Write on Bowen – Only a few more days!

There’s still time to register for some amazing writing workshops!

But they are filling up quickly. Follow this link to sign up!

Bowen Writer’s Festival 2023

Register Bowen

Hangman Review, Vancouver Sun,

It’s always wonderful for me, as a writer to see a great review, and I am pleased with this one in the Vancouver Sun.

Those attending my workshop on Bowen, might find this interesting. I worked hard to create a complex character for this book. Radclive, my hangman is strangely likeable, despite his gruesome profession. People, on and off the page, are complicated!

Click here to see the full review!

Let’s Talk About Characters!

Write on Bowen with Me! Registration Open

Workshop 1B: How to Bring Characters Alive in Fiction, Non-Fiction and Memoir with Julie Burtinshaw

Time & Location

Sep 16, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Bowen Island, 439 Bowen Island Trunk Rd, Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G0, Canada

Register here, for this interactive, and stress-free workshop in creating believable characters. Together we will write on one the world’s most treasured islands, just minutes from Vancouver.

Arbutus Trees on Bowen Island peering out to sea

I’m excited to be participating the Write on Bowen!

The Toronto History Weekly

Enjoy this recording of my talk with historian Adam Bunch and find out about my creative non-fiction novel, Hangman: the true story of Canada’s first official executioner

Hello Nanaimo! Hope to see you tonight at the Portfolio Reading Series, where I’ll be presenting my latest book:

Explore a Dark Part of Canada’s History: Hangman

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Vancouver author’s new book explores a dark aspect of Canadian history

Halloween has become a light-hearted celebration of all things ghoulish. But as late as 1910, members of the public, including children, entertained themselves by attending real hangings.  

New Westminster, BC (October 21, 2022) – Hangman: The true story of Canada’s first official executioner, from Vancouver author Julie Burtinshaw, examines capital punishment in Canada through the lens of John Radclive, a notorious figure who both fascinated and repelled citizens across the country.

A former British sailor, Radclive was appointed Canada’s first official executioner in 1892, a position he held until his death in 1911. In BC, he executed criminals in Victoria, New Westminster, Kamloops and Nelson. Over the course of his career, Radclive worked tirelessly to bring mercy and dignity to the condemned. He was an outspoken critic of selling tickets – a lucrative and widespread practice that resulted in several riots – and eventually succeeded in establishing private, indoor hangings. A family man, Radclive was also a bombastic figure who enjoyed being a public figure, never wore a mask, refused to apologize for his profession and delighted in pointing out the hypocrisy of the elites. He eventually came to oppose capital punishment and died of cirrhosis, abandoned by friends and family.

Julie Burtinshaw is the award-winning author of seven books for young adults and teens and is an active participant in the local writing community, having served as a judge for the BC Book Awards and Red Cedar and mentored many emerging writers. Hangman is her first work of creative non-fiction, published by New Westminster-based Tidewater Press.

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FOR INTERVIEW REQUESTS:

Please contact the author directly at jburtinshaw@gmail.com or by phone at 604-785-8004.

FOR REVIEW COPIES:

Please contact the publisher at info@tidewaterpress.ca.

Hangman Demands Attention ~ Vancouver Sun Review

This morning, my dog and I went for a long walk breathing in the sweet smell that comes with rain. I didn’t think my day could get any better, until, post walk, with a coffee and a warm fire, I discovered a review of Hangman, The true story of Canada’s first official executioner,

in the Saturday Vancouver Sun. All writers fear that their book won’t get reviewed. All of us also fear our book won’t get reviewed, so I took a few deep breaths and read it.

I can say now, it was a positive review and one I can be proud of. Phew. Perfect Saturday!

You can read it here.

ABC Bookworld Biography: Me

I loved that this popped up, but have to admit, I don’t think I look like this anymore!

Julie Burtinshaw a few years back

Still, I’m very grateful they for the mention of my books, especially the new one, soon to be in bookstores everywhere!

Burtinshaw’s first creative non-fiction novel, Hangman: The true story of Canada’s first official executioner (Tidewater, 2022) tells the story of John Robert Radclive. After immigrating to Canada in 1890, Radclive became the country’s first professional hangman in 1892. He proved to be a reluctant hangman and took on the job to ensure that death came quickly to convicts sentenced to hang. In Birtinshaw’s story, Radclive comes to question the Canadian justice system and his role within it. From publicity: “Based on extensive historical research and contemporaneous newspaper accounts, Hangman recaps the history of capital punishment in Canada and the ambivalence of public attitudes toward it through a highly personal lens.”

My first non-fiction book arriving soon.

Twenty-two years following my first book and the thrill of a finished novel remains.