Patrick Taylor

Photo: CAA Canwrite! 2010, photo by Jean Kay.

Patrick Taylor is the author of the Irish Country series of popular novels featuring Dr. Barry Laverty: An Irish Country Doctor (2007), An Irish Country Village (2008), An Irish Country Courtship (2010), an Irish Country Christmas (2008). His latest work, A Dublin Student Doctor (2011), goes back to the student days in Dublin of Dr Fingal O'Reilly, mentor to Dr. Laverty.

Born in Bangor, Northern Ireland, and trained as a physician in Ulster and Dublin, Patrick came to Canada in the early 1990s. He draws on his own experience of rural medical practice. His books regularly make the bestseller lists.

During a distinguished medical career as an obstetrician-gynecologist and later a researcher and teacher in the field of infertility, Patrick was the recipient of the Lifetime Award of Excellence of the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society, as well as other lifetime achievement awards.

While still practicing medicine, he exercised his writing muscles and his funny bone. He produced six medical textbooks and scores of scientific papers. In 1991, he began writing medical humour columns, and was later appointed to the task of reviewing Stitches, a Journal of Medical Humour, once published in Canada, the US, the UK and Australia, and also published as a book (2005).

Along with novels, columns, texts and scientific papers, Patrick has written a collection of short stories, Only Wounded: Ulster Stories, reviewed by Scott Inniss, 1997.

A member of the Vancouver Branch of the Canadian Authors' Association, Patrick is generous in sharing his time and expertise with aspiring authors. At Canwrite! 2010 in Victoria he gave a series of one-hour workshops to writers with manuscripts. Patrick continues to give periodical talks and readings at local writing events.