Chris Turner, 2012 Magazine Award Winner
Chris Turner launched his writing career at Shift Magazine in the late 1990s, winning a gold award for one-of- a kind article at the National Magazine Awards for his writing on the social impacts of the booming internet gambling business in the Caribbean. He wrote almost exclusively about contemporary culture and digital technology for the next five years, earning several more National Magazine Awards along the way.
Chris Turner's winning article, published by The Walrus in April 2012 and is entitled "On Tipping in Cuba,". It tells the story of a writer discovering the uncomfortable socio-economics of the cheap beach vacation. Ostensibly about tourism and tours, it ultimately explores the sustainability of Cuba's economy and the toll its singular position in the global economy has taken on its citizens. It is a story of adaptations and resilience in tumultuous times.
Turner has written three books, two of which explore solutions to climate change around the world: The Geography of Hope (2007) and The Leap (2011). Chris believes that the defining issue of our time is climate change and our collective socioeconomic response to it.
He has written features for a wide range of magazines and newspapers, among them The Walrus, Alberta Views, Maclean's, The Globe and Mail and Report on Business. He has won eight National Magazine Awards, including a gold award in 2011 for a Walrus feature on the sustainability crisis in Canadian farming.
In addition to being a full-time writer he frequently delivers public lectures and speeches on the topic of sustainability. His focus is on human society, human systems and the urgent need to retrofit them for sustainability - ecological, social and economic - if we intend to survive and thrive in this chaotic century.
thegeographyofhope.com
@theturner
The Walrus winning article here
