Biography

Kevin Major was born in Stephenville, Newfoundland on September 12, 1949, five months after Newfoundland entered into confederation with Canada. Major grew up in Stephenville before moving to St. John’s to attend Memorial University, where he studied pre-med. Though Major was accepted into medical school, he felt the urge to travel was more pressing and spent a few years exploring the Caribbean and Europe. Upon his return to Newfoundland, he pursued teacher certification at Memorial University. After teaching in several small towns in rural Newfoundland, Major discovered the relative lack of Newfoundland content in the province’s English curriculum. As a result, Major edited Dorylands: Newfoundland Writings and Art, Selected and Edited for Young People (1974). Major’s own writing career, however, gathered steam in 1978 when he published his first novel, Hold Fast, to critical acclaim. This novel for young adults won the Governor General’s Children’s Literature Award, the Canadian Library Associations Book of the Year Award as well as the Ruth Schwartz Award. Major, at this point, had given up teaching to concentrate fully on writing. Major has published a number of other young adult novels as well as books for adults and has been the writer-in-residence at Memorial University. His books have been adapted into plays and published in several languages.

Bibliography

  • ed. Doryloads: Newfoundland Writings and Art, Selected and Edited for Young People. Portugal Cove: Breakwater, 1974.
  • Hold Fast. Toronto: Clark, Irwin, 1978.
  • Far From Shore. Toronto: Clark, Irwin, 1980.
  • Terra Nova National Park: Human History Study. with James Tuck. Ottawa: Environment Canada, 1983.
  • Thirty-Six Exposures. Toronto: Doubleday, 1984.
  • Dear Bruce Springsteen: A Novel. Toronto: Doubleday, 1987.
  • Blood Red Ochre. Toronto: Doubleday, 1989.
  • Eating Between The Lines. Toronto: Doubleday, 1991.
  • Diana: My Autobiography. Toronto: Doubleday, 1993.
  • No Man’s Land. Toronto: Doubleday, 1995.
  • The House of the Wooden Santas. with Ned Pratt and Imelda George. Red Deer: Red Deer College, 1997.
  • Gaffer: A Novel of Newfoundland. Toronto: Doubleday, 1997.
  • Free the Children. with Craig Kielburger. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1998.
  • Gros Morne Timelines. with Anne Meredith Barry and Tara Bryan. Flatrock: Walking Bird Press, 2000.
  • Eh? to Zed: A Canadian Abcedarium. with Alan Daniel. Calgary: Red Deer Press, 2000.
  • As Near to Heaven by Sea: A History of Newfoundland and Labrador. Toronto: Viking, 2001.
  • Ann and Seamus. with David Blackwood. Toronto: Douglas and McIntyre, 2003.
  • No Man’s Land: A Play. St. John’s: Pennywell, 2005.
  • Aunt Olga’s Christmas Postcards. with Bruce Roberts. Toronto: Groundwood, 2005.
  • New Under the Sun. Toronto: Cormorant, 2010.
Selected Overviews
Hold Fast
No Man's Land

Click on selected overview to read...

Critical Sources

  • Brown, Lloyd. “Kevin Major: Newfoundland’s Problem Novelist.” Canadian Children’s Literature 68 (1992): 23.
  • Kealy, J. Kieran. “Kevin Major.” Canadian Writers Since 1960: Second Series. ed. W. H. New. Detroit: Thomas Gale, 1987. 206-8.
  • Burke, Anne. Rev. of No Man’s Land: A Play by Kevin Major. Resource Links 11.3 (2006): 47-8.
  • Donald, Bridget. Rev. of Eh? to Zed: A Canadian Abecedarium by Kevin Major. Quill & Quire 67.1 (2001): 34.
  • Guy, Ray. “Giving History Back to The People.” Rev. of As Near to Heaven By Sea: A History of Newfoundland and Labrador by Kevin Major. Canadian Geographic 121.6 (2001): 92.
  • Hanke, Jennifer. Rev. of Far From Shore by Kevin Major. Resource Links 10.3 (2005): 38-9.
  • Heti, Sheila. Rev. of Gaffer: A Novel of Newfoundland by Kevin Major. Quill & Quire 63.7 (1997): 45.
  • Jobe, Ronald. “Canadian Connections – Eating Between the Lines by Kevin Major.” Rev. of Eating Between the Lines by Kevin Major. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 39.4 (1995): 343.
  • “Canadian Connections – No Man’s Land by Kevin Major.” Rev. of No Man’s Land by Kevin Major. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 39.6 (1996): 522-23.
  • Jones, Raymond E. “Local Color, Universal Problems: The Novels of Kevin Major.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly 10.3 (1985): 140-41.
  • Kropp, Paul. Rev. of The House of Wooden Santas by Kevin Major. Quill & Quire 63.10 (1997): 40.
  • O’Flaherty, Patrick. “Too Early for a Popular Newfoundland History.” Rev. of As Near to Heaven By Sea: A History of Newfoundland and Labrador by Kevin Major. National Post. Don Mills: Aug. 18, 2001. B9.
  • Parravano, Martha V. Rev. of Ann and Seamus by Kevin Major. The Horn Book Magazine 80.2 (2004): 193-4.
  • Parrott, Denise. Rev. of Aunt Olga’s Christmas Postcards by Kevin Major. Resource Links 11.1 (2005): 6.
  • Reimer, Mavis. “Compositions.” Rev. of Eh? to Zed: A Canadian Abecedarium by Kevin Major, Stormy Night by Michele Lemieux and The Composition by Antonio Skarmeta. Canadian Literature 180 (2004): 160-2.
  • Rev. of No Man’s Land by Kevin Major. Books in Canada 25.5 (1996): 15.
  • Rothbauer, Paulette M. “Kevin Major's Hold Fast and the Critical Reception of a Milestone Novel for Young Adults.” Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures 4.2 (2012): 15-41.
  • Sanderson, Heather. “Riding the Waves Ashore.” Rev. of Gaffer: A Novel of Newfoundland by Kevin Major, Rum River: Stories by Raymond Fraser, Dance the Rocks Ashore by Lesley Choyce and Trapdoor to Heaven by Lesley Choyce. Canadian Literature 160 (1999): 171-74.
  • Tarc, Aparna Misha. Rev. of Ann and Seamus by Kevin Major. Childhood Education 81.1 (2004): 47.