Our Team

John Burns,
President

I help interesting people tell stories that can take the form of books, magazines, movies, websites or — who knows? — scavenger hunts and parades (I’m especially open to brand storytelling through parades).

Favourite book
How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

Six-word memoir
Apparently, it all led to this …

Chops

Editor (including editor-in-chief), Vancouver magazine, 2008–2015; editor (including managing editor), Georgia Straight, 1997–2007
Judge, including British Columbia’s National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction (2017); Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize (2010); EVENT magazine non-fiction (2009); National Magazine Awards (2008–present); Western Magazine Awards (2007–2013); Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize (2005)
Instructor (including permanent faculty), Capilano University (2009–2011); Kwantlen Polytechnic University (2008); Simon Fraser University (2005)
Author, Runnerland (Raincoast Books, 2007); The Urban Picnic (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2005)

Recent posts
“How Reading Can Make You a Better Writer”
“How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Storytelling”
“Why Would Someone Write a Memoir?”
“The Business Case for Honest Storytelling”

Recent appearances