John Vaillant John Vaillant is an award-winning novelist and journalist who was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and has lived in Vancouver for more than a decade. As a freelance writer, his work has appeared in The New Yorker, Outside, The Atlantic, Travel + Leisure, and National Geographic, among others. His first book, "The Golden Spruce" (Norton, 2005), was a best-seller and won several awards, including the Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction. His 2010 book “The Tiger” was also an award-winning bestseller and has been translated into 15 languages. John’s work often focuses on environmental issues including northwestern forests, nearly-extinct tigers, and GMO corn in Mexico.• Won the 2005 Governor General's Award for “The Golden Spruce”• Won the 2005 Writers' Trust Non-Fiction Prize for “The Golden Spruce”• Won the 2010 British Columbia's National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction for “The Tiger”• Won the 2014 Windham–Campbell Literature Prize in Nonfiction About Travel + Leisure Travel + Leisure, a Dotdash Meredith Brand, is a top travel media brand with a mission to inform and inspire passionate travelers. Our expert team includes a network of hundreds of writers and photographers across the globe, all providing a local eye on the best places to stay, eat, and explore. We reach an audience that takes 76 million round trips annually, offering valuable travel tips, ideas and inspiration, and products you need to get you to your destination — whether it’s a small town or big city, beach or lake, national park or theme park, road trip, cruise, or long-haul flight, and everything in between. Learn more about us and our editorial process