Andrew MacLean is the creator of Backyard History, a series of three books about obscure and forgotten stories from Atlantic Canada's past, the Backyard History column which appears weekly in 20+ newspapers, the popular Backyard History Podcast, and the Backyard History TV Show on BellFibe TV1.
MacLean first began writing during the Covid-19 pandemic while laid off from his job as an ariel surveyor. Inspired by the kind of storytelling-mixed-with-factual-historical-stories that his grandfather told him when he was a child on New Brunswick's North Shore. Virtually the moment he posted his first story on social media it exploded in popularity. Within two months he was hired by a newspaper to appear as a weekly columnist.
MacLean does every stage of creating his books all by himself, including writing, editing, designing, layout, publication, marketing, and mailing out the books, completely eschewing the traditional publication process. This has allowed him not only to maintain creative control of his own output, but has turned out to be vastly more financially lucrative than using a traditional publisher.
Books:
- Backyard History: Forgotten Stories From Atlantic Canada's Past (2023)
- Backyard History: Forgotten Stories From Atlantic Canada's Past Volume Two (2024)
- Backyard History: Rebellious Women In The Maritimes (2024)
