Silver Donald Cameron

Silver Donald Cameron C.M., ONS, Ph.D., D.C.L., D.Litt. (born June 21, 1937) is a prolific and highly acclaimed Canadian journalist, author, playwright and university teacher whose writing focuses on social justice, nature and the environment. His 15 books of non-fiction deal with everything from history and politics to education and community development. An avid sailor, Cameron has written several books about ships and the sea. He is the author of a young-adult novel and a thriller, both set in Nova Scotia where he has lived for more than 40 years. Two of his books, The Education of Everett Richardson (1977) and The Living Beach (1998) are included in Atlantic Canada's 100 Greatest Books.

Cameron's only stage play, The Prophet at Tantramar, is about Leon Trotsky's month-long confinement in a prisoner-of-war camp in Amherst, Nova Scotia. That play was also produced as a radio drama, one of more than 50 Cameron wrote for both CBC Radio and CBC Television. In addition, he has produced radio and television documentaries. His magazine articles number in the hundreds and his newspaper columns have appeared in the Globe and Mail and the Halifax Chronicle Herald. He has also written extensively for provincial and federal government departments as well as for corporate and non-profit clients. Cameron's latest project involves a series of in-depth interviews with environmental thinkers, writers and activists that appear as videos on a subscription website called The Green Interview. Interviewees include Vandana Shiva, Farley Mowat, James Lovelock, Jane Goodall and David Orton. Cameron has also written and narrated two documentary films for The Green Interview, Bhutan: The Pursuit of Gross National Happiness (2010) and Salmon Wars: Salmon Farms, Wild Fish and the Future of Communities (2012).

Cameron has served as Writer-in-Residence at two universities in Nova Scotia as well as at the University of Prince Edward Island. He was Dean of the School of Community Studies at Cape Breton University and has taught at Dalhousie University, the University of British Columbia and the University of New Brunswick. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of London.

His writing and journalism have earned him numerous awards including the Evelyn Richardson Award, the Atlantic Provinces Booksellers Award and the City of Dartmouth Book Award. One of his television dramas won a Best Short Film award and he has earned four National Magazine Awards as well as two awards for his corporate writing. In 2012, Cameron received both the Order of Canada and the Order of Nova Scotia. He is married to the writer, Marjorie Simmins and is the father of five adult children from two previous marriages. He divides his time between Halifax and D'Escousse, Cape Breton.