2 Quotes & Sayings By Sinclair Ross
Sinclair Ross (1892-1972) was an author of mystery and romance novels, of detective fiction, of detective short stories, and of crime fiction. His career spanned over thirty years, from 1917 until his death in 1972. Born in Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada, he was the youngest of five children. His father was a Presbyterian minister and missionary to China
Sinclair attended high school in Winnipeg and then went on to study at the University of Manitoba. He worked as a journalist for the Winnipeg Free Press during the First World War, stationed at the front in France with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. During his time there he wrote some fifty military romances under the pen name "Harry Owen".
After the war ended he returned to Canada and worked as a journalist for various newspapers including The Toronto Globe and Mail, The Toronto Telegram, The Montreal Star, The Vancouver Sun and The Vancouver Province. He left Canada after being fired for striking another writer. He then moved to New York City where he became a reporter for various newspapers including The United Press International News Service.
During this time he also began writing on weekends for various magazines including Collier's Weekly and Argosy Magazine where he met Anthony Boucher who encouraged him to continue his writing career. In 1923 he began work as a full-time writer when James Houghton Mifflin published his first novel "The Lost Trail" under the pseudonym Sinclair Ross. He received many awards during his life including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1938 and a Governor General's Award in 1953.
After his death in 1972 his daughter donated all of his manuscripts – about 1500 – to McGill University where they are held at Special Collections Library in Montreal, Quebec.