Inspiration comes in a lot of different forms. It can come in the form of a simple social gesture or an organization devoted to abolishing child labour. And it can come in the form of a person, someone who strives to make the world a better place in their own way. One recurring characteristic in all University of Toronto Alumni is that they have been inspired and aim to inspire others. The UofT Alumni Series uncovers the well-known and the lesser known graduates at one of the best universities in the world, all who have taken their degree and used it as a foundation to start their amazing career. It is a great pleasure to introduce the second entry in the Her Campus U Toronto Alumni Series: Kenneth Oppel, an award-winning author who currently resides in Toronto!
Photo via the Globe and Mail
Born in Port Alberni, Kenneth Oppel grew up like any other kid, indecisive about his future. After contemplating being a scientist and then an architect, he decided to become a writer at the young age of 12. While attending St. Micheals University School, Oppel wrote his first children’s novel entitled “Colin’s Fantastic Video Adventure” based on his obsession with video games. Kenneth Oppel sent his novel to Roald Dahl, a friend of the family, to read and who then gave it to his agent to sell. What started out as a silly short story about a boy and his love for video games turned out to be a great novel that would be published in 1985 and released in Canada, France, and the United States. This was Oppel’s first success in his writing career.
After graduation, Oppel decided to do a double major in Cinema Studies and English at the University of Toronto, Trinity College. During his last year there, he finished writing “The Live-Forever Machine”, his second children’s novel which was then published in 1992. Arguably, Oppel’s greatest success came with his Silverwing trilogy, which consists of Silverwing, Sunwing, and Firewing. His more recent and just as successful books include Airborn, Half-Brother, and This Dark Endeavour: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein. Not only has Kenneth Oppel been honoured with the Printz Book Award and the Governor General’s Award, he is the first person in history to have won in both the Children and Young Adult Book category from the Canadian Library Association’s Book of the Year Awards in the same year.
It’s authors like Kenneth Oppel who inspire people to keep doing what they love. Authors who help to plant and nurture the love of reading, authors who loved reading and writing as kid, authors who took the joy they experienced in their childhood and used it to create stories for others to read and enjoy.