Paul Nicholas Mason

Paul Nicholas Mason (born 1958) is an English-born Canadian novelist, playwright, and actor.^[1]

Mason was born in London, England.^[2] He lived as a child in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and British Columbia before settling in southern Ontario, where he finished high school. After graduating from Trent University in Peterborough with an honors degree in English Literature,^[3] and a B.Ed. from Queen's University at Kingston, he taught English and Drama for 32 years at Lakefield College School. He published his first novel in 2005^[4] and retired from teaching in 2015.^[5]

Mason's first novel, Battered Soles, was published by Turnstone Press in 2005.^[6] The novel celebrates a fictional pilgrimage from Peterborough, Ontario, to the small village of Lakefield, where there is, Mason asserts, a statue of a blue-skinned Jesus with healing powers in the basement of St. John's Anglican Church. The tone of the novel is comic but there are moments of pathos.^[6] It was nominated for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour in 2005.^[7]

Mason's second novel, The Red Dress, was published by Turnstone in 2008.^[8] The story of a 17-year-old young man growing up poor and confused in rural Ontario, it is darker than Battered Soles, but the ending is cautiously hopeful.^{[citation needed]} The Red Dress was long-listed for the 2009 ReLit award. ^[7]

Mason's third novel, The Night Drummer, was published by Vancouver's Now or Never Press in 2015.^[9] A review in the Autumn 2017 issue of The Link reads, "The 1970s were a vibrant time of progressive change, and with its evocation of growing up in that wonderful era The Night Drummer makes for fascinating and entertaining reading."^{[citation needed]}

A fourth novel, The Rogue Wave, was published in April 2021.^{[citation needed]}

A fifth novel, To Our Graves, was released in March of 2024.^{[citation needed]}

Mason's plays The Discipline Committee and Circles of Grace (1995)^[1] have been produced in Canada, Ireland and the United States. His play Sister Camille's Kaleidoscopic Cabaret won the Christians in Theatre Arts Full Length Play award in 1996, and premiered in Michigan in 1998.^[5]

Now or Never published Mason's first children's book, A Pug Called Poppy, in the fall of 2017.^[1]

• The Discipline Committee Woodstock, Illinois: Dramatic Publishing, 1995.
• Circles of Grace Woodstock, Illinois: Dramatic Publishing, 1995.
• Battered Soles Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 2005.
• The Red Dress Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 2008.
• The Night Drummer Vancouver: Now or Never Publishing, 2015.
• Jim's Star & Other Christmas Stories Peterborough: House Nash Press, 2015
• A Pug Called Poppy Vancouver: Now or Never Publishing, 2017.
• Maisie's Bench Peterborough: House Nash Press, 2021
• The Rogue Wave Vancouver: Now or Never Publishing, 2021
• To Our Graves Vancouver: Now or Never Publishing, 2024

• Clip from Speak Your Mind
• Clip from A Dog in Paris
• Clip from The Customer
• Clip from The Mechanical Boy
• Article on Mason in Peterborough This Week, duplicated on mykawartha website
• OpenBookToronto interview with author
• Article on Mason in Peterborough This Week
• Article about The Rogue Wave in the star.com