Meanwhile, Back in Nokomis: Tales from Canada and Elsewhere

by Will Ferguson

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

Published September 15, 2026

About the author

Will Ferguson is an award-winning travel writer and novelist. His last work of fiction, 419, won the Scotiabank Giller Prize. He has won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour a record-tying three times and has been nominated for both the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and a Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. His new novel, The Shoe on the Roof, will be released October 17, 2017. Visit him at WillFerguson.ca

Ferguson studied film production and screenwriting at York University in Toronto, graduating with a B.F.A. in 1990. He joined the Japan Exchange Teachers Programme (JET) soon after and spent five years in Asia. He married his wife Terumi in Kumamoto, Japan, in 1995. They now live in Calgary with their two sons. After coming back from Japan he experienced a reverse culture shock, which became the basis for his first book Why I Hate Canadians. With his brother, Ian Ferguson, he wrote the bestselling sequel How to be a Canadian. Ferguson details his experiences hitchhiking across Japan in Hokkaido Highway Blues (later retitled Hitching Rides with Buddha), his travels across Canada in Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw, and a journey through central Africa in Road Trip Rwanda. His debut novel, Happiness, was sold into 23 languages around the world. He has written for The New York Times, Esquire UK, and Canadian Geographic magazine.

Reviews

[Kevin]

Looks like I get to be one of the first to review this gem, and I am happy to do so!

Will Ferguson's Meanwhile, Back in Nokomis is a bit of a time capsule on Ferguson's writing career. He treats to selections of his work from when he first started out, to more recent publications, to school addresses and unpublished work (after reading his take on Niagara Falls, I both understand and don't understand how this could not have been published). The collections spans multiple subjects, from travel stories in Canada or abroad, to interviews and thoughts on publishing, to slice of life moments. Each piece will make you smile like only Will Ferguson, and I left with new perspectives to ponder and new places for my bucket list. This collection is well worth your time, enjoy!

[Carol Tapsay]

I am a big fan of Will’s travel writing, Beauty Tips from a Moose Jaw is an absolute gem, so was excited to read this collection of short articles published over his career. I was not disappointed with great stories about Canada and a few other countries. Lots of interesting facts and tidbits about some lesser known spots in Canada with a good amount of laughs along the way.
Also, this book is published I purchased at a bookstore in Diamond Valley, Alberta.

[Laura Wikant]

An entertaining and interesting book about Canada and being Canadian, from one man’s perspective.

[Valerie Colquhoun]

Not for me.

[Japunkt]

This is a pleasant little collection of writings on travel (mostly), which I would probably rate slightly higher if I hadn’t rushed to read the whole thing before my library checkout expired.