Thomas King

Thomas King (born April 24, 1943, Roseville, California, U.S.) is a novelist, short story writer, essayist, screenwriter, and photographer who is a Member of the Order of Canada and was nominated for the Governor General’s Awards. He has long been recognized for his contributions to literature exploring Indigenous themes and perspectives in North America, though genealogical research in 2025 revealed he does not have Indigenous ancestry, as he had previously believed.

Early life and education

King was born to a Greek mother, and for much of his life believed his father was part Cherokee, a claim that shaped his personal and literary identity. However, in 2025, genealogical research disproved King’s Indigenous ancestry. He failed his first year of university and took a series of jobs that included craps dealer and bank teller. In 1964, he worked his way across the Pacific on a steamer and found employment in New Zealand and Australia as a photographer and photojournalist. Returning to the United States in 1967, King attended Chico State University (B.A. 1970, M.A. 1972), and later worked as an administrator and teacher at Humboldt State University and the University of Utah, where he received a Ph.D. in 1986.

The move to Canada and early work

King immigrated to Canada in 1980, later accepting a position in Native Studies at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta. It was during this time that he began writing serious fiction. His first novel, Medicine River (1990), received considerable critical praise, and was made into a CBC film. The novel was runner-up for the 1991 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.

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Two of King’s works—A Coyote Columbus Story (1992), a children’s book, and the novel Green Grass, Running Water (1993)—were nominated for a Governor General’s Award, the latter winning the 1994 Canadian Authors Award for fiction. One Good Story, That One (1993) is a collection of ten short stories, including King’s often anthologized “The One about Coyote Going West.” A second children’s book, Coyote Sings to the Moon, appeared in 1998, and the novel Truth and Bright Water was published in 1999.

Into the 21st century

In 2002, King published a detective novel, DreadfulWater Shows Up, under the pseudonym Hartley GoodWeather. Critics and reviewers praise King’s funny and poignant portrayal of the challenges facing indigenous peoples in Canada in the past and today. His characters are strong in the face of oppression and prejudice, but they are also fallible in endearingly humorous ways. In 2004, he published a follow-up to his award-winning Coyote Sings to the Moon, titled Coyote’s New Suit, in which Raven, an iconic figure in many Aboriginal cultures, questions the quality of Coyote’s snazzy brown suit. The short story collection A Short History of Indians in Canada appeared in 2005 and won the 2006 McNally Robinson Aboriginal Book of the Year Award. And in 2006, he published another book as Hartley GoodWeather, The Red Power Murders: A DreadfulWater Mystery.

Nonfiction and other activities

King spent 1993–94 as story editor for Four Directions, a CBC Television dramatic series by and about Aboriginal people. He wrote and starred in the very funny Dead Dog Café Comedy Hour, which aired on CBC Radio in 1997–2000.

King has edited Canadian Aboriginal fiction anthologies, such as All My Relations (1990) and First Voices, First Words (2001), and collections of critical essays such as The Native in Literature (1987). In 2003 King became the first person in Canada believed at the time to be of Aboriginal heritage to deliver the Massey Lectures. His presentation, titled The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative, was later published. In 2012, King was awarded a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America (2012) won the 2014 B.C. National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction as well as the prestigious RBC Taylor Prize.

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Politics

On 30 March 2007, it was announced that King would be the New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate for Guelph, Ontario, as part of the by-election called as a result of Liberal MP Brenda Chamberlain’s resignation. King’s candidacy was endorsed by then NDP leader Jack Layton. The by-election was cancelled when, on 14 October 2008, a federal general election was called. King lost, coming in fourth behind winner Frank Valeriote of the Liberals, Conservative candidate Gloria Kovach, and Green candidate Mike Nagy.

In 2004, King was named a Member of the Order of Canada. He became professor emeritus at the University of Guelph, where he had taught at the School of English and Theatre Studies department.

An earlier version of this entry was published by The Canadian Encyclopedia .