Mark Leiren-Young - Writing

Writing

Mark Leiren-Young's first full-time journalism job was at "The Williams Lake Tribune," a small newspaper in Williams Lake, British Columbia. Twenty years later, he turned these experiences into a comic memoir, Never Shoot A Stampede Queen, which won the 2009 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour.

His news and feature writing, humour pieces, reviews, and columns have appeared in a host of publications in Canada and the U.S., including Time, Maclean's and The Utne Reader. He's a contributor to The Georgia Straight, where he has written since the mid-1980s. He has covered the Toronto International Film Festival for the Georgia Straight for the past ten years. His celebrity interviews can be found at the Georgia Straight Online, and include such A-Listers as Emily Blunt, Michael Cera, and Terry Gilliam.

Mark is a passionate environmentalist. As a columnist and podcaster for Vancouver's independent online news site The Tyee, he often addresses issues facing British Columbia's old growth forests. His Tyee interviews provided the content for his 2009 book, "The Green Chain: Nothing Is Ever Clear Cut," which examines the logging industry. Described by The National Post as “Canada’s go to guy for dolphins, whales and trees,” Mark has also been dubbed "Canada’s greenest writer." Many of his projects feature a green theme, such as his award winning short film, The Green Film, and his feature-length movie, "The Green Chain," which has won awards internationally at film festivals. As one half of the comedy duo, "Local Anxiety" with Kevin Crofton, he released the 2009 CD "Greenpieces," and cuts from the satirical album are often featured on CBC Radio.

Mark also has extensive television writing credits, with over 100 hours of produced work. His love of comic books inspires his work on a number of animated series, including ReBoot and Beast Wars: Transformers. He also has many credits writing for drama series, and credits include PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal and Blood Ties.

Before writing for T.V., Mark was a widely produced playwright. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre and creative writing from the University of Victoria, and his plays have been produced in Canada, the U.S., Europe and Australia. He has also been translated into French and Danish. He's best known for controversial work such as the teen drama "Basically Good Kids" and "Jim," about the life of Doors frontman Jim Morrison. His mainstage work includes "Articles of Faith" about the Anglican church's internal struggle over the issue of gay marriage, and the award-winning "Shylock," about the tensions surrounding theatre's most famous Jewish character. Shylock has been produced around the world and was published by Anvil Press in 1996.