"Somebody commissioned to design the perfect writing mentor would probably come back with Fred Stenson. Stenson is wise, funny, and blessedly enthusiastic about the craft of writing. This is a book real writers are going to use, again and again."--Curtis Gillespie, Playing Through and The Progress of an Object in Motion"In Thing Feigned or Imagined, Stenson takes his readers into the workshop of the writer, examining both basic and seldom-considered aspects of the craft of fiction. The result is illuminating: a book that writers of all levels of expertise will cherish."--Merna Summers

Fred Stenson has written sixteen books of fiction and non-fiction. Thing Feigned or Imagined: The Craft in Fiction is based on his experience as a writer of fiction and mentor . His cycle of historical novels, The Trade, Lightning and The Great Karoo have won and been nominated for many awards. The Trade (2000) and Lightning (2003) both won the Grant MacEwan Author’s Prize. The Trade also won the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction and the Edmonton Book Prize, and was nominated for the IMPAC Dublin Award and short-listed for the Giller Prize. The Great Karoo was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award for Fiction in 2008. Stenson has been writer-in-residence at the University of New Brunswick, Grant MacEwan College, Calgary Public Library, the community of Whistler, and many other places. He has directed the Wired Writing Studio at The Banff Centre since 2001 and mentored in its writing studios prior to that. He has been the wit columnist at Alberta Views Magazine for the entire fifteen-year life of the publication. He has also written over 150 films and videos.

Fred Stenson's profile page

"Stenson is the equal of anyone working this ground--his voice is a master's, and Lightning is a commanding novel." --Leif Enger, author of Peace Like A River"With Lightning, [Stenson] becomes Canada's answer to the likes of Larry McMurtry and Cormac McCarthy." --Edmonton Journal"Marvellous characters break free of all fictional constraints, walk straight out of the book and grab you by the cojones." --The Globe and Mail