Vernon Oickle

Vernon Oickle
Occupation	Writer journalist
Genres	Fiction Non-fiction Folklore
Notable awards	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012) Atlantic Journalism Hall of Fame (2020)

Vernon Oickle is a Canadian writer and journalist from Nova Scotia. Born in Liverpool, Oickle began his career in journalism at the The Liverpool Advance . He was the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, and was inducted into the Atlantic Journalism Hall of Fame in 2020. Oickle has written extensively on regional folklore and ghost stories, publishing over 40 books across his career.

Biography

Vernon Oickle was born in Liverpool, Nova Scotia. ^[1] He graduated high school in 1979, subsequently moving to Lethbridge, Alberta, where he attended the Lethbridge Community College, graduating in 1982 with an honours diploma in journalism. ^[2] After graduating, Oickle returned to Nova Scotia and began his career in journalism at The Liverpool Advance , where he was later appointed editor. ^[1] After leaving The Advance in 1994, Oickle became the editor of The Bridgewater Bulletin and The Lunenburg County Progress Bulletin in Bridgewater, a position he held until 2014. He was the recipient of the 2013 Best Local Editorial Award from the Canadian Community Newspapers Association. ^[2]

In 2012, Oickle was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. ^[3] The same year, he received the Golden Quill award presented by the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors, becoming the third Canadian to win the award. ^[1] He was inducted into the Atlantic Journalism Hall of Fame in 2020. ^[4]

As a writer, Oickle has written extensively on regional folklore and ghost stories. He published his 47th book in 2025. ^[5]

