GEM MUNRO leads the life-less-ordinary, entering sites and situations more sensible people avoid, and then turning his experiences and observations into wonderful literature. He is a best-selling author with a background of bizarre, extreme and varied experiences. He’s been a newspaper columnist, cartoonist, cowboy, visual artist, film director, campaign manager, trade union leader, community activist, teacher, curriculum designer, founder-director of an international charity, and recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal.

He and his wife, Dr. Tanyss Munro, have devoted their lives to empowering the vulnerable and oppressed. This mission has led them to spend years in such disparate locations as remote, northern Indigenous communities, squalid slums in the world’s fastest growing mega-city, and the pristine magnificence of the British Columbian mountains. They have also raised four remarkable children, the eldest of whom was presented to them as a newborn by the elders of an Indigenous community in the far north, in thanks and recognition for the positive impact that they had had on the lives of the people of that community.

Their life in extreme locations and circumstances has left Gem with deep insights into human nature, a profound love for many of the most vulnerable, and a sense of humour – which has been a key source of sustenance throughout his adventures. These qualities are the hallmarks of his work.