Trevor Cole (born Trevor William Cole on February 15, 1960) is a Canadian novelist and journalist. He has published five novels; the first two, ''Norman Bray in the Performance of his Life'' (2004) and ''The Fearsome Particles'' (2006), were nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction and longlisted for the

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...

Life and career

Trevor Cole was born on February 15, 1960, 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 ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. His father was a theatre and television actor. Before turning to fiction, Cole worked as a radio copywriter, magazine editor and magazine journalist. He spent 15 years at ''

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 ...

'', working first as an editor and then, for the final two and a half years, as a senior writer for the ''Report On Business Magazine''. Cole left the ''Globe'' in 2000. From 2001 to 2003, he wrote a satirical column on business for ''

Canadian Business ''Canadian Business'' is the longest-publishing business magazine based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and founded in 1927. The print edition terminated in the end of 2016. Beginning in January 2017, the magazine was published online only. In Octob ...

''. Cole has won nine

National Magazine Awards 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 ...

, including three gold medals. He continues to write freelance for ''

Toronto Life ''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eati ...

'', ''Report on Business Magazine'' and other publications. In 2006, Cole began the site AuthorsAloud.com, an independent library of short, recorded audio readings by Canadian authors of literary fiction and poetry.

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. ...

published his first three novels: ''Norman Bray in the Performance of His Life'' (2004), ''The Fearsome Particles'' (2006), and ''Practical Jean'' (September 2010). His third novel won the 2011

Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, also known as the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour or just the Leacock Medal, is an annual Canadian literary award presented for the best book of humour written in English by a Canadian writer, publis ...

. His fourth novel, ''Hope Makes Love'' was published by Cormorant Press in fall 2015. In 2017, he authored ''The Whisky King'', a non-fiction account of Canada's most infamous mobster

Rocco Perri Rocco Perri (; born Rocco Perre; December 30, 1887 – disappeared April 23, 1944) was an Italian-born organized crime figure in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He was one of the most prominent Prohibition-era crime figures in Canada, and was sometim ...

Personal life

Cole lives in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, Ontario. Cole's archives are held by the William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections at

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

Awards and honours

*2004 Finalist,

Governor General's Literary Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

for Fiction (for ''Norman Bray'') *2004 Longlist,

(for ''Norman Bray'') *2004 Finalist, Commonwealth Writer's Prize for Best First Book (for ''Norman Bray'') *2006 Finalist, Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction (for ''The Fearsome Particles'') *2006 Longlist, International Dublin Literary Award (for ''The Fearsome Particles'') *2010 Shortlist,

Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize The Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, formerly known as the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, is a Canadian literary award presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada after an annual juried competition of works submitted by publishers ...

(for ''Practical Jean'') *2011 Winner,

(for ''Practical Jean'')

Bibliography

Novels

* * * * *

References

External links

Trevor Cole official website

at

McClelland and Stewart: ''The Fearsome Particles'' profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Trevor 1960 births Living people Canadian columnists Canadian satirists Canadian satirical columnists Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian male novelists Stephen Leacock Award winners The Globe and Mail people Novelists from Toronto Journalists from Toronto 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian male writers