Phil Dwyer’s asthmatic childhood contributed to a deep love of reading, an encyclopaedic knowledge of British sixties pop (and encyclopaedias), and a healthy distrust for the curvature of normal lives. He was a journalist for 20 years in the UK, working in the magazine industry as a reporter, news editor, editor, and latterly as a publisher. He moved to Canada in 2002 to work on a research project with Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams. That work spawned Tapscott’s The Naked Corporation.
In 2007, after a life-changing heart attack, he decided to focus on his writing. He’s an alumni of the Humber School for Writers and has workshopped short fiction with Alissa York at the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies. His creative writing has been published in Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper, and Canadian Stories, and his journalism has been published in over 15 UK publications (including The Financial Times and The London Times). In 2014, his short story Allergies Stephanie, placed first in the WCDR’s annual short story contest, judged by Sarah Selecky. “Answers Mostly D” was longlisted for the 2016 Carte Blanche Creative Non-Fiction Prize, and “Where the Spine Meets the Head” was longlisted for the 2017 CBC Non-Fiction Prize.
In 2013, he started working with Dr. Larry Librach on a palliative care project, which evolved into Conversations On Dying. He workshopped the first chapter of Conversations On Dying with Charlotte Gill at the Banff Centre for the Arts in the fall of 2013.
He is a member The Writers Union of Canada and The Canadian Authors’ Association, and a former board member of the Writers’ Community of the Durham Region (WCDR).
Conversations On Dying was represented by Trena White at the Transatlantic Agency.
He lives in Toronto with his wife and her legions of imaginary puppies.
Photo by Samantha Vessios (@Vessios).