Ronald Mackay’s first book tells of life in an isolated village in Tenerife, one of the CanaryIslands, in the early 1960s. His second, recounts his exploits during the two years he worked in Romania under the regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu. In 2024, he published “Windows on My Worlds”, a collection of 31 short stories. They cover seven decades and are set in many countries. In these, Ronald tries to capture tiny insights into the joys and the heartbreaks of everyday life. Recently, he put aside a draft of a Cold War novel to prepare, in Spanish, stories that take place in Spanish-speaking countries. He’ll launch this new book in Tenerife in 2026, to coincide with his being embraced as “adoptive son” of the Municipality of Buenavista del Norte.
radio series
Sharon Stevens
Our guest this week is Sharon Stevens. Sharon was born in Buffalo New York. Her first jobs were teaching high school English. But one day in 1968 she discovered Niagara on the Lake and realized that Canada was where she belonged. She entered a new career when she and a friend opened a restaurant across from the original Shaw Festival Theatre which was very successful. However problems arose, so she moved to Toronto. There she studied business administration at Ryerson (Toronto Metropolitan University) and found time to hitch-hike with her sister across Canada. After graduating she was hired by General Foods to manage one of their Crock and Block restaurants. But later the chain was purchased by the Keg company and Sharon left to set up yet another independent business.
She and her partner Rene bought a house in Trenton living there for 30 years. They loved to travel, visiting Portugal, all the eastern provinces of Canada and the Magdelene Islands among other places. After Rene died in 2014, Sharon sold the house and moved to Cobourg where she had friends. She soon settled in, participating in classes on memoir writing and joining and performing with local choirs. Music has always been an important part of her life.
Lois Gordon
This is the last of our August holiday encore presentations. We hope you enjoy it. Lois Gordon is a writer and editor. She has published several humorous essays in anthologies and articles which have appeared in lifestyle magazines. Her second mystery novel, “Death at Iron House Lodge”, was shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis “Best Unpublished Novel” award in 2016, and several essays have won awards. Currently, she works part-time as an editor for a digital marketing company. Lois wrote her first stage play four years ago for a community theatre in Ancaster, Ontario. The new experience rekindled her passion for writing and she has since written three more scripts for the amateur acting company. Since moving to Northumberland three years ago, Lois has volunteered with community theatre and the Northumberland Festival of the Arts, hoping to become more fully involved with the vibrant arts scene in the county.
Richard Pope
This week we welcome Richard Pope. Richard was born in Toronto and lived and birded there until 2006. He is a retired professor of Russian literature and culture. Richard is a long-standing member of the Toronto Ornithological Club, The Ontario Field Ornithologists, and the Willow Beach Field Naturalists. He is the author of a number of books about birds and their relationship to humans. He and his wife, Felicity, live and bird in Cobourg, Ontario. in Cobourg, Ontario.
Mark Whitney
Mark Whitney grew up and attended high school in Kitchener and Milton Ontario. After earning a diploma from Sheridan College, he attended night school for an additional seven years, finally earning his accountancy credentials in 1994, solidifying his career in the financial services sector. After 30 odd year of office drudgery, he retired in 2019 and pursued an ambition that he had harboured for decades. He wanted to write. His wife of twenty-one years, Joanne Brooks, introduced him to Northumberland County twenty-five years ago. The scenery and the history of the region has been an inspiration for his writing, providing the backdrop for three of his four books.
Antony Di Nardo
Antony Di Nardo has written nine books of poetry. His award-winning work appears widely in journals and anthologies across Canada and internationally and has been translated into several languages. His long poem suite May June July was winner of the Gwendolyn MacEwen Poetry Prize for 2017 and was short-listed for a National Magazine Award. He is an active member of the League of Canadian Poets and the Cobourg Poetry Workshop. The winner of the inaugural Don Gutteridge Poetry Award, Through Yonder Window Breaks was published by Wet Ink Books. Antony’s present project is his collection Cloudspotting which he will present with his insights into the work of Antonio Damasio at the Accenti Festival of the Arts hosted by the University of PEI in Charlottetown this coming June.
Marie Prins
Marie Prins is the author of a middle-grade, time-travel book THE GIRL FROM THE ATTIC, published in 2020 from Common Deer Press. Her picture book WHO’S WALKING DAWG? was launched from Red Deer Press on October 15, 2024. Her short stories for children, memoir, nature pieces, and poetry can be found in the Hill Spirits Anthologies II – VI. She lives with her artist husband Ed Hagedorn in a historic, octagonal house in Colborne, Ontario.
Terry Fallis
This week we talk with Terry Fallis about his new work.
And here’s Terry’s “Really Short Bio”
Terry Fallis is a two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, he is the award-winning author of nine national bestsellers, six of them #1 bestsellers, including his latest, A New Season. His debut novel, The Best Laid Plans, won the 2008 Leacock Medal, the 2011 edition of CBC Canada Reads, and was adapted as a six-part television miniseries, as well as a stage musical. He won the Leacock Medal a second time in 2015 for No Relation. He lives in Toronto and teaches in the creative writing program at the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies.
Donna Wootton
This is an encore presentation from last summer, when we talked with Donna Wootton. Donna is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers. She is a member of TWUC (The Writers Union of Canada), PEN International, and SOTH (Spirit of the Hills – Northumberland). Her book about her late father, who was a charter inductee in Canada’s Lacrosse Hall of Fame, is called MOON REMEMBERED. It was published in 2009 and is archived in Trent University’s Library. Most recently her poetry was published in The Divinity of Blue (a collection from CCLA-Canada Cuba Literary Alliance), The Beauty of Being Elsewhere (a travel anthology), and Musings from the Heliconian Club. Her novels include Leaving Paradise (2008), What Maisie Missed (2018) and Isadora’s Dance(2021). Now her new novel The Age of Privilege is being released by AOS Press.
Ted Staunton
This week we welcome Ted Staunton. He is the author of nearly fifty books for young people, from toddlers to teens (though adults are allowed to read them too). His most recent book, the graphic novel The Good Fight, about the infamous riot at Christie Pits in 1933, was listed for the City of Toronto Book Award. Ted keeps up a busy schedule visiting with students around Ontario as well as teaching creative writing at George Brown College. His new novel, Comic Shift, will be published by Scholastic Canada in 2025.
Word on the Hills Radio Program 