St. Peter’s College Library gets set to welcome another renowned Saskatchewan author to its returning writers’ series. Award winning Saskatchewan non-fiction writer Trevor Herriot has released his first novel, and he’ll be on hand at the College on Thursday, January 25 at 7 pm for a reading. The event is open to the public at no charge.  

Herriot is no stranger to the College and Abbey. He’s frequented the halls as a writer on retreat, as a facilitator and instructor, and he’s taken in the beautiful grounds as one who appreciates the expression of nature in harmony with human activity. Herriot’s writings have long worked to reconcile human’s consuming nature and resulting modern agricultural practices with a need for attending to a delicate balance with our natural surroundings and its ecosystems.  

His first book in 2000, “River in a Dry Land”, nominated for a Governor General Award, garnered much attention for its deep and considered look at the Qu’Appelle Valley and its rich sensory detail. Subsequent titles include “Towards a Prairie Atonement,” a meditation on native prairie lands, and “The Road is How,” a literal and figurative walk in search of the elusive creatures in nature and the equally elusive spirit that creates connection. 

In his new novel "The Economy of Sparrows," Herriot’s protagonist, Nell Rowan, returns to the prairie grassland of her youth and a re-established connection with her environment, particularly the bird population. The character wrestles with her place in a world that’s seemingly abandoned nurturing practices, and with her family history.  

A gifted birder and passionate naturalist, Herriot has been a frequent contributor to CBC Saskatchewan radio, a translator of bird behaviour, and an ardent observer and interpreter of the natural world on the prairies.  

Enjoy an evening reading, along with a question and answer period, with Trevor Herriot on January 25.