Tom Henighan – författare

When Hawk’s baseball coach tells him how Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run nearby, the question arises: what happened to the baseball?

Bullies, baseball, and kids who defy the odds. Hawk, a poor, half-Native boy who lives on the street, is eager to go back to school, to play baseball, and to please both his divorced parents. When Mr. Rizzuto, his baseball coach, tells him how the great Babe Ruth, playing on nearby Toronto Island in 1914, hit his first professional home run, the question arises: what happened to the baseball? Did it land in the waters of Lake Ontario and disintegrate over time? Or did someone fish it out?

This is the story of a quest for a lost baseball treasure, and of a boy finding his own family roots and a place in the big city. A lively tale, it shows how kids who seem powerless can work together to take on some of life’s daunting challenges as they deal with schoolroom bullies and street gangs.

When Hawk’s baseball coach tells him how Babe Ruth hit his first professional home run nearby, the question arises: what happened to the baseball?

Bullies, baseball, and kids who defy the odds. Hawk, a poor, half-Native boy who lives on the street, is eager to go back to school, to play baseball, and to please both his divorced parents. When Mr. Rizzuto, his baseball coach, tells him how the great Babe Ruth, playing on nearby Toronto Island in 1914, hit his first professional home run, the question arises: what happened to the baseball? Did it land in the waters of Lake Ontario and disintegrate over time? Or did someone fish it out?

This is the story of a quest for a lost baseball treasure, and of a boy finding his own family roots and a place in the big city. A lively tale, it shows how kids who seem powerless can work together to take on some of life’s daunting challenges as they deal with schoolroom bullies and street gangs.

Fifteen-year-old Rigg, son of Leif Eriksson, loves mystery and adventure. In the early eleventh century, he finds both of these in abundance when his father sails away and leaves him behind in Vinland, the Vikings’ precarious foothold on the wild Newfoundland coast. Soon, rigg makes an amazing discovery. The Vikings aren’t alone in this alien land. But who inhabits it with them? Demons, giants, or another human tribe – one that equals the Norse invaders in skill and bravery?

Short-listed for the 2011 Shamus Awards Deadly nightshade – the poison plant par excellence – and in historic Quebec City at an important scientific conference concerning the genetic manipulation of trees it means murder! Police, RCMP, and a mysterious FBI agent from Washington converge on the scene. But the sharpest eye belongs to Sam Montcalm, a despised "bedroom snooper" from Ottawa whose primary concern is to clear a First Nations activist of the crime. Sam is middle-aged, tough, and sophisticated, yet he’s also a lone wolf who feels displaced nearly everywhere, and his relations with his colleagues, the police – and with women – are always complicated. "You’re a psychic wound without a health card," a friend comments The story moves to its surprising climax as Montcalm follows the trail of murder back to Canada’s capital and into the Gatineau Hills, his deep sense of cynicism about human nature confirmed as he closes in on the killer and struggles to come to terms with himself.

Presenting five titles in the Quest Biography series that profiles prominent figures in Canada’s history. The important Canadian lives detailed here are: firebrand Metis leader Louis Riel; landscape painter James Wilson Morrice; Arctic explorer and ethnologist Vilhjalmur Stefansson; revered novelist Robertson Davies; and the “Father of British Columbia,” James Douglas.

Presenting ten titles in the Quest Biography series that profiles prominent figures in Canada’s history. The important Canadian lives detailed here are: painters Tom Thomson and James Wilson Morrice; explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson; frontiersman Simon Girty; railway baron William C. Van Horne; early politicians George Simpson and James Douglas; revolutionary Metis leader Louis Riel; writer Robertson Davies; and early movie star Mary Pickford.

Short stories about exploring the unknown. Tom Henighan’s numerous works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry include The Maclean’s Companion to Canadian Arts and Culture, The Well of Time, and the YA novel Viking Quest (2001). He lives in Ottawa, and teaches at Carleton University.

Short stories about exploring the unknown. Tom Henighan’s numerous works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry include The Maclean’s Companion to Canadian Arts and Culture, The Well of Time, and the YA novel Viking Quest (2001). He lives in Ottawa, and teaches at Carleton University.

