Leo McKay Jr. (born June 19, 1964) is a Canadian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

writer from Stellarton,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. He also is a periodic contributor to ''

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 ...

''.

Early life

McKay was born and raised in the town of Stellarton, Nova Scotia, where he graduated from Stellarton High School in 1982. He grew up in the small working class Stellarton neighborhood called the Red Row, a neighborhood of hundred-year-old mining company duplexes and a tight-knit community of working-class people. His parents grew up in the same neighborhood. His mother, Georgina Bellick, was the daughter of Polish and Ukrainian immigrants. His father, Leo McKay Sr., who lived in the Red Row until his death in 2011, was a riveter at the railcar factory in nearby Trenton before becoming a career labour leader, social activist, New Democrat politician, and eventually a member of Stellarton Town Council. He studied English at St. Francis Xavier University, French at Laval, Creative Writing at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

and Education at Dalhousie. He lived in Asia for four years.

Career

McKay formerly taught English at Cobequid Educational Centre in

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

until 2024.Cobequid Educational Centre Faculty
, ''cec.ccrsb.ca'', Retrieved May 20, 2008. As of 2025, he teaches at Paatsaali School in Sanikiluaq,

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

. McKay became one of the first recognized literary writers to embrace

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

. During the 2010 CBC

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Fre ...

competition, McKay used

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and especially

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, to promote his 2003 novel ''Twenty-Six'' as one of the Best Canadian Novels of the previous decade. He used hand-shot, self-produced videos called "Twenty-six Reasons Why You Should Vote for ''Twenty-Six'' For Canada Reads 2010". The novel made the 40 book long list, and that success spurred McKay to further use of social media as a promotional tool. In the spring of 2012, McKay used an online funding site, Indiegogo.com, to fund the independent publication of a new novel, ''Roll Up the Rim''. That campaign raised $10,000 in 30 days, and was chosen by Indiegogo.com as an example of how to run a successful online funding campaign.

Recognition

McKay's debut short story collection, ''Like This'', was short-listed for the

Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried co ...

in 1995 and received the Dartmouth Book Award for fiction in 1996.Dartmouth Book Awards Winners
, ''halifax.ca'', Retrieved May 20, 2008. His first novel, '' Twenty-Six'', was published in 2003. It became a national bestseller,Twenty-Six
''bukowskiagency.com'', Retrieved May 20, 2008 and won the 2004 Dartmouth Book Award. ''What Comes Echoing Back'' was longlisted for CBC's 2024 Canada Reads.

Published works

* ''Like This'' (1996) * '' Twenty-Six'' (2003) * ''Roll up the Rim'' (2013) * ''What Comes Echoing Back'' (2023)

References

External links

Author's page on agent's website

Author's blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Leo Jr. 1964 births Living people Canadian male novelists Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian male short story writers People from Pictou County People from Truro, Nova Scotia 20th-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Novelists from Nova Scotia