Mattie Mitchell (23 page)

GARY COLLINS
was born
in a small, two-storey house by the sea in
the town of Hare Bay, Bonavista North. He
finished school at Brown Memorial High
in the same town. He spent forty years
in the logging and sawmilling business
with his father, Theophilus, and son Clint.
Gary was once Newfoundland's youngest
fisheries guardian. He managed log drives
down spring rivers for years, spent seven
seasons driving tractor-trailers over ice roads and the Beaufort Sea of
Canada's Western Arctic, and has been involved in the crab, lobster, and cod
commercial fisheries.

His writing career began when he was asked to write eulogies for deceased
friends and family. He spent a full summer employed as a prospector before
he wrote
Soulis Joe's Lost Mine
; he liked the work so much, he went back to
school to earn his prospecting certificate. A critically acclaimed author, he
has written a total of six books, including
Cabot Island
,
The Last Farewell
,
Soulis Joe's Lost Mine
,
Where Eagles Lie Fallen
, and the children's illustrated
book
What Colour is the Ocean?
, which he co-wrote with his granddaughter,
Maggie Rose Parsons. The latter won an Atlantic Book Award: The Lillian
Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration.

Gary Collins is Newfoundland and Labrador's favourite storyteller, and
today he is known all over the province as “The Story Man.” His favourite
pastimes are reading and writing, and playing guitar at his log cabin. He lives
in Hare Bay, Newfoundland, with his wife, the former Rose Gill. They have
three children and three grandchildren.

Gary Collins can be reached by email at
[email protected]
.

The official Gary Collins website is
www.garycollins.ca
.