorial content that includes current affairs, fiction, poetry, and podcasts, a nation ...

, a Canadian general interest magazine, since 2014. His writing has appeared in publications including ''

Outside Outside or Outsides may refer to: * Wilderness Books and magazines * ''Outside'', a book by Marguerite Duras * ''Outside'' (magazine), an outdoors magazine Film, theatre and TV * Outside TV (formerly RSN Television), a television network * '' ...

'', ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', ''

Geographical Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', and

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

. He is a faculty editor at the

Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (formerly Banff Centre) is an arts and culture educational institution in Banff, Alberta. It offers arts programs in the performing and fine arts, as well as leadership training. It was established in 1933 ...

’s Mountain and Wilderness Writing Residency. He was awarded Editor Grand Prix at the 2024 National Magazine Awards: "Harley Rustad’s commitment to tackling in-depth investigations and features stands out. Rustad's contributions to The Walrus have reinforced its position as one of Canada's leading homes for thoughtful, impactful journalism."

Big Lonely Doug

His first book, ''Big Lonely Doug: The Story of One of Canada’s Last Great Trees,'' a nonfiction book published in 2018 is about the second-largest

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Or ...

in Canada that was a saved by a logger who wrapped green LEAVE TREE ribbon around its trunk, and the fight to protect old-growth forests in British Columbia. The tree, Big Lonely Doug, is growing in the middle of a clear cut near

Port Renfrew Port Renfrew is a small unincorporated community located on the south shore of Port San Juan, an inlet on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Port Renfrew has a population of 262 (as of the 2021 Canadian census) and ...

, British Columbia. The book started as a magazine article in ''

.'' The book was nominated for the 2018

Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing is a Canadian literary award, presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada to the best nonfiction book on Canadian political and social issues. It has been presented annually in Ottawa at the Writers� ...

, the 2019

Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize The Roderick Haig-Brown Prize is part of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, awarded in celebration of the achievements of British Columbia writers and publishers. It is awarded to the author(s) of books who "contributes most to the enjoyment and unders ...

, and the 2018 Banff Mountain Book Competition.

Lost in the Valley of Death

His second book, ''Lost in the Valley of Death: A Story of Obsession and Danger in the Himalayas,'' was published in 2022 and investigates the 2016 disappearance of Justin Alexander Shetler in the

Parvati Valley Parvati Valley is a Himalayan valley situated in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. From the confluence of the Parvati River with the River Beas, the valley runs eastwards, through a steep-sided valley from the town of Bhuntar, i ...

, India. It was nominated for a 2022 Banff Mountain Book Award and a Crime Writers of Canada Award, was a Canadian bestseller, and appeared on the cover of the February 13, 2022,

New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

. ''Lost in the Valley of Death'' won two awards at the 2023 Poland Mountain Book Awards and a 2023 US Religion News Association Award.

Port Renfrew Writers Retreat

In 2019, Rustad founded the Port Renfrew Writers Retreat on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, a non-fiction writers retreat focused on nature writing.

Awards and honors

* 2023 Mountain Literature Awards, Poland (winner non-fiction category and winner Grand Prix) for ''Lost in the Valley of Death'', Polish translation * 2023 Religion News Association Award (winner) for ''Lost in the Valley of Death'' * 2023 Crime Writers of Canada Award (finalist) for ''Lost in the Valley of Death'' * 2022 Banff Mountain Book Award (finalist) for ''Lost in the Valley of Death'' * 2022

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

Best Canadian Non-fiction Books of the Year for ''Lost in the Valley of Death'' * 2018

Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it fall ...

Best Books of the Year for ''Big Lonely Doug'' * 2018

Best Canadian Non-fiction Books of the Year for ''Big Lonely Doug'' * 2018

(finalist) for ''Big Lonely Doug'' * 2018 Banff Mountain Book Award (finalist) for ''Big Lonely Doug'' * 2019

(finalist) for ''Big Lonely Doug'' * 2016

National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

(silver) "Big Lonely Doug" published in ''The Walrus''. * 2015

(honourable mention) for "Where the Streets Have No Names" published in ''

Bibliography

* ''Big Lonely Doug: The Story of One of Canada’s Last Great Trees.''

House of Anansi Press House of Anansi Press is a Canadian publishing company, founded in 1967 by writers Dennis Lee and Dave Godfrey. The company specializes in finding and developing new Canadian writers of literary fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. History Anansi ...

. 2018. ISBN 978-1487003111 * ''Lost in the Valley of Death: A Story of Obsession and Danger in the Himalayas.''

Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name and place names, for example: Harper Islands, Nunavut. Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut * Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name ...

. 2022. ISBN 978-0062965967

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rustad, Harley Canadian magazine journalists Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian nature writers Canadian travel writers Writers from British Columbia Living people 21st-century Canadian journalists 21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers 21st-century Canadian male writers 1985 births