There are facts, there is fiction, and then there is truth. That’s where these stories land — upright and on both feet. These sharply focused stories are confident, engaging and wise. You won’t want to miss a word. Lisa Bird-Wilson, Just Pretending
Boy Lost in Wild is a collection of loosely-connected stories set in the dying days of a Winnipeg August.
A few of the stories have been published before in journals or anthologies (the title story got me my first “prestige” publication in the Malahat Review, and “Back Lane Lullaby” won a minor award that meant a great deal to me at the time). But most were written for the collection.
Inspiration
The stories were inspired by all kinds of things – a coming-of-age trip to Russia and Ukraine right after the Berlin Wall fell that still feels like yesterday; finding out my great-grandmother had been active member of the Ukrainian Labour Temple; a personal experience with the ins and outs of Chinese adoption.
But really, these stories are about a certain place, at a certain point in time, and the people who breathe life into the tale.
And I guess more than anything, it’s my day job in the not-for-profit sector that has allowed me to remain steeped in the shifting cultural mosaic of this big-small-town I call home.
My stories are never autobiographical (god help us). They are usually an attempt to explore something that has disturbed me, or moved me.
From our founding peoples to our newest citizens, I’ve been privileged to meet people from all walks of life who ignite my desire to understand.
Click to view or download the Teacher’s Guide for Boy Lost in Wild.
Writer in the Middle 
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