David Day (Canadian author)

David Day (Canadian author)
David Day (born October 1947) is a Canadian author and poet. He is best known for his books on J. R. R. Tolkien. Day has published 46 books that have sold over 3 million copies.
Early life and education
Day was born and raised in Victoria on Vancouver Island, Canada. His father worked as chief fireman for area military bases. Day was editor of his high school's newspaper, and also contributed high school sports columns to the Victoria Daily Times, graduating from Victoria High School in 1966.
After finishing high school, Day worked as a logger for five years on Vancouver Island before graduating in 1976 from the University of Victoria.
Career
Day has published over 46 books of poetry, natural history, ecology, mythology, fantasy and children's literature. Day has been a columnist for Punch. He is best known for his books on the life and works of J. R. R. Tolkien.
In 2015, Day received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Victoria.
Works on Tolkien
Day has written at least 15 books pertaining to the world created by J. R. R. Tolkien. His first book, A Tolkien Bestiary, released in 1979, is an illustrated reference book on the fauna, flora and people of Middle-earth. The book has been translated in 20 languages and reprinted numerous times since. The Dutch version reached the best-seller list.
The Tolkien family's publishers, HarperCollins, commissioned Day to write The Hobbit Companion, but dropped the book when Christopher Tolkien objected and threatened a lawsuit. Day was forced into bankruptcy by the protracted legal battle. He later found another publisher for the book, and the rewritten version was approved by the Tolkien estate.
With the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series, Day's 2019 An Encyclopedia of Tolkien debuted on the Toronto Stars list of bestselling books in Canada on October 12, 2022.
Other books
Day's first book of poetry, The Cowichan, was based on a journal he kept during his logging years. He collaborated with Japanese artist Warabe Aska on three children's books, writing poems to accompany Aska's illustrations.
Day explored his theory that Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was written in mathematical code in his book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: Decoded, based on 18 years of research studying more than 1,000 different editions of Carroll's book.
Critical reactions
Time magazine and The Observer named Day's The Doomsday Book of Animals the critics' book of the year in 1981.
Colin Tudge, writing in New Scientist reviewed The Doomsday Book of Animals, writing:
A review in Quill & Quire wrote of Nevermore:
Publications
The Cowichan. Oolichan Books, 1975
Many Voices. North Vancouver, 1977
The Burroughs Bestiary. UK: New English Library, 1978
A Tolkien Bestiary. London: Chancellor Press, 1979
The Scarlet Coat Serial. Canada: Press Porcepic, 1981
The Doomsday Book of Animals. New York: Viking Press, 1981
The Animals Within. Canada: Penumbra Press, 1984
Castles. New York: Bantam Books, 1984
Gothic. Canada: Exile Editions, 1986
The Emperors Panda. Canada: McClelland & Stewart, 1986
The Whale War. UK: Rutledge, 1987
The Emperor's Panda. London: Piccadilly, 1988
The Eco Wars. London: Harrap, 1989
The Swan Children. London: Piccadilly Press, 1989
The Encyclopedia of Vanished Species. UK: Universal Books, 1989
Noah’s Choice. London: Viking Penguin, 1990
True Tales of Environmental Madness. London: Pelham Books, 1990
The Sleeper. London: Piccadilly Press, 1990
Tolkien: The Illustrated Encyclopedia. London: Mitchell Beazley, 1991
The Walking Catfish. New York: Macmillan, 1991
Aska’s Animals. Canada: DoubleDay, 1991
Aska’s Birds. Canada: DoubleDay, 1992
A-Z of Tolkien. London: Mandarin, 1993
Tippu. London: Piccadilly Press, 1993
King of the Woods. London: Anderson Press, 1993
Aska’s Sea Creatures. Canada: DoubleDay, 1994
The Complete Rhinoceros. London: EIA Books, 1994
Tolkien’s Ring. London: Harper Collins, 1994
The Quest for King Arthur. London: De Agostini, 1996
The Visions and Revelations of St Louis De Metis. Canada: ThistleDown Press, 1997
Just Say No To Family Values and Other Rants, Howls, and Moans. Toronto: Exile Editions, 1997
The Hobbit Companion. London: Pavillion Books, 1997
The World of Tolkien: Mythological Sources of Lord of the Rings. London: Mitchell Beazley, 2003
Nevermore: A Book of Hours. Toronto: Quattro Books, 2012
A Dictionary of Tolkien. London: Cassell, 2013
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: Decoded. Toronto: Doubleday, 2015
An Atlas of Tolkien. London: Cassell, 2015
The Battles of Tolkien. London: Cassell, 2016
The Heroes of Tolkien. London: Cassell, 2017
The Dark Powers of Tolkien. London: Cassell, 2018
The Hobbits of Tolkien. London: Cassell, 2019
The Illustrated World of Tolkien. San Diego: Thunder Bay Press, 2019
The Ring Legends of Tolkien. London: Cassell, 2020
An Encyclopedia of Tolkien: The history and mythology that inspired Tolkien’s world. San Diego: Canterbury Classics, 2019
The Illustrated World of Tolkien: The Second Age. Thunder Bay Press, 2023
Personal life
Day has a daughter and is married to Róisín Magill. As of 2020, he lives in Toronto.
References
External links
Official website
1947 births
Living people
People from the Capital Regional District
Writers from British Columbia
Canadian male poets
Canadian male biographers
Tolkien studies
20th-century Canadian biographers
20th-century Canadian poets
20th-century Canadian male writers
21st-century Canadian male writers
Canadian children's writers
Canadian literary critics
University of Victoria alumni