Trent University’s Office of Alumni Affairs and Lady Eaton College have partnered to bring international best-selling author and distinguished alumnus Linwood Barclay back to Trent as the 2013 alumni writer-in-residence.

As alumni writer-in-residence, Linwood Barclay ’73 will return to his alma mater from November 3 to 14, 2013, to participate in and lead writing workshops and seminars with Trent students. As part of the residency, Mr. Barclay will also interact with members of the Peterborough community through public presentations and a meet the author book signing. He will also be the featured alumni speaker at the University’s Fall Preview Open House, where he will speak with prospective students and their families.

"I'm thrilled about spending some time in November at Lady Eaton as a writer-in-residence,” Mr. Barclay said. “Back when I was a Trent student -- and it was a long time ago -- I had the good fortune to meet, and become friends, with Margaret Laurence when she was in this position. It was one of the most rewarding and profound experiences for me while at Trent. I'm so pleased to have, even in a small way, a chance to repay the favour."

The alumni-in-residence program began at Trent in 1999 as collaboration between Colleges and Alumni Affairs to provide a venue for inviting outstanding alumni of the college back to campus to share experiences with the Trent community. Through this program, distinguished alumni have the opportunity to contribute to the student experience, provide insights to strengthen academic preparation of students, and to reconnect to their alma mater.

"It is a great pleasure to work with Alumni Affairs to bring Linwood Barclay to Lady Eaton College as the alumni writer-in-residence this year,” said Dr. Michael Eamon, principal of Lady Eaton College. “Making meaningful, life-altering connections is at the heart of the college and, indeed, the Trent experience. At Lady Eaton, Linwood became acquainted with the humanities, discovered new ways of seeing the world and met his wife, Neetha. I am excited to think that a new generation of Lady Eaton students will be inspired by this great opportunity. Welcome back Linwood!"

After graduating from Trent with a degree in English Literature, Mr. Barclay enjoyed a successful career as a journalist, most notably as a humour columnist with the Toronto Star. While at the Star he began publishing non-fiction books, followed by the Zack Walker series of mystery novels. As an international bestselling author, Mr. Barclay is known for writing page-turning thrillers. He attained international success with the release of No Time for Goodbye, which became the United Kingdom’s bestselling novel of 2008. He followed that up with winning the Arthur Ellis Award from the Crime Writers of Canada for the Best Novel of 2009 for Too Close to Home.

A prolific writer, Mr. Barclay’s novel Never Saw it Coming, distributed in North America as an ebook, was released as a novel in the UK earlier this year. He is currently working on a new thriller, A Tap on the Window, to be released in September 2013. One of his most recent books, Trust Your Eyes, is also slated to become a feature film produced by Warner Brothers.

Mr. Barclay was also recently featured in Trent University’s luminaries advertising campaign. A national campaign, Luminaries focused on Trent’s reputation as one of Canada’s leading universities and featured University alumni and professors who have distinguished themselves in their academic or professional careers. Linwood Barclay’s profile and video can be viewed here: www.trentu.ca/luminaries/thrillmaster.html

A full schedule of events for the alumni writer-in-residence program featuring Linwood Barclay will be released in the fall.

Posted on Friday, July 5, 2013.