Publications

• Oickle, Vernon (1993). Jane Hurshmann-Corkum: Life and Death After Billy. Halifax, NS: Nimbus Publishing. ISBN   978-1-5510-9035-1. OCLC   499155271. ^[6]
• — (1997). Busted: Nova Scotia's War on Drugs . Halifax, NS: Nimbus Publishing. ISBN   978-1-5510-9227-0. OCLC   37372198. ^[7]
• — (1999). Queen's County . Bridgewater, NS: Lighthouse Publishing. ISBN   978-0-9683-8430-5. OCLC   43427422.
• — (2001). Ghost Stories of the Maritimes. Edmonton, AB: Lone Pine Publishing. ISBN   978-1-5510-5329-5. OCLC   46810061. ^[8]
• — (2001). Dancing With The Dead. Saint John, NB: DreamCatcher. ISBN   978-1-8943-7212-1. OCLC   50623285.
• — (2007). Disasters of Atlantic Canada: Stories of Courage and Chaos . Edmonton, AB: Folklore Publishing. ISBN   978-1-8948-6415-2. OCLC   137231193.
• — (2008). Canada's Haunted Coast: True Ghost Stories of the Maritimes. Edmonton, AB: Ghost House Books. ISBN   978-1-5510-5598-5. OCLC   213525787.
• — (2010). One Crow Sorrow. Chester, NS: Bryler Publications. ISBN   978-0-9866-4252-4. OCLC   667805583. ^[9]
• — (2010). Angels Here Among Us. Edmonton, AB: Folklore Publishing. ISBN   978-1-9266-7770-5. OCLC   1518340168.
• — (2011). Red Sky at Night. Lunenburg, NS: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing. ISBN   978-1-9269-1610-1. OCLC   726556394. ^[10]
• — (2011). Two Crows Joy. Chester, NS: Bryler Publications. ISBN   978-1-9270-0315-2. OCLC   754318700. ^[9]
• — (2012). Three Crows a Letter. Chester, NS: Bryler Publications. ISBN   978-1-9270-0334-3. OCLC   784293244. ^[9]
• — (2012). Four Crows a Boy. Chester, NS: Bryler Publications. ISBN   978-1-9270-0387-9. OCLC   819846635. ^[9]
• — (2013). Beaches of Lunenburg Queens. Lunenburg, NS: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing. ISBN   978-1-9270-9752-6. OCLC   1260819817.
• — (2014). Kiss the Cod: Superstitions, Traditions, Omens and Old Wives' Tales of Atlantic Canada. Edmonton, AB: Blue Bike Books. ISBN   978-1-9267-0062-5. OCLC   902919569.
• — (2014). Nova Scotia Outstanding Outhouse Reader. Lunenburg, NS: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing. ISBN   978-1-9270-9766-3. OCLC   883940122.
• — (2014). I'm Movin' On: The Life and Legacy of Hank Snow . Halifax, NS: Nimbus Publishing. ISBN   978-1-7710-8138-2. OCLC   867897485. ^[11]
• — (2015). Red Coat Brigade . Lunenburg, NS: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing. ISBN   978-1-9270-9781-6. OCLC   907096220.
• — (2015). Ghost Stories of Nova Scotia. Lunenburg, NS: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing. ISBN   978-1-9270-9777-9. OCLC   910775754.
• — (2016). Newfoundland and Labrador Outstanding Outhouse Reader. Lunenburg, NS: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing. ISBN   978-1-7727-6012-5. OCLC   946215612.
• — (2016). Strange Nova Scotia. Lunenburg, NS: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing. ISBN   978-1-9270-9798-4. OCLC   941443737.
• — (2017). Where Evil Dwells: The Nova Scotia Anthology of Horror. Lunenburg, NS: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing. ISBN   978-1-7727-6075-0. OCLC   987578604.
• — (2017). Five Crows Silver. Lunenburg, NS: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing. ISBN   978-1-7727-6058-3. OCLC   967787973. ^[12]
• — (2018). Bluenosers' Book of Slang. Lunenburg, NS: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing. ISBN   978-1-7727-6093-4. OCLC   1035246854. ^[13]
• — (2018). The Nova Scotia Book of Lists. Lunenburg, NS: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing. ISBN   978-1-7727-6109-2. OCLC   1080219243. ^[14]
• — (2019). More Ghost Stories of Nova Scotia. Lunenburg, NS: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing. ISBN   978-1-7727-6132-0. OCLC   1099277416.
• — (2019). We Love Nova Scotia: A People's Portrait. Lunenburg, NS: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing. ISBN   978-1-7727-6119-1. OCLC   1083348442.
• — (2020). Nova Scotia Outstanding Outhouse Reader #2. Lunenburg, NS: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing. ISBN   978-1-7727-6146-7. OCLC   1149392650. ^[15]
• — (2022). Six Crows Gold. Granville Ferry, NS: Moose House Publications. ISBN   978-1-9901-8757-5. OCLC   1367237075. ^[12]
• — (2023). Seven Crows a Secret Yet to be Told. Granville Ferry, NS: Moose House Publications. ISBN   978-1-9981-4920-9. OCLC   1426043251. ^[12]
• — (2023). Forerunners: Harbingers of Death in Nova Scotia. Lunenburg, NS: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing. ISBN   978-1-7727-6179-5. OCLC   1382403113.
• — (2024). Eight Crows for a Wish. Granville Ferry, NS: Moose House Publications. ISBN   978-1-9981-4937-7. OCLC   1500187626. ^[12]
• — (2024). Grandma's Home Remedies: A Collection of Tried-and-True Nova Scotian Cures. ISBN   978-1-7727-6181-8. OCLC   1423077042. ^[16]
• — (2025). Nine Crows for a Kiss. Granville Ferry, NS: Moose House Publications. ISBN   978-1-9981-4981-0. OCLC   1516194714. ^[17]
• — (2025). Even More Ghost Stories of Nova Scotia. Lunenburg, NS: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing. ISBN   978-1-7727-6192-4. OCLC   1517659348. ^[5]

References

Citations

1. Stebbins (2012).
2. Freeman et al. (2020).
3. Governor General of Canada (2012).
4. Rickard (2021).
5. Conrad (2025).
6. Fuller (1993).
7. Cameron (1997).
8. O'Donnell (2001); Goss (2002).
9. Slade (2025a).
10. Gallagher (2011); Tibert (2011); Foster (2011).
11. Hersey (2014); Cochrane (2014).
12. Slade (2025b).
13. Dinshaw (2018).
14. MacDonald (2019).
15. Nordal (2020).
16. Robinson (2024).
17. Slade (2025c).

