Ian Weir is a playwright, screenwriter and novelist. Born in North Carolina, he was raised in Kamloops, B.C., where he boldly told his piano teacher that he wanted to be a writer when he grew up. (Her reply: “Yes, that’s a nice hobby. But what do you want to do for a living?”)

After working for several years as a newspaper reporter, he completed a BA in English at the University of B.C. and an MA in Medieval Literature at King’s College, University of London. He wrote several radio plays for CBC and BBC, before establishing himself as a stage playwright. His first full-length play, The Idler, premiered in Vancouver in 1987, winning a Jessie Award for Best New Play and going on to several other productions across Canada. He was astonished to discover that he seemed to be doing this for a living, and has since written more than a dozen other plays, among them Bloody Business, St. George and The Man Who Shot Chance Delaney.

Over the past fifteen years Ian has written extensively for television. He was writer and executive producer of the acclaimed CBC miniseries Dragon Boys, a thriller set in the world of Asian organized crime on Canada’s West Coast. Prior to that he was creator and executive producer of the long-running teen drama series Edgemont. Otherwise he has written more than 100 episodes for nearly two dozen series in Canada and the U.S., ranging from Beachcombers to ReBoot to Flashpoint. Awards include two Geminis, four Leos and a Writers’ Guild of Canada Screenwriting Award.

Along the way, he has taken a variety of other literary excursions, including three young adult novels, a newspaper humour column and the libretto for an alternative rock opera based on the legend of Faust. Daniel O’Thunder is his first adult novel.

Ian lives in Langley, B.C. with his wife Jude and their daughter Amy. They commute as much as possible to the Sunshine Coast, where they have a seaside cottage at Robert’s Creek, the Old Hippie capital of the world. When not anchored at a computer screen, Ian lives and dies with the B.C. Lions, roots forlornly for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and confesses to a guilty interest in boxing.

He continues to think fondly of his old piano teacher.

Writers Guild of Canada Award - best writing in a TV Movie or Mini-Series, Dragon Boys, 2008

Gemini Award - Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series, Dragon Boys, 2007

Gemini Award - Best Dramatic Mini-Series, Dragon Boys, 2007

Leo Award - Best Writing in a Dramatic Series, Dragon Boys, 2007

Leo Award Nomination - Best Writing in a Youth Series, Zixx, "Now You See Him, Now You Don't," 2006

Leo Award Nomination - Best Writing in a Youth Series, Zixx, "Deal With the Devil," 2006

Leo Award - Best Youth Series, Edgemont, 2005

Leo Award Nomination - Best Writing in a Youth Series, Edgemont, "That Old Black Magic," 2005

Gemini Award Nomination - Best Writing in a Youth Series, Edgemont, 2003

Leo Award - Best Youth Series, Edgemont, 2003

Leo Award Nomination - Best Writing in a Youth Series, Edgemont, "The Cold Light of Dawn," 2003

Leo Award - Best Writing in a Youth Series, Edgemont, "Shall We Dance?" 2002

Gemini Award Nomiation - Best Writing in a Youth Series, Edgemont, "The Liars' Club," 2001

Leo Award Nomiation - Best Dramatic Writing, Cold Squad, "Stanley Caron," 1999

Jessie Richardson Award - for Best New Play, The Idler, 1988

Jessie Nomination - for Best New Play, The Delphic Orioles, 1989