User:LiamMurray64/sandbox

Ken Rivard was born and raised on a working-class Montreal street inhabited more by rats than people. His family were surrounded by fields, factories, railroad tracks and trains where, as a kid, he played endlessly with almost no adult supervision. It was heaven. Later he earned a Master’s Degree from McGill University and taught at all levels including Mount Royal University in Calgary. Mostly because of the expansive Alberta sky, the sunshine and the Rocky Mountains, he has been living and writing in Calgary for many years.



Ken Rivard has always been curious about why we do what we do and have been fortunate enough to have an imagination with legs of its own. Two of his favorite words are “what if?”. Like an extra skin, writing has always been a part of him. In particular, he loves observing how vulnerable and yet how resilient humanity can be. These observations, whether right or wrong, continually show up in his writing. What he notices most often is that humanity’s quest for some form of power is greater than its quest for basic essentials such as food, clothing or shelter. Why does this happen… he’ll never know for sure.

Ken Rivard has so far published (not self-published) 11 books in a variety of genres (flash/postcard fiction, poetry, children’s literature and the novel). His writing has also appeared in numerous anthologies, many regional and national publications and on CBC Radio. Several of his publications have been finalists for Alberta book awards. In addition, he has worked as The Writer-In-Residence for both The Calgary Public Library and for The Writers’ Guild of Alberta (Strawberry Creek). Recently, he had the honor of being a writing mentor for The Writers’ Guild of Alberta Writing Mentorship Program.

Ken Rivard’s 11th book, is a substantial collection of flash fiction (each story is approximately 500 words in length) entitled CANALWATCH, was published by Canada’s Mosaic Press in May, 2022 and is being distributed by The Manda Group in Canada, U.S.A. and the U.K. Essentially, each flash fiction piece focuses on a particular event or character around a mysterious canal and all stories are inspired by real canals he has visited. Enjoy the “what if’s and the “not so what if’s.”