David Adams Richards, CM, ONB is a Canadian novelist, essayist, screenwriter and poet. Born in Newcastle, New Brunswick, Richards left St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick, three credits shy of completing a BA. Richards has been a writer-in-residence at various universities and colleges across Canada, including the University of New Brunswick. He is currently the Artist in Residence at St. Thomas University. Richards has received numerous awards including 2 Gemini Awards for scriptwriting for Small Gifts and "For Those Who Hunt The Wounded Down", the Alden Nowlan Award for Excellence in the Arts, and the Canadian Authors Association Award for his novel Evening Snow Will Bring Such Peace. Richards is one of only three writers to have won in both the fiction and non-fiction categories of the Governor General's Award. He won the 1988 fiction award for Nights Below Station Street and the 1998 non-fiction award for Lines on the Water: A Fisherman's Life on the Miramichi. He was also a co-winner of the 2000 Giller Prize for Mercy Among the Children. [More at Wikipedia]

October 17th, 1950 in Newcastle, New Brunswick (Age 74)