Edward Kay

Welcome to the first entry of my blogsite, which will carry news on my latest writing projects as well as musings and the occasional rant. You can also click on those tabs above to read my bio, CV, and find contacts for my television and literary agents both in Canada and the United States.

I’m currently in Bisbee, a funky former mining town in southern Arizona, working with my sister, Bev Wigney, who is kindly constructing this site for me. She’s an amazing nature photographer as well, so we’re putting our heads together over the next few days to develop some children’s books that could combine educational-yet-humorous text with her brilliant photos.

All in all, it was worth the 8-hour trip getting here, especially as it’s 16 degrees and sunny, in contrast to what I’m told is a Toronto that is rapidly taking on the characteristics of a FreeziePop, minus the handy plastic wrapper and red dye #2. Fortunately, the locals tell me it’s still cool enough in Bisbee that the tarantulas and scorpions are remaining underground. I hope they know what they’re talking about. Or that if they don’t, that they at least have the appropriate anti-venoms on hand.

I’m also working on the third draft of my novel, STAR Academy, which is being released this coming September 15th by Random House/Doubleday. I must keep mum about the details, but it’s a middle-grade novel (a publishing industry reference to the readers’ ages, not the quality of my book!) It combines action, adventure, science, and a big dose of social/political satire. If you’re familiar with my political humour on television programs such as This Hour Has 22 Minutes, you might wonder why I’ve tackled a children’s novel in the first place. My answer is that growing up, the stories that entertained me and influenced me the most were clever satires with multiple layers of meaning so that they could be enjoyed by both children and adults. As a child, I loved Gulliver’s Travels and laughed at the idiocy of the Lilliputians and the Blephescuans going to war over their irreconcilable differences about which end of an egg to crack. Little did I know at the time that is was Jonathan Swift’s sly reference to the English and the French slaughtering each over the doctrinal differences of Protestantism versus Catholicism. So if with Special Ed, I can entertain children, make them happy, confident, full of laughter, and too wily to get sucked into sub-prime mortgage fiascos, I will consider my efforts to have been a success. Especially if I persuade them to break their eggs at the small end.

In a more adult vein (unless you watch Question Period) I am gearing up to write the forthcoming Canadian Broadcasting Corporation special, Canada’s Next Great Prime Minister. Former Prime Ministers Paul Martin, Brian Mulroney, Joe Clark and Kim Campbell will be on hand to help assess the fresh blood and offer kudos or brickbats as required. This year, the producers have outdone themselves and managed to land one of Canada’s most famous exports to the United States, Emmy Award-winning Jeopardy! quizzmaster Alex Trebek, to host. Mr. Trebek is an extremely fastidious researcher, and I can hardly wait to get started writing for him.

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