Commended for the 2008 Best Books for Kids and Teens The year is 2099. North America is in chaos, ruined by years of war, terrorism, and ecological destruction. Marauding motorcycle gangs roam the land, while a secret society of mutants who practice devilish rites terrorize the innocent. Young Toby Johnson lives with his father, one of the Old Believers, a religious sect that clings to stern moral values. Although embarrassed by his father’s quaint ways, Toby is horrified when a motorcycle gang attacks their modest homestead. To help the old man, the boy must travel with his dog across the dangerous countryside, a journey on which he is joined by a mysterious black man named Jim White, who seems to be in touch with higher powers and may himself be angel or demon. In the end Toby earns a saving gift for his father and meets Sarah clever, beautiful, and haunted by a demonic past who will change his life forever. A retelling of the biblical Book of Tobit, Demon in My View is a powerful breakthrough novel.

A mysterious white horse, a quirky parrot, a haunted house, an ancient curse, something frightening in the attic… A summer holiday turns into a nightmare when the Mallory family rents a shabby cottage in a remote corner of Ontario’s Rideau Lakes. Seventeen-year-old Chip Mallory and his sixteen-year-old sister Lee are persuaded to go along on "one last family vacation" with their parents before they get caught up in their own lives again.

But when a great storm comes up, and the family moves to an island in the lake, all their technology can’t save them from an encounter with an ancient curse. Chip and Lee are drawn into a complex web of past and present; they struggle to make sense of these ancient mysteries, aided by a visiting anthropologist, a poor backwoods girl, and a beautiful young woman who lives on an island with her reclusive and powerful grandfather.

Short-listed for the 2006 Red Maple Award Tom Blake is a likeable but shy high school student, who fantasizes about adventure, romance, and discovering "portholes" to the past. Little does he know that all are about to come his way. Tom discovers that a local computer company is conditioning his fellow students for what he suspects is some evil purpose. He soon finds himself up against a corrupt organization with an agenda of genetic experimentation. Mercury Man evokes all the excitement of the best scifi, fantasy, and hero myths while never losing touch with ordinary urban contemporary reality.

Fifteen-year-old Rigg, son of Leif Eriksson, loves mystery and adventure. In the early eleventh century, he finds both of these in abundance when his father sails away and leaves him behind in Vinland, the Vikings’ precarious foothold on the wild Newfoundland coast. Soon, rigg makes an amazing discovery. The Vikings aren’t alone in this alien land. But who inhabits it with them? Demons, giants, or another human tribe – one that equals the Norse invaders in skill and bravery?

Short-listed for the 2007 Ottawa Book Award for Fiction When 17-year-old Rigg and his friend Ari hang a marauding wolf in the wilds of medieval Greenland, they get much more than they bargained for: a hint of werewolves, glimpses of human sacrifice to the old Norse gods, and an encounter with a resourceful native girl that changes their lives forever. This adventure brings Rigg and Ari into conflict with Rigg’s grandfather, Erik the Red, the ruler of the Greenland Norse colony, and with his daughter, Freydis, skilled in black magic. Rigg must fight a mysterious warrior known only as Death Watcher and lead a dangerous expedition to rescue his father, Leif Eriksson. Based on history and Viking beliefs and customs, Viking Terror is a striking tale of conflict between young and old, pagan and Christian, Norse settlers and Greenland natives. The skill and courage of Rigg and Ari are pitted against strong and wily adversaries, with the survival of the new Norse colony in Greenland at stake.

Short-listed for the 2006 Red Maple Award Tom Blake is a likeable but shy high school student, who fantasizes about adventure, romance, and discovering "portholes" to the past. Little does he know that all are about to come his way. Tom discovers that a local computer company is conditioning his fellow students for what he suspects is some evil purpose. He soon finds himself up against a corrupt organization with an agenda of genetic experimentation. Mercury Man evokes all the excitement of the best scifi, fantasy, and hero myths while never losing touch with ordinary urban contemporary reality.

Short-listed for the 2007 Ottawa Book Award for Fiction When 17-year-old Rigg and his friend Ari hang a marauding wolf in the wilds of medieval Greenland, they get much more than they bargained for: a hint of werewolves, glimpses of human sacrifice to the old Norse gods, and an encounter with a resourceful native girl that changes their lives forever. This adventure brings Rigg and Ari into conflict with Rigg’s grandfather, Erik the Red, the ruler of the Greenland Norse colony, and with his daughter, Freydis, skilled in black magic. Rigg must fight a mysterious warrior known only as Death Watcher and lead a dangerous expedition to rescue his father, Leif Eriksson. Based on history and Viking beliefs and customs, Viking Terror is a striking tale of conflict between young and old, pagan and Christian, Norse settlers and Greenland natives. The skill and courage of Rigg and Ari are pitted against strong and wily adversaries, with the survival of the new Norse colony in Greenland at stake.

