Turner was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where his father, a fighter pilot, was stationed with the Canadian military.

He has given keynote addresses or lectures at thirteen university campuses, four literary festivals and approximately thirty major professional and industrial conferences nationwide.

[citation needed] Turner's works include the bestselling Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation, published in 2004, and Geography of Hope: A Guided Tour of the World We Need, which was nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award and the National Business Book Award and was listed on the Globe and Mail's 2007 "Globe 100" list of the best books of the year.

Turner has received seven Canadian National Magazine Awards for his work in Shift, The Walrus and Alberta Views.

His essay "Why Technology Is Failing Us (And How We Can Fix It)", won the 2001 President's Medal for General Excellence, the highest honour in Canadian magazine writing.