W. D. Valgardson (Bill), born in Manitoba, raised in Gimli, a predominantly Icelandic immigrant community. Commercial fishing on Lake Winnipeg was the major form of employment. Earned a B.A. in Arts, 1961. Taught high school in Manitoba. Earned a B.Ed. Attended the U. of Iowa writer's workshop, MFA. Taught in southern Missouri for four years. Joined the CW dept. at the U. of Victoria in 1974. Taught fiction workshops and gave lectures on structure in fiction. Retired 2004. Was editor of Logberg-Heimskringla, the Icelandic Canadian newspaper based in Winnipeg for two years. Numerous books of short stories published, novels, poetry. A dozen radio plays produced with the CBC. A number of movies have been made from his published fiction.