Doug Saunders
Encyclopedia
Doug Saunders is a well-known British
-Canadian journalist
and author, a columnist and reporter for the Globe and Mail
, a Canadian national newspaper based in Toronto
, Canada
. He is the newspaper's European Bureau Chief, based in London
, England, and author of the paper's international-affairs column.
His journalism has won the National Newspaper Award, Canada's counterpart to the U.S. Pulitzer Prize
, on four occasions. He won the prize a record three consecutive times, in 1998, 1999 and 2000, for critical writing. And in 2006, he won a fourth award, honouring him as the best columnist in Canada. In 2008, he was shortlisted for the award in international reporting, for a series of investigative articles on the state of the middle class around the world. He has also been shortlisted for the Canadian National Magazine Awards, in Politics.
He is the author of the book Arrival City (2010), in which he visited 20 locations on five continents to study the effects of the final wave of rural-urban migration on the cities of the world. The book is published in the United States (in 2011), Britain, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Spain, Australia and New Zealand, and China. It was the winner of the $35,000 Donner Prize
, honouring the best book on public affairs in Canada, one of the five finalists for the 2011 Lionel Gelber Prize
honouring the world's best book on international affairs, and for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.
His column, Reckoning, appears on Saturdays in the newspaper's Focus section, and is generally devoted to intellectual and ideological concepts behind the news, from a political perspective that is broadly rooted in social democracy
and liberalism
.
educated in and around Toronto
including a seven-year stint at York University
, though he did not earn a degree. He has lived on two occasions in Britain
and once in the United States of America. He first achieved journalistic notice in his early twenties as the Ottawa
-based national bureau chief and writer for the Canadian University Press
wire service. In the early 1990s he was a writer and editor for the left-leaning Canadian monthly This Magazine
, and a researcher and freelancer for various Canadian journalists. In 1995 he joined the Globe and Mail as an editorial writer and feature writer. In 1996, he created a specialized writing position on media, culture, advertising and popular phenomena. In 1999, he became the paper's correspondent in Los Angeles
, noted for his writing on changes in U.S. society. He began reporting from London in 2004. He has spent extensive time writing from Europe, Turkey, Iran, the Indian subcontinent, north Africa and Asia.
The book chronicles the final shift of human populations from rural to urban areas, which Saunders argues is the most important development of the twenty-first century. He argues that this migration creates "arrival cities," neighbourhoods and slums on the urban margins that are linked both to villages and to core cities, and that the fate of these centres is crucial to the fortunes of nations.
The book was published in autumn of 2010 by Heinemann in Britain, Knopf in Canada, De Bezige Bij in the Netherlands, and Allen & Unwin in Australia and New Zealand, and in spring of 2011 by Pantheon in USA, Karl Blessing Verlag in Germany, Otava Publishing in Finland, Rye Field Publishing in Chinese (complex), and Debate/Mondadori in Spanish.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-Canadian journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and author, a columnist and reporter for the Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
, a Canadian national newspaper based in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He is the newspaper's European Bureau Chief, based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England, and author of the paper's international-affairs column.
His journalism has won the National Newspaper Award, Canada's counterpart to the U.S. Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
, on four occasions. He won the prize a record three consecutive times, in 1998, 1999 and 2000, for critical writing. And in 2006, he won a fourth award, honouring him as the best columnist in Canada. In 2008, he was shortlisted for the award in international reporting, for a series of investigative articles on the state of the middle class around the world. He has also been shortlisted for the Canadian National Magazine Awards, in Politics.
He is the author of the book Arrival City (2010), in which he visited 20 locations on five continents to study the effects of the final wave of rural-urban migration on the cities of the world. The book is published in the United States (in 2011), Britain, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Spain, Australia and New Zealand, and China. It was the winner of the $35,000 Donner Prize
Donner Prize
The Donner Prize is an award given annually by the Donner Canadian Foundation for books considered excellent in regard to the writing of Canadian public policy. The prize was established in 1998. The grand prize is $35,000; short-listed finalists receive $5,000 each...
, honouring the best book on public affairs in Canada, one of the five finalists for the 2011 Lionel Gelber Prize
Lionel Gelber Prize
The Lionel Gelber Prize was founded in 1989 by Canadian diplomat Lionel Gelber. The prize is a literary award for the world’s best non-fiction book in English on foreign affairs that seeks to deepen public debate on significant international issues. A prize of $15,000 is awarded to the winner...
honouring the world's best book on international affairs, and for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.
His column, Reckoning, appears on Saturdays in the newspaper's Focus section, and is generally devoted to intellectual and ideological concepts behind the news, from a political perspective that is broadly rooted in social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
and liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
.
Biography
Saunders, a citizen of the United Kingdom and Canada, was born in the city of Hamilton, OntarioHamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
educated in and around Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
including a seven-year stint at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
, though he did not earn a degree. He has lived on two occasions in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and once in the United States of America. He first achieved journalistic notice in his early twenties as the Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
-based national bureau chief and writer for the Canadian University Press
Canadian University Press
Canadian University Press is a non-profit co-operative and newswire service owned by almost 90 student newspapers at post-secondary schools in Canada. Founded in 1938, CUP is the oldest student newswire service in the world and the oldest national student organization in North America. Many...
wire service. In the early 1990s he was a writer and editor for the left-leaning Canadian monthly This Magazine
This Magazine
This Magazine is an independent alternative Canadian political magazine. It was launched "by a gang of school activists" in 1966 as This Magazine is About Schools, a journal covering political issues in the education system...
, and a researcher and freelancer for various Canadian journalists. In 1995 he joined the Globe and Mail as an editorial writer and feature writer. In 1996, he created a specialized writing position on media, culture, advertising and popular phenomena. In 1999, he became the paper's correspondent in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, noted for his writing on changes in U.S. society. He began reporting from London in 2004. He has spent extensive time writing from Europe, Turkey, Iran, the Indian subcontinent, north Africa and Asia.
Books
In 2007, Saunders embarked on a three-year project to examine migrant neighbourhoods in about 20 places on five continents for a book titled Arrival City: The Final Migration and Our Next World in Canada and Arrival City: How the Largest Migration in History is Reshaping Our World in the United States, Britain and Australasia. It was an unusual book contract, involving seven countries in the initial publication deal.The book chronicles the final shift of human populations from rural to urban areas, which Saunders argues is the most important development of the twenty-first century. He argues that this migration creates "arrival cities," neighbourhoods and slums on the urban margins that are linked both to villages and to core cities, and that the fate of these centres is crucial to the fortunes of nations.
The book was published in autumn of 2010 by Heinemann in Britain, Knopf in Canada, De Bezige Bij in the Netherlands, and Allen & Unwin in Australia and New Zealand, and in spring of 2011 by Pantheon in USA, Karl Blessing Verlag in Germany, Otava Publishing in Finland, Rye Field Publishing in Chinese (complex), and Debate/Mondadori in Spanish.