Harley
Rustad
Harley Rustad is a journalist, author, and features editor at The Walrus magazine. His first book, Big Lonely Doug: The Story of One of Canada’s Last Great Trees, was a 2018 finalist for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. His second book is Lost in the Valley of Death: A Story of Obsession and Danger in the Himalayas. His writing has been published by Outside, The Globe and Mail, Geographical, The Guardian, and CNN. He is a faculty editor at the Banff Centre’s mountain and wilderness writing residency and the founder of the Port Renfrew Writers’ Retreat. Originally from Salt Spring Island, BC, Rustad lives in Toronto.
Videos
Harley Rustad on his award-nominated book “Big Lonely Doug”
Award History
2018 Finalist
Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writingfor Big Lonely Doug: The Story of One of Canada’s Last Great Trees
Jury Citation
"In the face of global ecological chaos, how much does one tree matter? For Harley Rustad, one in particular — a 20-storey Douglas fir standing on Vancouver Island — matters enough to make it the star of a brilliant story about the challenges, losses, and triumphs of conservation today. Rustad is a careful reporter and an excellent storyteller, combining these skills to weave together the ecology of British Columbia and the politics of contemporary environmentalism into a single engaging narrative about Big Lonely Doug, one of Canada’s last great trees."
— 2018 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing Jury (André Picard, Angela Sterritt, and Chris Turner)
