William Paul Young
Best-Selling Author
William Paul Young is a Canadian best-selling author of the novels The Shack, Cross Roads and Eve.
William was born in Alberta, Canada, but lived with his missionary parents in the highlands of Papua New Guinea among the Dani, a technologically stone age tribal people until he was six years old. These became his family and as the first white child and outsider who ever spoke their language, he was granted unusual access into their culture and community.
William's novel The Shack resulted from a manuscript for his children and close friends on his perspectives on God and on the inner healing he had experienced as an adult. He initially printed just 15 copies of his book, but after much encouragement from two friends and rejection by 26 publishers, The Shack was published under their newly created publishing company in 2007. The novel made it to number one on the New York Times fiction best-seller list, in June 2008 and was the top-selling fiction and audiobook of 2008 in America.
His latest project is the recently released movie, Heart of Man, a narrative storytelling and documentary film that reveals the compassionate heart of God that illuminates an age-old truth: that shame is not a barrier to God's love.
William has six children and eight grandchildren.