Harley Rustad
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harleyrustad.com
Harley Rustad
@harleyrustad.com
1K followers 190 following 110 posts
Senior editor @thewalrus.ca: [email protected]
Author of LOST IN THE VALLEY OF DEATH (2022) and BIG LONELY DOUG (2018)
Founder @portrenfrewwritersretreat.com

harleyrustad.com
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harleyrustad.com
A story to send to every member of your family.

@rachelbrowne.ca's latest investigation for @thewalrus.ca on the ubiquitous, ruthless grandparent scam—with a Shakespearean twist near the end.
thewalrus.ca/grandparent-...
September 24, 2026 at 1:28 PM
Reposted by Harley Rustad
michellecyca.com
my kid came home with her Scholastic catalogue last week with a hopeful checkmark next to a vending machine-shaped eraser set (??) anyway for @thewalrus.ca I wrote about why it's bad & weird that our public school libraries rely on a corporation that directly advertises to children in the classroom
thewalrus.ca The Walrus @thewalrus.ca · 19d
Remember the Scholastic book fair? The Walrus contributing writer Michelle Cyca does too. But today’s catalogues feature less Animorphs and more Squishmallows, Lego, and Paw Patrol. What happened to the school book fair, and what is it actually selling? https://ow.ly/HpZW50ZPv8E
On the left: an image of an open book on a blue background. Above the book, in glowing, white motion lines, various toys spill out. On the right: text that reads “Get your Squishmallows out of my kid’s Scholastic book catalogue. The fairs used to encourage children to read. Now they make them want to shop”
September 21, 2026 at 4:59 PM
harleyrustad.com
Our Best Books of Fall 2026 is out! My pick is an excellent new book by Andrew Westoll about the place/role of zoos today.
thewalrus.ca/best-books-2...
The Best Books of Fall 2026 | The Walrus
Ten titles you’ll need to get your hands on
thewalrus.ca
September 16, 2026 at 3:43 PM
harleyrustad.com
We can't say we're surprised.
thewalrus.ca/i-love-socce...
FIFA Is So Corrupt Its Wikipedia Page Has a Category Devoted to “Corruption” | The Walrus
The organization has been found to take bribes so many times I’ve lost track
thewalrus.ca
July 6, 2026 at 2:21 PM
harleyrustad.com
While other publications are gutting or cutting their books sections, we're launching something new. Bookmarks: a new books section with essays on the literary world alongside book reviews in every issue of @thewalrus.ca.
thewalrus.ca/while-others...
While Others Downsize Literary Coverage into Oblivion, We’re Launching a Books Section | The Walrus
More reassessments, more polemics, more manifestos, more feuding!
thewalrus.ca
June 19, 2026 at 1:24 PM
harleyrustad.com
This is absolutely ridiculous. A group stage game.
thewalrus.ca/i-love-socce...
June 18, 2026 at 3:16 PM
harleyrustad.com
Some very exciting news for @thewalrus.ca, in the Hollywood Reporter no less! We've signed a first-look agreement with Muse Entertainment to explore the documentary film potential of our journalism.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/m...
Banff: Muse Entertainment Expands in Unscripted Series Adaptations
'The Kennedys' miniseries producer has inked a first-look deal with The Walrus for potential documentary projects to be shopped in the Canadian Rockies this week.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
June 15, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Reposted by Harley Rustad
thewalrus.ca
The FIFA World Cup is the easiest sporting event to bandwagon—it’s a tournament built on shared joy, heartbreak, and belonging. But for The Walrus senior editor and lifelong soccer fan Harley Rustad supporting it has become far more complicated. https://thewalrus.ca/i-love-soccer-i-hate-fifa/
On the left: a photo of a deflated black-and-white soccer ball on green grass.. On the right: text that reads “I love Soccer. I hate FIFA. The World Cup is in Toronto and I don’t care”
June 12, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by Harley Rustad
juniperd.bsky.social
Harley Rustad nails it!

"But here’s the thing. The problem is not with the game but with the World Cup’s governing body....FIFA is an organization so corrupt its Wikipedia page has a category devoted to “Corruption”...it may be easy to be a fan, but the World Cup has become impossible to support."
The World Cup Is in Toronto and I Don’t Care | The Walrus
I love soccer. I hate FIFA
thewalrus.ca
June 12, 2026 at 12:10 PM
Reposted by Harley Rustad
joanbaxter.bsky.social
There is an incredible paragraph about FIFA in this must-read piece by @harleyrustad.com that deserves its own award. After a mind-boggling litany of FIFA evil, it ends saying FIFA is “so immoral that it handed out a make-believe ‘peace’ award to an unabashed autocrat, racist, and convicted rapist.”
thewalrus.ca The Walrus @thewalrus.ca · Jun 11
For as long as Harley Rustad can remember, his family has been a soccer family. With the arrival of another World Cup—the first on Canadian soil—he should be swept up in the excitement. But instead of anticipation, he’s wrestling with disillusionment. https://thewalrus.ca/i-love-soccer-i-hate-fifa/
On the left: a photo of a deflated black-and-white soccer ball on green grass.. On the right: text that reads “I love Soccer. I hate FIFA. The World Cup is in Toronto and I don’t care”
June 11, 2026 at 9:38 PM
harleyrustad.com
Anyone else feeling conflicted? New from me at @thewalrus.ca
thewalrus.ca/i-love-socce...
I Love Soccer. I Hate FIFA | The Walrus
The World Cup is in Toronto and I don’t care
thewalrus.ca
June 10, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Reposted by Harley Rustad
thewalrus.ca
The Walrus took home 5 gold and 4 silver awards at the National Magazine Awards. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees, and to the writers, illustrators, photographers, editors, fact checkers, and everyone on the team for making these wins possible. https://thewalrus.ca/awards-2026
June 6, 2026 at 1:00 PM
harleyrustad.com
A absolutely wild and really sad story about dog rescuers, the SPCA, and international adoption gone wrong, investigations and threats and accusations—in which the "villain" keeps changing throughout the story and dogs are caught in the middle.
thewalrus.ca/a-halifax-wo...
A Halifax Woman Devoted Her Life to Rescuing Dogs. Then Authorities Investigated Her | The Walrus
SPCA officers used fake adopters, covert surveillance, and a sting operation
thewalrus.ca
May 28, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Reposted by Harley Rustad
angryalgonquin.com
Finished this one last night. An excellent example of great narrative non-fiction by @harleyrustad.com