Sources

• Cameron, Louise (November 1997). "Busted! Nova Scotia's War on Drugs". Quill & Quire . Toronto, ON: St. Joseph Media. Archived from the original on 1 August 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
• Cochrane, Alan (16 July 2014). "Hank Snow biographer coming to Moncton". Times-Transcript . Moncton, NB. p. A4. Retrieved 1 August 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• Conrad, Rick (25 July 2025). "Passionate about the paranormal: Liverpool author scares up loyal following with Nova Scotia tales". Frequency News. Archived from the original on 1 August 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
• Dinshaw, Fram (24 October 2018). "Nova Scotia author Vernon Oickle leaves little to be lost in translation". PNI Atlantic News . Postmedia Network. Archived from the original on 1 August 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
• Foster, Stacey (16 September 2011). "Book draws on superstitions". Miramichi Leader . p. D5. Retrieved 1 August 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• Freeman, Brian; Hirtle, Robert F.; Melvin, Marci Lin; MacIntyre, John (2020). "Vernon Oickle Hall of Fame Nomination" (PDF). Halifax, NS: Atlantic Journalism Awards. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
• Fuller, Cam (1 May 1993). "Stalked by tragedy: Pain endured long after death of tormentor". Star-Phoenix . Saskatoon, SK. p. 30. Retrieved 1 August 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• Gallagher, Lori (3 September 2011). "Red Sky at Night is a fascinating book of superstitions, wives' tales". The Daily Gleaner . Fredericton, NB. Retrieved 1 August 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• Goss, David (7 October 2002). "Ghost story tradeoff". Times-Transcript . Moncton, NB. p. 13. Retrieved 1 August 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• [Governor General of Canada] (2012). "Vernon Oickle". gg.ca. Ottawa, ON: Governor General of Canada. Archived from the original on 1 August 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
• Hersey, Linda (15 August 2014). "I'm Movin' On tells the story of Hank Snow's journey to stardom". Times-Transcript . Moncton, NB. p. D4. Retrieved 1 August 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• MacDonald, Andrew (29 March 2019). "NS Book of Lists: 15 words only Nova Scotians say" . The MacDonald Notebook. Halifax, NS. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
• Nordal, Kaitlynn (3 November 2020). "Vernon Oickle's latest book delves into unique facts about Nova Scotia" . The Chronicle Herald . Halifax, NS: Saltwire Network. Archived from the original on 1 August 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
• O'Donnell, Lisa (27 October 2001). "Ghost stories chronicle eastern apparitions". Telegraph-Journal . Saint John, NB. p. 77. Retrieved 1 August 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• Rickard, Mark (12 March 2021). "Newsman's 'dream boss' named to Atlantic Journalism Hall of Fame". Miramichi Leader . Retrieved 1 August 2025– via Newspapers.com.
• Robinson, Ian (20 November 2024). "Local Author Vernon Oickle Called Ian to Chat About His New Books". Hot Country 103.5 . Dartmouth, NS: Acadia Broadcasting. Archived from the original on 1 August 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
• Slade, Sue (15 May 2025). "Vernon Oickle's Crow Series – Part One". The Miramichi Reader . Archived from the original on 1 August 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
• Slade, Sue (20 May 2025). "Vernon Oickle's Crow Series – Part Two". The Miramichi Reader. Archived from the original on 1 August 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
• Slade, Sue (30 May 2025). "Nine Crows for a Kiss by Vernon Oickle". The Miramichi Reader. Archived from the original on 1 August 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
• Stebbins, Chad, ed. (2012). "2012 Golden Quill contest and Eugene Cervi Award" (PDF). Grassroots Editor. International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 June 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
• Tibert, Diane Lynn (27 August 2011). "Novel collects Atlantic Canadian wives' tales". Times-Transcript . Moncton, NB. p. G3. Retrieved 1 August 2025– via Newspapers.com.

Further reading

• Oickle, Vernon (25 June 2024). The Author Journey interview with Vernon Oickle (Video). Interviewed by O'Connell, Anne Louise. Halifax, NS: OC Publishing. Retrieved 1 August 2025– via YouTube.

External links

• Works by Vernon Oickle at Open Library
• Vernon Oickle at 49th Shelf, Association of Canadian Publishers