Jeff Pearce had his first article published at the age of nineteen; it was about the failure of the prison system over a deranged murderer, and the story made the cover of the lurid and loud Winnipeg Sun. He went on to work in radio and television, hosting his own popular talk show, The File, and writing and producing television and editing magazines both in Canada and abroad. In 2005, he taught journalism for a brief stint in Myanmar, and in 2021, he produced investigative television segments for Balageru TV and Arts TV in Ethiopia, while Sheger FM translated into Amharic and narrated several of his articles.
His most popular book to date has been his landmark history, Prevail, about the second Italian-Ethiopian War, for which he tracked down survivors and witnesses and uncovered shocking records about Britain's role during the conflict in London archives. His latest book, The Gifts of Africa: How a Continent and Its People Changed the World, takes the reader on a unique journey through the intellectual legacy of the greatest African thinkers and innovators.
For Winged Bull, his biography of archaeologist and adventurer Henry Layard, he went all the way to Iraq to interview Kurdish defence forces—less than two kilometres away from a town controlled by ISIS.
His book of investigative journalism, Gangs in Canada, was adopted as a criminology textbook at Kwantlen University and Douglas College in British Columbia, and his hilarious work, How to Make Love in a Canoe: Sex in Canada, is a resource guide for Sexual Diversity Studies at Ryerson University in Toronto. It was also adapted into a successful musical stage production by the University of Toronto's Theatre Erindale.
Over the years, Jeff has also pursued different popular fiction and literary projects. Like many authors, he first found his way in through the erotica genre, and he cranked out a number of thrillers under different pseudonyms to pay the rent in the East End of London. His science fiction and fantasy works, such as The Karma Booth (Harper Voyager) and Reich TV, have earned critical praise from indie reviewers as well as a loyal following. His literary novel, The New Bohemians, is inspired by his experiences and his group of creative friends in the 1980s.
Cast of Lady With a Smoking Gun during dress rehearsal in Los Angeles.
Jeff has also had success in the theater world. His stage play, Lady With a Smoking Gun, was chosen to open PL.A.Y Noir in Los Angeles in 2018. He has expanded the original plot into a novel of the same name. In 2007, his play, Defenders of Gravity, was chosen by a professional panel to inaugurate the Playwrights of Spring Festival in Toronto. His TV reportage for Ethiopia, editorial videos and entertaining book trailers can all be seen on his YouTube channel. He is currently (and slowly) working on a multi-volume history of Ethiopia—pretty much Aksum to Abiy—as well as trying to complete a couple of novels.
© Photo by Malena Barron.
