Writer – Non Fiction
Genius Born of Anguish – The Life and Legacy of Henri Nouwen, co -authored with Michael W. Higgins and published in 2012 by Novalis in Canada and Paulist Press in the United States. And, yes, this book is STILL in print!
Henri Nouwen his Life and Spirit, published by Franciscan Media in the United States in 2016 and was shortlisted for that year’s Ottawa Book Award. The next year it was translated into German and published as Henri Nouwen – Liebe Macht den Unterschied, by Adeo Press.
I have a piece in: What I am Living For – Lessons from the Life and Writings of Thomas Merton, edited by Jon M. Sweeney and published in 2018 by Ave Maria Press in the United States.
Impressively Free – Henri Nouwen as a Model for a Reformed Priesthood, is a second book I co-authored with Michael W. Higgins. It was published in 2019 by Novalis and Paulist Press.
I am a member of the Writers’ Union of Canada and Canada’s Creative Nonfiction Collective
Writer – Fiction
I am currently working on a trilogy of novels, Silence When the Music Stops, I Heard a Voice I Did Not Know and Working Title – Volume 3 (early days!). These are three interconnected novels that span the Baroque era into the early 19th century. This series of novels focuses on lesser, unknown fictional characters and their interactions with other famous and real characters. I find this time period fascinating as the fixations of the baroque (Early Modern) era slowly morph into the Age of Enlightenment and are then disrupted by the emergence of steam power and early years of the industrial revolution. Set mostly in Europe, one of the books includes a strange and compulsive life-changing journey to Canada. There’s lots of music and theatre and visual art in these stories. I will give occasional updates concerning this complex work in progress on this website.
Editor
I have seen more than 300 books make their way into print in the commercial and academic publishing worlds and I have assisted many projects en route to the digital world. I have an extensive background in publishing, having developed and edited many non-fiction titles in theology, spirituality, religion, faith and culture, history, philosophy, memoir, and biography as the former commissioning editor at Novalis.
As a freelance editor, I have worked with many authors as they prepare their manuscripts for submission to a publisher or in preparation for independent publication. Much of this work is life-writing/memoir. Increasingly, I am working with authors who are writing or who have written novels. This is where I shift from marking up pages to assessing manuscripts, reviewing them, or working as more of a mentor with a writer as they prepare their manuscript. I do not identify or excerpt any of these manuscripts for obvious privacy concerns.
I am a member of Editors Canada.
and authors Kevin Burns and Michael W. Higgins at
a 2013 event celebrating Genius Born of Anguish as a book and a radio documentary
2013 New York Festivals’ first prize trophy for Genius Born of Anguish
Documentary Work
Earlier in my career (1990-1995) I worked for CBC Radio as a producer. I often think of this opportunity as one of the surprising highlights of my working life. Despite early morning starts (in the studio by 4.30 a.m. for the first year, I learned about editing for the ear, trimming for time, and the essential characteristic of CBC Radio: focus. I produced The Arts Report and contributed to The Arts Tonight. In the years that followed I prepared documentary pieces for Tapestry, and then in 2009, I worked with Michael W. Higgins on a 3-part documentary for Ideas: Stalking the Holy – The Politics of Saint Making. I produced a second series for Ideas presented by Michael W. Higgins, based on our co-authored book about Henri Nouwen: Genius Born of Anguish – The Life and Legacy of Henri Nouwen. This series was awarded the gold medal for documentaries at the prestigious 2013 New York Festivals. Yes, you will note a focus on religious topics. Flying solo this time, in a third documentary for Ideas, aired in 2024, I produced Betrayal of Faith – The Story of Pastedechouan. Based on the brilliant work of historian, Emma Anderson, the documentary tells the story of Pastedechouan, a young Innu boy who, 400 years ago, was taken to Angers in France for five years by Catholic missionaries to help them before they returned to New France in order to convert “les sauvages” – in the language of the day. It did not turn out well.
Here is a link to the program on the CBC Radio One Ideas archive:
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/audio/9.7264352
A blend of careers
A little more context for the kinds of work I do these days.
I learned that creative work is invariably a collective endeavour long before my formal career in education. Originally, I thought I was headed for drama school, until after some reflection and with a little more humility this idea morphed into something else. I became a teacher of drama – perhaps reinforcing a quip that George Bernard Shaw is said to have written: “Those who can do, those who can’t teach.” I believe Shaw did not go far enough: I would add “Those who can’t teach end up writing the textbooks for teachers.” This is a playful comment because I respect immensely the role of educators at every level. After all, I was one of them for seventeen years. I began as a teacher of drama in a very large high school in south-east London, England. (George Dowd’s name, aka Boy George, once appeared on my class list, but he never showed up.)
I moved to Canada in 1974 to work as a drama consultant for the Manitoba Department of Education, working alongside the indefatigable Elizabeth Coffman, a formidable creative force. She DID write an important textbook about drama and visual arts in schools. To prove the point, here’s a link to her Dramatic Play in the Early Years https://www.schoolmaterials.net/dramatic-play-in-the-early-years-by-elizabeth-coffman/
I moved from Winnipeg to Edmonton in 1978, where for the next twelve years I taught courses in acting and improvisation, and collective and documentary theatre. (Name drop: I performed in a Brecht play alongside Paul Gross, and a detail to be included in my obituary: I was the first actor in Edmonton to perform completely naked in a production of Joe Orton’s riotous play, Loot.)
Fully clothed these days, I think this diverse background in education and collaborative creative work, followed by an immersion into the world of journalism and radio production before a radical shift to the publishing world, informs how I work with writers and researchers of facts and fictions.
My commitment to volunteerism
Over the years I have worked with various not-for-profit organizations and institutions, tackling such things as policy and procedures, programming, strategic planning, mission statements, fund-raising, and by-laws. Starting in Edmonton and then moving to Ontario, these organizations included: Catalyst Theatre (Edmonton); the senate of Newman Theological College (Edmonton); Save the Children – Canada; The Jesuit Communication Project; The Canadian Centre for Conflict Resolution; The Editors Association of Canada (now known as Editors Canada); Friends of Library and Archives Canada; The Canada Hungary Educational Foundation; the Canadian National Institute for the Blind; and most recently, the board of governors of St Jerome’s University, Kitchener. This list represents another kind of geography, one of interest and concern about: arts and culture, education and training, religion and spirituality, media and creativity, international development and social justice, as well as disability and human development.
Contact Kevin Burns: kpb@sevenstories.ca