John Firth
John Firth was born in Edmonton, Alberta and was adopted into the Yukon family. His book, River Time: Racing the Ghosts of the Klondike Gold Rush (2004) traces the route that his grandfather, Thomas Firth, travelled from Dyea, Alaska to Dawson, Yukon.1)
He grew up in Dawson and Whitehorse and graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1976. He attended the Rotman School of Management and Sauder School of Business in 2010. He worked as a journalist, expediter, prospector, public relations director, motion picture theatre owner, and financial advisor before retiring in 2009 to become a full-time writer.2) He was a marathon runner for thirty-five years and was founding president of the Yukon River Marathon Paddling Association.3)
In 1997, John received the Yukon Commissioner’s Award for his community work. John sits on the Whitehorse Hospital Board of Trustees and the Yukon Heritage Resources Board. His book, One Mush: Jamaica’s Dogsled Team (2010), was a finalist for the 2011 International Book Awards, and shortlisted for the Writer’s Digest Best Self-Published Book Award in 2011.4) His publications include: Yukon Challenge (1990), River Time: Racing the Ghosts of the Klondike Gold Rush (2004), Yukon Quest: The 1000-Mile Dog Sled Race Through the Yukon and Alaska (2005), Better Than A Cure: One Man's Journey to Free the World of Polio (2010), One Mush: Jamaica’s Dogsled Team (2010), Yukon Sport: An Illustrated Encyclopaedia (2014); The Caribou Hotel: Hauntings, hospitality, a hunter, and the parrot (2019) and North Star: The legacy of Jean-Marie Mouchet (2024).
In January 2024, John Firth was appointed the new Yukon story laurate. In the two-year position Firth will represent the literary acts, storytelling, and literacy, with a focus on past and present conditions and future aspects of the Yukon.5)