A two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, Terry Fallis is the author of eight novels, all of them national bestsellers—including five #1s bestsellers—and all published by McClelland & Stewart. The Best Laid Plans was the winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour in 2008, and CBC’s Canada Reads in 2011. It was adapted as a six-part CBC-Television miniseries in 2014, and a stage musical in 2015. His third novel, Up and Down, was the winner of the 2013 Ontario Library Association Evergreen Award. His fourth novel, No Relation (2014) won the 2015 Leacock Medal. His eighth novel, Operation Angus (2021) was a CBC Best Books of 2021 selection. His ninth novel, A New Season, hits bookstores in August 2023. In 2013, The Canadian Booksellers Association named Terry Fallis the winner of the Libris Award as Author of the Year.
Terry has written for many publications including Maclean’s, Canadian Geographic, Reader’s Digest, Toronto Life, The Globe and Mail, the National Post, and the Toronto Star. He also teaches in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies. A skilled public speaker, he lives in Toronto. For more information visit www.terryfallis.com and subscribe to his newsletter at https://terryfallis.substack.com.
Q: How long were you in Ottawa, and what first brought you here? What took you away?
A: Believe it or not, I only lived in Ottawa for about a year and a half. I arrived in the summer of 1984 to join the political staff of a Cabinet Minister in the newly-minted Liberal Government of Prime Minister John Turner, following his victory in the Leadership campaign. You may recall that Turner lost the election in September 1984 relegating the Liberals to the Opposition benches. My minister was re-elected and became Opposition critic for International Trade. I stayed with him for a year but moved back to Toronto in the fall of 1985 to work for the Finance Minister in the newly-elected Liberal Ontario Government of Premier David Peterson.
Q: How did you first get involved in writing, and subsequently, the writing community here?
A: It was in Ottawa in 1984 when I first tried my hand at a couple of short stories. It was purely recreational writing and I never submitted the stories to any journals. So I really didn’t get involved at all with the Ottawa writing community. In fact, I don’t remember knowing such a thing existed. It was not until years later (like 20 years later) that I wrote my first novel, The Best Laid Plans (2008), but it was set in Ottawa, as was the sequel, The High Road (2010), and finally my eighth novel, Operation Angus (2021) all featuring the same characters. The six-part CBC Television miniseries based on my first novel was shot in and around Ottawa, including inside the Parliament buildings. The city certainly provided a worthy backdrop for these three novels.
Q: How did being in such a community of writers shift your thinking about writing, if at all? Have there been subsequent shifts due to where you have lived since?
A: Regrettably, I was never really a part of the Ottawa writing community when I lived there, but I do know how important it can be to writers as we strive to connect with others in our field. I’ve since spoken to many different writers' groups on a range of topics, including presenting to a group in Ottawa, and I’m always struck by the feeling in the room. It just feels different when the room is filled with writers.
Q: What did you see happening here that you don’t see anywhere else? What did Ottawa provide, or allow?
A: As the nation’s capital and the seat of our government, Ottawa is of course central to three of my nine novels. Having worked on Parliament Hill and stalked the corridors and backrooms of Centre Block, my time in Ottawa was absolutely essential to my development as a writer. In short, events of national and sometimes international consequence unfold in this special city. I’ll never forget my time in Ottawa and always look forward to returning.
Q: Have any of your projects responded directly to your engagements here? How had the city and its community, if at all, changed the way you approached your work?
A: As noted earlier, my first three novels would never—and could never—have been written were it not for my memorable time in Ottawa. Those novels could only ever have been set in Ottawa. And they led directly to a 6-part Television miniseries and a stage musical in Vancouver. So I owe the city a debt of gratitude for taking me in for a short time and giving such wonderful experiences, many of which are captured in the lives of my characters.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: My ninth novel, A New Season, will arrive in bookstores on August 29th. It’s a bit of a departure from the more comic novels already behind me. And I will be appearing at the Ottawa International Writers Festival in late October talking about the new novel. I have already started working on my tenth novel.
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