724 ratings | 719 reviews | avg rating:3.57

#47 top librarians

Ian’s Year In Books

Ian’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Ian’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to Ian’s 2025 Year in Books

Ian Colford’s Followers (37)

Ian’s Bookshelves

to-read (0)
currently-reading (1)
read (726)

Ian’s Friends (75)

Louise

912 books | 62 friends

Chris

943 books | 648 friends

Nick Voro

252 books | 773 friends

Adam McPhee

4,452 books | 4,983 friends

Corey

2,934 books | 687 friends

roxy

1,206 books | 1,382 friends

Lee Thompson

775 books | 250 friends

Susan Mersereau

1 book | 69 friends

More friends…

2026 Reading Challenge

2026

READING

CHALLENGE

Ian has read 5 of 40 books.

13%

Ian Colford

Goodreads Author

Born

Halifax, Canada

Website

http://www.iancolford.com

Twitter

iancolford

Genre

Fiction, Nonfiction

Member Since

April 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/icolford

edit data

Ian Colford is a fiction writer who lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Educated primarily in Halifax, he has a bachelor's degree in mathematics, a master's in English and a master's in library science. His first short story was published in 1983. An early novel, "The Confessions of Joseph Blanchard," won the 2001 H.R. (Bill) Percy Prize for unpublished novel from the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia. His short story "The Reason for the Dream" appeared in the 1998 Journey Prize Anthology and was one of three from that volume shortlisted for the prize.

Ian's stories, reviews, and commentary have appeared in numerous literary publications, in print and online. From 1995 to 1998 he was editor of the literary publication Pottersfield Portfo Ian Colford is a fiction writer who lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Educated primarily in Halifax, he has a bachelor's degree in mathematics, a master's in English and a master's in library science. His first short story was published in 1983. An early novel, "The Confessions of Joseph Blanchard," won the 2001 H.R. (Bill) Percy Prize for unpublished novel from the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia. His short story "The Reason for the Dream" appeared in the 1998 Journey Prize Anthology and was one of three from that volume shortlisted for the prize.

Ian's stories, reviews, and commentary have appeared in numerous literary publications, in print and online. From 1995 to 1998 he was editor of the literary publication Pottersfield Portfolio, and from 1994 to 2000 served on the executive board of the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia. In 1998 he selected and edited a collection of stories by Maritime writers, called Water Studies, for Pottersfield Press.

Evidence, his first collection of short fiction, was published by Porcupine's Quill in 2008. In 2009 Evidence was shortlisted for the Thomas Head Raddall Atlantic Fiction Prize, the ReLit Awards, and the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, and won the Margaret and John Savage First Book Award. Evidence was described by the Globe & Mail as "a a rich, shadowed, mind-tweaking puzzle of a book.”

A novel, The Crimes of Hector Tomás appeared in 2012. Published by Freehand Books of Calgary, The Crimes of Hector Tomás is a tragic tale of disappearance and deception set in an unnamed South American country in the middle of the previous century. Critics have described the book as "disturbing" and "remarkable." In 2013 it won Trade Book of the Year at the Alberta Book Awards.

A novella, Perfect World was published in May 2016 by Freehand, and in 2019 his collection of short fiction, A Dark House and Other Stories, was published by Nimbus Publishing under their Vagrant Press imprint. A Dark House was shortlisted for the Alistair MacLeod Prize in Short Fiction and the Relit Awards.

His most recently completed manuscripts are "A Momentary Lapse," a novel of contemporary Halifax, and a second collection of short fiction featuring Evidence protagonist Kostantin Bitri.

...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Ian Colford questions, please sign up.

Combine Editions
Ian Colford’s books

Average rating: 4.34 · 110 ratings · 31 reviews · 15 distinct works • Similar authors

	Perfect World 4.31 avg rating — 35 ratings — published 2016 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Dark House and Other Stories 4.32 avg rating — 25 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Crimes of Hector Tomás 4.63 avg rating — 19 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Evidence 4.10 avg rating — 21 ratings — published 2008	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Confessions of Joseph Blanchard (5) (Guernica Prize) 4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Ugly Girl; &, Stones: Two Stories it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 1997	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Water studies: New voices in Maritime fiction 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 1998	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Writing in the Electronic Environment: Electronic Text and the Future of Creativity and Knowledge (Occasional Papers Series (Dalhousie University. School of Library and Information Studies), 59.) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 1996	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Witness 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Dark House: And Other Stories 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Ian Colford…

28 posts
Ian Colford's Blog

Best Reads of 2025

A long, long time ago—maybe as long as 50 years ago—I began to suspect that my life was going to revolve around books.

Turns out I was right. For more than 30 years I worked with books. And to this day I continue to buy books, read books, write books, think about books, and write about books. Sometimes I write about people who write books.

When I opened my Goodreads account (in April 2012), it was

Ian is Currently Reading

Ian is currently reading

Bitter Orange

by Claire Fuller (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Feb 05, 2026 01:34PM

rss
Ian’s Recent Updates

Ian rated a book really liked it Undertow by Beverley Shaw	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Undertow, Beverley Shaw’s slow-burning debut novel, tells an emotionally resonant tale of intertwining lives, the decisions people make, and the repercussions of those decisions. Sophie is a New York-based actress, almost 30, who senses her life is a ...more
3 hours, 13 min ago · 2 likes · like · see review
Ian and 2 other people liked Corey's status update Corey is on page 140 of 256 of The Day of the Triffids
17 hours, 4 min ago
Ian liked Jim Fisher's status update Jim Fisher is on page 103 of 304 of The Conjure-Man Dies
17 hours, 4 min ago · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Conjure-Man Dies by Rudolph Fisher. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Conjure-Man Dies by Rudolph Fisher <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Ian is on page 37 of 280 of Bitter Orange Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller (Goodreads Author) progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17 hours, 5 min ago · 1 like · like · see status
Ian is currently reading Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 05, 2026 01:34PM · 1 like · like
Ian rated a book really liked it Undertow by Beverley Shaw	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Undertow, Beverley Shaw’s slow-burning debut novel, tells an emotionally resonant tale of intertwining lives, the decisions people make, and the repercussions of those decisions. Sophie is a New York-based actress, almost 30, who senses her life is a ...more
Feb 04, 2026 10:32AM · 2 likes · like · see review
Ian is now following John Cheever Author of The Stories of John Cheever (Vintage Internatio...
Feb 03, 2026 07:54PM · like
Ian and 2 other people liked Jim Fisher's status update Jim Fisher is on page 133 of 170 of Happenstance
Feb 03, 2026 07:48PM
Ian rated a book really liked it The Blind Viper by J.A. Wainwright	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
In The Blind Viper, his 8th novel, JA Wainwright has written a gripping account centred around ways of seeing, the creative impulse and the power of the mind to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. In the spring of 1971, Alex, a young Canadian ...more
Jan 28, 2026 07:58PM · 2 likes · like · see review
Ian rated a book really liked it The Complaints by Ian Rankin (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Ian Rankin published The Complaints in 2009, and the action is set during that year, when the effects of a global economic downturn, known as the Great Recession, were felt throughout every sector of the UK economy, including the criminal sector. The ...more
Jan 28, 2026 12:48PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Complaints by Ian Rankin. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Complaints by Ian Rankin <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">