Lorna Poplak is a Toronto-based writer, editor, and researcher with a fascination for the dark side of history.
Her journey from studying law and pursuing an Honours degree in French in her native South Africa eventually evolved into a diverse career in information technology and writing in Canada. Then active in the Society for Technical Communication and the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators, and Performers, Lorna’s writing led to an unexpected foray into adult nonfiction with Drop Dead: A Horrible History of Hanging in Canada, published by Dundurn Press in 2017.
Her second true crime book, The Don: The Story of Toronto’s Infamous Jail, published in 2021, has been shortlisted for several prestigious awards: the Legislative Assembly of Ontario’s 2021 Speaker’s Book Award, Crime Writers of Canada’s Brass Knuckles Award, and the Heritage Toronto Book Award.
Lorna is currently working on a book about great (and not so great!) prison escapes, to be published by Dundurn in 2025.
Lorna is a member of Crime Writers of Canada and Sisters in Crime.
Website: www.lornapoplak.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LornaPoplakAuthor
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lornapoplak/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/lornapoplak/ @lornapoplak
Mesdames of Mayhem 