Overview
Hello! My name is Randy Klassen, I’m an author, dedicated ultrarunner, and retired entrepreneur living in Squamish, BC, Canada. A lifelong storyteller, my first published book, Perhaps Joy is the Reward, was released in September 2023; My next book, The Mapmaker’s Omission, arrives in print in October 2026. This website serves as a platform where readers, promoters, distributors, fellow writers, and friends can stay informed about the status of my writing endeavours. My randykwriter Substack is another great location to get info on my books and activities.
In The Mapmaker’s Omission I explore of a fur trader’s map to gold and chase its trails to uncover how British Columbia escaped American annexation in the mid-1800s.
A personal encounter with mazelike geography and untold history, this weaving of stories reveals what vanished in cataclysm when today’s Pacific Northwest was charted. It also shows that real gold is mined when we dig down to, and challenge, our foundational beliefs.
If you’ve ever wondered about the genesis of the First Nations unceded land claims in BC or been curious about how a chunk of Canada got wedged between the states of Washington and Alaska, read this book. They are one and the same story.
Perhaps Joy is the Reward is the fast-paced and humorous story of how I accidentally stumbled into a community of ultra runners in my 50s, the journey of self-discovery those trail runners took me on, and why the pain of pushing myself to do harder and harder things, in concert with others on earthen pathways, felt intuitively right.
It’s a story about how the unimaginable can become the ordinary. It’s a story about discovering what we are rather than who we are, and how that can change us forever.
Where to buy
I love my local booksellers! In the Sea to Sky Corridor, PJR and TMO are stocked at:
Gather Bookshop in Squamish
Armchair Books in Whistler
My books are available globally on AMAZON in print and e-Book formats.
My audio version of PJR is also available on Audible. (I will be recording TMO in 2027.)
If you love your local bookshop, they can order PJR & TMO for you from IngramSpark. This distributor supplies my books to major resellers, independent bookstores, and libraries. Get your bookseller to look my books up on their computer and put a few copies on their shelves!!!! Please!
Events & Media
Upcoming Book Promotions
Saturday, October 10
Book signing at Armchair Books. Whistler.
11am to 3pm.
Saturday, October 24
Book signing at Tomes & Tales. Pitt Meadows.
12pm to 4pm.
Tuesday, November 3
Presentation at the Squamish Public Library.
6:30pm to 8:30pm.
It’s the night of the US midterm elections and the topic is appropriate: In the mid-1800s, BC narrowly escaped American annexation, not once, but twice. Join local author Randy Klassen for a timely and thought-provoking evening of seldom-told stories about the genesis of today's Pacific Northwest. Learn about who really led and who followed on ancient trails of grease, fur, gold, and war. Be prepared to have your foundational beliefs about BC's history challenged.
Saturday, November 44
Book signing at Gather Bookshop. Squamish.
11am to 2pm.
Past Event & Promotion Highlights
Click here to check out my randykwriter Substack newsletter. A fun way to follow my writing projects focused on challenging our foundational beliefs. I keep it short and sweet—and hopefully entertaining!