Every great story begins with curiosity: just ask Ian Brown. As one of Canada’s leading writers and storytellers, Ian has been satisfying his curiosity by asking questions both important and whimsical for over forty years. His journey began at the Financial Post, where he worked as a business reporter, before moving on to write for Maclean’s and, today, for the Globe and Mail as a feature writer. In fact, Ian has seen storytelling from almost every side of the profession. Ian has launched a publishing company and hosted TV and radio shows. He’s launched an online magazine and chaired a literary journalism program. He is the author of numerous books and has received numerous honours for his work, including winning national newspaper and magazine awards, and receiving the Charles Taylor Prize, the BC National Award and the Trillium Prize.
Though rushing to meet a deadline, Ian took the time to join us in conversation in the hustle of the Globe and Mail’s newsroom to discuss stories, curiosity, nature and the history of mistletoe.
What do you think?
- What did you learn from Ian’s story?
- How can we take mundane research and make it interesting?
- How can we ask better questions and package the answers with context and opinion?
- How do you think we should build an audience for important nature research and the complex perspectives that exist in our society?
- Do we need more Ian Brown’s to bring forward different, obscure ideas and perspectives?
- How can we make good storytelling upworthy?
- How will you tell and share the important stories our world must know?
More on Ian
Read his articles: The Globe and Mail
Read his books: Good Reads Books List