Please buy/order at your local independent bookstore, @bookshop.org, or @libro.fm

#BookSky 📚 💙
angryalgonquin.com Angry Algonquin @angryalgonquin.com · May 17
Current read (hardback): "Lost in the Valley of Death: A Story of Obsession and Danger in the Himalayas" by @harleyrustad.com. Only about 100 pages in, but absolutely riveting. Please buy/order at your local independent bookstore, @bookshop.org, or @libro.fm

#BookSky 📚 💙
HARLEY RUSTAD — Book: Lost in the Valley of Death
Lost in the Valley of Death: A Story of Obsession and Danger in the Himalayas
www.harleyrustad.com
May 21, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Reposted by Harley Rustad
thewalrus.ca
The Walrus has earned twenty-five nominations at this year’s National Magazine Awards, a remarkable honour that speaks to the strength and range of our journalism, art, and client work. Congratulations to all of the nominees! https://thewalrus.ca/the-walrus-leads-national-magazine-awards/
May 1, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Reposted by Harley Rustad
canadamediaawards.bsky.social
Nominee highlight for One-of-a-Kind Storytelling #NMA26 :

The Great French Fry Mystery
Toronto Life @torontolifemag.bsky.social

See all the 2026 nominees: zurl.co/JvgDi
May 1, 2026 at 4:20 PM
harleyrustad.com
A really special congratulations to @arnokopecky.bsky.social for earning two National Magazine Award nominations and a Digital Publishing Award nomination for his absolutely beautiful personal essay in @thewalrus.ca about his father's dementia and bioluminescence. 
thewalrus.ca/a-son-a-scie...
Illustration of father and son with fireflies
April 30, 2026 at 3:41 PM
harleyrustad.com
So incredibly proud of the team @thewalrus.ca and our phenomenal writers, artists, and contributors for earning 25 National Magazine Award nominations this year! 
magazine-awards.com/en/
April 30, 2026 at 3:35 PM
harleyrustad.com
Went on the wonderful podcast This Is Love to talk about the French fry mystery.
thisislovepodcast.com/episode-136-...
Episode 136: The French Fries
One morning, Cathy found a takeout bag on her porch. It had the name “Rodolphe” on it, and contained one half-eaten order of french fries. The next morning, she found another bag. And then another. Th...
thisislovepodcast.com
April 15, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Reposted by Harley Rustad
calamityjane123.bsky.social
Current read. Super interesting. Sad so far. #biglonelydoug #bc #deforestation #booksky #canadasky
#WALRUS "A complex and at times alarming tale, but also, in the end, a deeply hopeful one." - ROBERT MOOR BIG LONELY DOUG THE STORY OF ONE OF CANADA'S LAST GREAT TREES HARLEY RUSTAD
March 30, 2026 at 4:26 AM
harleyrustad.com
And so the lunar land grab begins, by @michellecyca.com for @thewalrus.ca.
thewalrus.ca/with-the-art...
With the Artemis II Mission, the Lunar Land Grab Begins | The Walrus
The moon once belonged to everyone. Soon it will belong to the rich
thewalrus.ca
April 1, 2026 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Harley Rustad
thewalrus.ca
Elvers—transparent baby eels—are now Canada’s most valuable fish. In 2022, 7,557 kilograms of elvers generated $39 million in revenue. Journalist Yuan Wang details how skyrocketing prices have turned the rivers of Nova Scotia into fierce battlegrounds: https://ow.ly/NvGB50Yhnlf
On the left: a photograph of small, transparent eels in a net. On the right: text that reads “Priced at thousands of dollars per kilogram, baby eels have set off a global frenzy. Inside the fight over Canada’s most valuable fish”
February 18, 2026 at 1:01 PM
harleyrustad.com
I'll be thinking about this piece, coming back to it again and again, for years.
harpers.org/archive/2026...
If a Tree Falls, by Rosa Lyster
The trial of the Sycamore Gap killers
harpers.org
February 4, 2026 at 6:20 PM
harleyrustad.com
“Last November, we received a letter from a grade five student in New Kent, Virginia, asking for advice. The child wanted information on how to ‘save the walrus from extinction.’ He meant the wrinkled, tusked-and-whiskered mammal, not this organization.”
thewalrus.ca/whats-a-walr...
What’s a Walrus? A Beast, Actually | The Walrus
Journalism may be in a state of emergency, but we’re still giving readers answers
thewalrus.ca
January 30, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Reposted by Harley Rustad
thewalrus.ca
We’ve been sold the lie that a perfect home equals a perfect life. Journalist Courtney Shea asks why mess feels like failure—and who benefits from the pressure to keep things tidy—in this sharp takedown of stress-cleaning culture. thewalrus.ca/how-to-keep-your...
On the left: Illustration of a tabletop with a bowl of cereal, keys, a plant, a coffee cup, a tea bag, and other assorted clutter. On the right: text that reads “How to keep your house clean. Your kids are sticky. Your partner leaves their shoes by the door. It’s fine.”
January 7, 2026 at 1:01 PM