Leah McLaren
Encyclopedia
Leah McLaren is a Canadian
author and newspaper columnist.
Born in Peterborough
, Ontario
, McLaren attended Claude Watson School for the Arts
in Toronto
. She studied English literature
at McGill University
in Montreal
, and Trent University
in Peterborough, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the latter in 1998. While at Trent she wrote the radio drama Percy and the Pomegranate.
When she was eighteen, McLaren worked as an intern and wrote a feature article for the Canadian monthly This Magazine
. After several summers as an intern at The Globe and Mail (the national newspaper at which her mother - Cecily Ross - was an editor at the time) McLaren became an arts reporter, and then the newspaper's London
arts correspondent. While in England, her writing was published in several newspapers including The Times
, The Evening Standard
, and The Sunday Telegraph, as well as in the weekly magazine The Spectator
, for which she wrote a controversial and widely read cover story on the romantic failure of the modern English male.
In 2008, the CBC shot Abroad, a television movie of the week, written and produced by McLaren and based on her experiences as a young Canadian newspaper reporter living and dating in London. It aired once, on March 14, 2010 and was being developed as a series; until CBC Television axed it before any other episodes were made.
McLaren was best known for her regular Saturday column in the Life section of The Globe and Mail, in which she talks about living as a single woman in modern-day Toronto. She now writes a column in the Arts section. She also writes "The Leah Files", a monthly column in Flare
, Canada's top-selling fashion magazine. She has written for other publications including Toronto Life
, McGill Daily, ROB, Fashion, and EnRoute.
McLaren's first novel, The Continuity Girl was published by Harper Collins in 2005. It follows a young film professional — the titular "continuity girl
" — in her search for a perfect — and unsuspecting — man to father her child. She is currently at work on her second novel for HarperCollins.
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...
author and newspaper columnist.
Born in Peterborough
Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, McLaren attended Claude Watson School for the Arts
Claude Watson School for the Arts
Claude Watson School for the Arts is both an intermediate school and an arts school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.The main campus of the school was originally known as Lansing Public School #4 , and then later changed to Duke of Kent Public School and also Spring Garden Public School . In...
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...
. She studied English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, and Trent University
Trent University
Trent University is a liberal arts and science-oriented institution located along the Otonabee River in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.The enabling legislation is the Trent University Act, 1962-63. The University was founded through the efforts of a citizens' committee interested in creating a...
in Peterborough, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the latter in 1998. While at Trent she wrote the radio drama Percy and the Pomegranate.
When she was eighteen, McLaren worked as an intern and wrote a feature article for the 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...
. After several summers as an intern at The Globe and Mail (the national newspaper at which her mother - Cecily Ross - was an editor at the time) McLaren became an arts reporter, and then the newspaper's 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...
arts correspondent. While in England, her writing was published in several newspapers including The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, The Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
, and The Sunday Telegraph, as well as in the weekly magazine The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
, for which she wrote a controversial and widely read cover story on the romantic failure of the modern English male.
In 2008, the CBC shot Abroad, a television movie of the week, written and produced by McLaren and based on her experiences as a young Canadian newspaper reporter living and dating in London. It aired once, on March 14, 2010 and was being developed as a series; until CBC Television axed it before any other episodes were made.
McLaren was best known for her regular Saturday column in the Life section of The Globe and Mail, in which she talks about living as a single woman in modern-day Toronto. She now writes a column in the Arts section. She also writes "The Leah Files", a monthly column in Flare
Flare (magazine)
Flare is a Canadian fashion magazine. It is owned by Rogers Communications.Flare magazine was created in 1979, as a rebranding of Miss Chatelaine magazine. Flare promotes itself as "Canada's Fashion magazine"...
, Canada's top-selling fashion magazine. She has written for other publications including Toronto Life
Toronto Life
Toronto Life is a monthly Canadian magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto Life also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including Home Decor, Stylebook, Eating & Drinking, Real Estate and Weddings. Established in 1966,...
, McGill Daily, ROB, Fashion, and EnRoute.
McLaren's first novel, The Continuity Girl was published by Harper Collins in 2005. It follows a young film professional — the titular "continuity girl
Script supervisor
A script supervisor is a member of a film crew responsible for maintaining the motion picture's internal continuity and for recording the production unit's daily progress in shooting the film's screenplay...
" — in her search for a perfect — and unsuspecting — man to father her child. She is currently at work on her second novel for HarperCollins.
External links
- LeahMcLaren.ca — primarily promoting The Continuity Girl
- McLaren's columns from The Globe and Mail
- Quill & Quire review of The Continuity Girl