David Day (born October 1947) is a Canadian author and poet. He is best known for his books on J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth.Biography at ABC Book World Day has published 46 books that have sold over 3 million copies.
Early life
David Day was born and raised in Victoria on Vancouver Island, Canada. His father worked as chief fireman for area military bases. Day was editor of his high school's newspaper, and also contributed high school sports columns to the Victoria Daily Times, graduating from Victoria High School in 1966. After finishing high school, Day worked as a logger for five years on Vancouver Island before graduating in 1976 from the University of Victoria.
Career
Day has published over 46 books of poetry, natural history, ecology, mythology, fantasy and children's literature. Day has been a columnist for Punch. He is best known for his books on the life and works of J. R. R. Tolkien.
In 2015, Day received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Victoria.
Works on Tolkien
Day has published at least 15 books pertaining to Middle-earth, the world created by Tolkien. His first book, A Tolkien Bestiary, released in 1979, is an illustrated reference book on Middle-earth's fauna, flora and people. The book has been translated in 20 languages and reprinted numerous times since. The Dutch version reached the best-seller list.
The Tolkien family's publishers, HarperCollins, commissioned Day to write The Hobbit Companion, but dropped the book when Christopher Tolkien objected and threatened a lawsuit. Day was forced into bankruptcy by the protracted legal battle. He later found another publisher for the book, and the rewritten version was approved by the Tolkien estate. With the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series, Day's 2019 An Encyclopedia of Tolkien debuted on the Toronto Stars list of bestselling books in Canada on October 12, 2022. The 2025 A Dictionary of Tolkien Deluxe Edition debuted on the Associated Press list of best-sellers in the US at number 12.
Other books
Day's first book of poetry, The Cowichan, was based on a journal he kept during his logging years. He collaborated with Japanese artist on three children's books, writing poems to accompany Aska's illustrations.
Day explored his theory that Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was written in mathematical code in his book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: Decoded, based on 18 years of research studying more than 1,000 different editions of Carroll's book.
Reception
Time magazine and The Observer named Day's The Doomsday Book of Animals the critics' book of the year in 1981.
Colin Tudge, writing in New Scientist reviewed The Doomsday Book of Animals, writing:
A review in Quill & Quire wrote of Nevermore:
Books
The Cowichan. Oolichan Books, 1975 Many Voices. North Vancouver, 1977 The Burroughs Bestiary. UK: New English Library, 1978 A Tolkien Bestiary. London: Chancellor Press, 1979 The Scarlet Coat Serial. Canada: Press Porcepic, 1981 The Doomsday Book of Animals. New York: Viking Press, 1981 The Animals Within. Canada: Penumbra Press, 1984 Castles. New York: Bantam Books, 1984 Gothic. Canada: Exile Editions, 1986 The Emperors Panda. Canada: McClelland & Stewart, 1986 The Whale War. UK: Routledge, 1987 The Eco Wars. London: Harrap, 1989 The Swan Children. London: Piccadilly Press, 1989 The Encyclopedia of Vanished Species. UK: Universal Books, 1989 Noah's Choice. London: Viking Penguin, 1990 True Tales of Environmental Madness. London: Pelham Books, 1990 The Sleeper. London: Piccadilly Press, 1990 Tolkien: The Illustrated Encyclopedia. London: Mitchell Beazley, 1991 The Walking Catfish. New York: Macmillan, 1991 Aska's Animals. Canada: DoubleDay, 1991 Aska's Birds. Canada: DoubleDay, 1992 A-Z of Tolkien. London: Mandarin, 1993 Tippu. London: Piccadilly Press, 1993 King of the Woods. London: Anderson Press, 1993 Aska's Sea Creatures. Canada: DoubleDay, 1994 The Complete Rhinoceros. London: EIA Books, 1994 Tolkien's Ring. London: Harper Collins, 1994 The Quest for King Arthur. London: De Agostini, 1996 The Visions and Revelations of St Louis De Metis. Canada: Thistledown Press, 1997 Just Say No To Family Values and Other Rants, Howls, and Moans. Toronto: Exile Editions, 1997 The Hobbit Companion. London: Pavilion Books, 1997 The World of Tolkien: Mythological Sources of Lord of the Rings. London: Mitchell Beazley, 2003 Nevermore: A Book of Hours. Toronto: Quattro Books, 2012 A Dictionary of Tolkien. London: Cassell, 2013 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: Decoded. Toronto: Doubleday, 2015 An Atlas of Tolkien. London: Cassell, 2015 The Battles of Tolkien. London: Cassell, 2016 The Heroes of Tolkien. London: Cassell, 2017 The Dark Powers of Tolkien. London: Cassell, 2018 The Hobbits of Tolkien. London: Cassell, 2019 The Illustrated World of Tolkien. San Diego: Thunder Bay Press, 2019 The Ring Legends of Tolkien. London: Cassell, 2020 An Encyclopedia of Tolkien: The history and mythology that inspired Tolkien's world. San Diego: Canterbury Classics, 2019 The Illustrated World of Tolkien: The Second Age. Thunder Bay Press, 2023 A Dictionary of Tolkien Deluxe Edition. Thunder Bay Press, 2025
Personal life
Day is married to Róisín Magill and has a daughter. As of 2020, he lives in Toronto.
References
External links
Official website