As you can see from this poster, an international conference on Arctic explorer John Rae is happening in Orkney this September. Rae solved the riddle of the lost 1845 expedition of Sir John Franklin, and also discovered the final link in the Northwest Passage. Yes, I will be in Stromness during the conference, serving as writer-in-residence. And, yes, I will avidly participate: can't wait! This is a big year for Rae. I recently spoke about him at the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Those with a passion for the subject can even catch some of the audio. John Rae will have me in Calgary late in August . . . but about that, I will reveal more soon. Why is the peerless explorer, the focus of my book Fatal Passage, attracting so much attention? This September marks the 200th anniversary of his birth.