Erik D'Souza interviews Kathleen Lippa, discussing her book, The Arctic Predator: The Crimes of Edward Horn Against Children in Canada's North (published by Dundurn Press), nominated for the Brass Knuckles Award for Best Non-Fiction Crime Book, sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm (Hamilton). Kathleen explains that Ed Horn was a school teacher and principal who sexually abused Inuit children in the Canadian Arctic from 1971 to 1985, with over 100 victims, though the crimes remained unknown to the wider public until her book brought attention to them. She describes the challenging process of writing about such sensitive topics and the significant impact the crimes had on entire Arctic communities.
Bio
Kathleen Lippa is the author of critically-acclaimed book, Arctic Predator: The Crimes of Edward Horne Against Children in Canada’s North, published by DUNDURN PRESS.
Born in Toronto and raised in St. John’s, Kathleen studied dance at a professional level at The Quinte Ballet School and The School of the Toronto Dance Theatre before embarking on a journalism career.
At Memorial University of Newfoundland, where she graduated with a B.A. (English) in 1998, Kathleen was a reporter for the student newspaper, The Muse.
During her newspaper career, Kathleen (has)worked as a reporter, photographer, page-designer, headline writer and copy editor for The Hanover Post, 24 Hours (Toronto), The Calgary Sun, and The Express (St. John’s) where she won a Canadian Community Newspapers Association Award (2001) for Arts Reporting.
While serving as Bureau Chief of Nunavut News/North in Iqala witluit, Kathleen heard about the crimes of Ed Horne. She would spend the next 20 years of her life seeking the truth about what happened – building trust with contacts in Inuit communities, and getting the story on paper.
Kathleen and her husband, Arctic historian and author Kenn Harper, spent many years living and travelling in the Canadian Arctic. They now divide their time between Ottawa and St. John’s.