Facts: - period: 1970s-present - notableworks: '' the seventh hexagram '' - name: ian mclachlan - nationality: canadian - occupation: novelist , playwright , academic Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of ian mclachlan -lrb- writer -rrb- .
The answer to this question is:
ian mclachlan is a canadian writer and academic .best known for his novel '' the seventh hexagram '' , which was co-winner with michael ondaatje 's '' coming through slaughter '' of the inaugural books in canada first novel award in 1976 and a finalist for the governor general 's award for english-language fiction at the 1976 governor general 's awards .after earning a master of arts at oxford university in 1957 , mclachlan established the department of comparative literature at the university of hong kong before joining the faculty of trent university in 1970 .after '' the seventh hexagram '' , he published a second novel , '' helen in exile '' , in 1980 .he has been a prominent figure in the arts and culture of peterborough , ontario .his activities have included founding the local publishing company ordinary press , serving on the boards of the city 's artspace and union theatre , and founding and programming for the canadian images film festival .with the film festival , he was fined in 1983 for screening '' a message from our sponsor '' , a documentary film about subliminal advertising , without approval from the ontario censor board .as a playwright , his works have included '' pioneer chainsaw massacre '' , '' postscript '' , '' lear one/one '' , '' frankenstein meets the recession '' , '' the orchard '' , '' doctor barnardo 's children '' and '' wounded soldiers '' .his non-fiction works have included '' shanghai 1949 '' and '' in the margins of the empire : reading cambodia '' .