Firth, John 1953- (John V. Firth)

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Firth, John 1953- (John V. Firth)

PERSONAL:

Born March 5, 1953, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; son of Howard (an insurance agent) and Nancy (a homemaker) Firth; married Dawn Diamond (a nurse); children: Erin Jacobs. Ethnicity: "Canadian." Education: University of British Columbia, B.F.A., 1976. Hobbies and other interests: Running.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Freelance journalist in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, 1977-84; financial advisor, Whitehorse, 1985—. Chair, Yukon Quest International, 1995-97, and Yukon Foundation, 2000—.

MEMBER:

Writers' Union of Canada, Advocis.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Commissioner's Award, Government of Yukon, 1999, for preservation of Yukon history.

WRITINGS:

Yukon Quest: The 1,000-Mile Dog Sled Race through the Yukon and Alaska, Lost Moose Publishing (Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada), 1998.

River Time: Racing the Ghosts of the Klondike Rush, NeWest Press (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), 2004.

Contributor to books, including "The Colorful Five Percent" (booklet), edited by Jim Robb, 1984; and Fulda Yukon Quest: The Toughest Race on Earth (bilingual in German and English), Societätsverlag (Frankfurt, Germany), 1999. Author of a monthly column for the Whitehorse Star. Contributor to magazines, including Field and Stream and Up Here.

SIDELIGHTS:

John Firth told CA: "I grew up in Dawson City and the Klondike gold fields. I am fascinated with history and the people who made it. I take three to four years to research each subject before writing a book; thus, it takes me five to six years to produce each work."