Anthony BidulkaIn 1999 Anthony Bidulka left a professional accounting career to pursue writing and never looked back.Quill & Quire described Bidulka's first book, Amuse Bouche: A Russell Quant Mystery, as "...an effervescent first novel that is much like the tasty rench hors d'oeuvres from which it takes its name", earning Bidulka his first nomination for the Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Award (now the CWC Award of Excellence).In addition to his long-running Quant mystery series, Bidulka wrote two books following the adventures of Adam Saint, a tough-as-nails, luxury loving, Disaster Recovery Agent. In 2016 Bidulka published his first stand-alone suspense novel, Set Free, with Kirkus Reviews saying: "The countless plot twists are exhilarating, with gasp-inducing drama and flatly startling story turns." His second stand-alone, Going to Beautiful, was published in May 2022 garnering spots on bestseller and Favourites of 2022 lists and was shortlisted for and won several awards.In 2023, for the first time since his award-winning Russell Quant novels, Bidulka began a new mystery series, continuing in his tradition of presenting under-represented characters and settings which immediately feel familiar and beloved while tugging at heart strings and tickling your funny bone. The Merry Bell P.I. trilogy easily matches the beauty and tenderness of Going to Beautiful while delivering a page-turning mystery.Bidulka's books have been shortlisted for Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, Saskatchewan Book Awards, a ReLit award, and Lambda Literary Awards. Flight of Aquavit was awarded the Lambda Literary Award for Best Men's Mystery, making Bidulka the first Canadian to win in that category. In 2023, in addition to being shortlisted for a Saskatchewan Book Award and Alberta Book Publishing Award, Going to Beautiful won an Independent Publisher Book Award being named Gold Medalist as the 2023 Canada West Best Overall Fiction novel and was awarded the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence as Canada's Best Crime Novel for 2023.Anthony has dedicated his career to writing traditional genre novels in an untraditional way, developing a body of work that often features his Saskatchewan roots and underrepresented, diverse main characters. He tells serious stories in accessible, entertaining, often humorous ways. Anthony has sat on the boards of local, national, and international organizations. His alma mater inducted Anthony into the College of Education Wall of Honour and presented him the College of Arts and Science Alumni of Influence Award. He is currently chairman of the University of Saskatchewan Alumni Achievement Awards committee. He has also received the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Nation Builders Award and, along with his husband Herb, named Citizen of the Year for their home city of Saskatoon. For his promotion of Saskatchewan through his books, co-founding Camp fYrefly Saskatchewan (a leadership retreat for gender and sexually diverse and allied youth), and volunteer and philanthropic efforts in the community, Anthony was recently honoured by the selection of a two-part park in Saskatoon to be named Bidulka Park and Bidulka Park North. Read More Read Less