Commended for the 2008 Best Books for Kids and Teens The year is 2099. North America is in chaos, ruined by years of war, terrorism, and ecological destruction. Marauding motorcycle gangs roam the land, while a secret society of mutants who practice devilish rites terrorize the innocent. Young Toby Johnson lives with his father, one of the Old Believers, a religious sect that clings to stern moral values. Although embarrassed by his father’s quaint ways, Toby is horrified when a motorcycle gang attacks their modest homestead. To help the old man, the boy must travel with his dog across the dangerous countryside, a journey on which he is joined by a mysterious black man named Jim White, who seems to be in touch with higher powers and may himself be angel or demon. In the end Toby earns a saving gift for his father and meets Sarah clever, beautiful, and haunted by a demonic past who will change his life forever. A retelling of the biblical Book of Tobit, Demon in My View is a powerful breakthrough novel.

A mysterious white horse, a quirky parrot, a haunted house, an ancient curse, something frightening in the attic… A summer holiday turns into a nightmare when the Mallory family rents a shabby cottage in a remote corner of Ontario’s Rideau Lakes. Seventeen-year-old Chip Mallory and his sixteen-year-old sister Lee are persuaded to go along on "one last family vacation" with their parents before they get caught up in their own lives again.

But when a great storm comes up, and the family moves to an island in the lake, all their technology can’t save them from an encounter with an ancient curse. Chip and Lee are drawn into a complex web of past and present; they struggle to make sense of these ancient mysteries, aided by a visiting anthropologist, a poor backwoods girl, and a beautiful young woman who lives on an island with her reclusive and powerful grandfather.

Born in Manitoba of Icelandic parents, Vilhjalmur Stefansson (1879-1962) became one of Canada’s most famous and controversial Arctic explorers. After graduate studies in anthropology at Harvard University, Stefansson lived with and studied Inuit in the Mackenzie River Delta in the Northwest Territories in the winter of 1906-07. In two subsequent expeditions he completed a major anthropological survey of the Central and Western Arctic coasts and islands of North America; located and lived with the Copper Inuit, a previously unknown group of aboriginal people; and discovered the world’s last major land masses.

During his third and final great Arctic expedition from 1913 to 1918, some of Stefansson’s men perished tragically, an outcome that severely damaged his reputation. Nevertheless, the hardy explorer contributed immensely to knowledge about the Far North, particularly in his championing of the "Friendly Arctic." Part scientist, part showman, Vilhjalmur Stefansson was truly unique among polar adventurers.

Born in Manitoba of Icelandic parents, Vilhjalmur Stefansson (1879-1962) became one of Canada’s most famous and controversial Arctic explorers. After graduate studies in anthropology at Harvard University, Stefansson lived with and studied Inuit in the Mackenzie River Delta in the Northwest Territories in the winter of 1906-07. In two subsequent expeditions he completed a major anthropological survey of the Central and Western Arctic coasts and islands of North America; located and lived with the Copper Inuit, a previously unknown group of aboriginal people; and discovered the world’s last major land masses.

During his third and final great Arctic expedition from 1913 to 1918, some of Stefansson’s men perished tragically, an outcome that severely damaged his reputation. Nevertheless, the hardy explorer contributed immensely to knowledge about the Far North, particularly in his championing of the "Friendly Arctic." Part scientist, part showman, Vilhjalmur Stefansson was truly unique among polar adventurers.

Short-listed for the 2011 Shamus Awards Deadly nightshade – the poison plant par excellence – and in historic Quebec City at an important scientific conference concerning the genetic manipulation of trees it means murder! Police, RCMP, and a mysterious FBI agent from Washington converge on the scene. But the sharpest eye belongs to Sam Montcalm, a despised "bedroom snooper" from Ottawa whose primary concern is to clear a First Nations activist of the crime. Sam is middle-aged, tough, and sophisticated, yet he’s also a lone wolf who feels displaced nearly everywhere, and his relations with his colleagues, the police – and with women – are always complicated. "You’re a psychic wound without a health card," a friend comments The story moves to its surprising climax as Montcalm follows the trail of murder back to Canada’s capital and into the Gatineau Hills, his deep sense of cynicism about human nature confirmed as he closes in on the killer and struggles to come to terms with himself.