Join us Sunday, May 17, from 1 – 4pm and meet Fred Stenson, local author of prize-winning historical fiction.
Fred will read from his newest book “Who by Fire” at 1:00, and following the reading will be available for signing books.
Fred Stenson writes in several genres, including fiction, non-fiction and film. His most recent novel, Who By Fire, was published in 2014. It is the story that many people can relate to – of a southern Alberta farm family who suddenly have a dangerous gas plant on their doorstep. The only son in this family pursues a career in the oil industry, a career that ends in the present day Alberta oil sands. It is a story of community and industry, and the tragedy of lives lived too close to industry’s fire. But it is also a novel about loyalty: what loyalty means in a family, a community, a corporation, a country—or in the tormented mind of one individual who feels he has betrayed his own.
Born in Pincher Creek, Fred knows southern Alberta. He was raised in ranching country near Twin Butte, AB, and attended school in Pincher Creek. And he has a BA from the University of Calgary.
Stenson’s has written a popular trilogywas the first of a trilogy of novels set in the 19th century Canadian west. The Trade (2000), is a richly imagined recreation of the fur trade in western North America. It was the first of a trilogy of novels set in the 19th century Canadian west. The second of these novels, Lightning (2003), featured the cattle frontiers of Alberta and Montana. Both The Trade and Lightning won the Grant MacEwan’s Author’s Prize. The Trade was a finalist for the prestigious GILLER Prize and was nominated for the IMPAC Dublin Award. The final novel in this historical trilogy is The Great Karoo, in which western Canadian cowboys sought an end-of-century adventure in South Africa’s Boer War. In his three historical novels, The Trade, Lightning and The Great Karoo, Stenson’s simultaneously mythologizes and demythologizes the West. He focuses on the lives of ordinary people, the fringe players of history, leaving the larger legends, big ranchers and political personalities to others.
About Bluerock Gallery
Bluerock Gallery is located in the heart of Black Diamond (across from The Black Diamond Hotel), Alberta and specializes in local fine arts and craft. Please come by and take in our wide selection of local art and pottery, gift cards, jewellery and inspiring books. Open 10am to 6pm every day, year round, including holidays. Closed December 25.