TED BISHOP, AUTHOR OF THE SOCIAL LIFE OF INK, ON CRAFTING NARRATIVE NON-FICTION (MF GALAXY 058)
HOW THE BANFF CENTRE CHANGED HIS LIFE, WHY YOU NEED TO LEARN TO WRITE PROPOSALS, HOW TO BE FAIR TO YOUR REAL-LIFE SOURCES, AND WHAT TO WRITE AFTER YOUR HIT LISTEN/DOWNLOAD In 2014, Ted Bishop did the surprising: he wrote a book about ink, and it became a success. The book fits into a genre sometimes called commodity biographies which investigate how human needs produced a product to solve problems, and the problems and opportunities that product eventually created for its creators and humanity. That story is the story of writing itself, of course, so it’s no wonder that Bishop, an English professor at the University of Alberta, would take it on. If there’s a stereotype of what an English professor is, Bishop isn’t it. With his facial features, beard, and slight stature, he looks very much like young George Lucas, although his hair is grey. Bishop’s previous book, Riding with Rilke, was a Best Book choice of the Globe & Mail, CBC, and Playboy about the amazing people he met ...