Phantom Lake explores the stories, legends, and tall tales that make up “Flin Flon,” a real imaginary place perched on rocky outcrops and lakes of the Canadian Shield. Birk Sproxton traverses the high latitudes of Manitoba and Saskatchewan in a quest for the mystery of Flin Flon and in search of himself. The northern stories, like Shield Lakes seen from the air, become ink-blots to test the writer’s mettle. Sproxton tells of the first gold rush, the draining of Flin Flon Lake, the emergence of the open pit, smelter smoke and slag pour, headframes, and tailings ponds. At the center of this fictional and historical mosaic lies the elusive Phantom Lake.

Birk Sproxton writes, edits and teaches from the heart of the prairie greenbelt in Alberta. His writing has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. He previous books include The Hockey Fan Came Riding, Headframe and The Red-Headed Woman with the Black Black Heart, which received the Manitoba Historical Society's award for historical fiction. His editorial hand can be found in Trace: Prairies Writers on Writing and the special Winnipeg in Fiction edition of Prairie Fire magazine.

Birk Sproxton's profile page