Jordan Stratford is a Canadian author of children's fiction.
Books
Children's books
Jordan is the author of the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency Series (Knopf / Random House), a pro-math and science adventure series for children 8-12. The first book was funded by a
Kickstarter campaign that exceeded its target $4000, being promoted on
Wired and
io9
''io9'' is a sub-blog of the technology blog ''Gizmodo'' that focuses on science fiction and fantasy pop culture, with former focuses on science, technology and futurism. It was created as a standalone blog in 2008 by editor Annalee Newitz under ...
.
The first book in the series, ''The Case of the Missing Moonstone'', sold 40,000 copies worldwide, and was translated into Russian, German and Turkish; it was a finalist for the
Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize (part of the
British Columbia Book Prizes) and the Silver Birch Award (part of the
Forest of Reading, created by the
Ontario Library Association). The second novel in the series, ''The Case of the Girl In Grey'', was released in 2016, followed by ''The Case of the Counterfeit Criminals'' in 2017, and ''The Case of the Perilous Palace'' in 2018.
All of the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency books are illustrated by
Kelly Murphy. The title refers to
Mary Wollstonecraft, and the protagonists are based on
Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...
and
Ada Lovelace.
*2018 - ''The Case of the Perilous Palace''
*2017 - ''The Case of the Counterfeit Criminals''
*2016 - ''The Case of the Girl in Grey''
*2015 - ''The Case of the Missing Moonstone''
Adult books
*2011 - ''A Dictionary of Western Alchemy'', Quest Books, 2007,
*2007 - ''Living Gnosticism'', Apocryphile Press, 2007,
Personal life
In 2005, Stratford was ordained a
gnostic
Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse g ...
priest in the
Apostolic Johannite Church,
having received a
Licentiate of Sacred Theology from
St. Raphael the Archangel Theological Seminary. He has written extensively on gnosticism as a modern spiritual practice and on the history of alchemy.
Stratford has also worked as an advertising
creative director
A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions; oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos; and directs and translates the creative people who produce the end results. Creat ...
, filmmaker, screenwriter, instructor at
Vancouver Film School and writer for the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...
. Despite living off an inheritance from his multi-millionaire father, Jordan was intent, and successful, at crowd funding his projects. To date he has gleaned $91,751 from charitable donations. He continues to crowd fund to this day.
Stratford cites poet
Robin Skelton
Robin Skelton (12 October 1925 – 22 August 1997) was a British-Canadian academic, writer, poet, and anthologist.
Biography
Born in Easington, East Riding of Yorkshire, Easington, Yorkshire, Skelton was educated at the University of Leeds an ...
as an influence.
Stratford is a father of four children.
Steampunk
Jordan Stratford has been involved in
steampunk
Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and Applied arts, aesthetics inspired by, but not limited to, 19th-century Industrial Revolution, industrial steam engine, steam-powered machinery. Steampun ...
for many years. He co-founded the Victoria Steam Expo, the first steampunk art exhibition in Canada. ''Vintage Tomorrows'', a documentary about the movement, interviewed him at the 2012 event, which he described as "an interactive art experience" The film quotes him encouraging people to engage with technology, make it, break it, and reinvent it.
described his children's series, the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency novels, as steampunk plus
Jane Austen
Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...
.
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stratford, Jordan
Canadian religious writers
Canadian children's writers