[1] Born in Grande Prairie, Wharton later spent part of his teen years living in Jasper.
[6] It was selected for inclusion in the 2008 Canada Reads competition, where it was advocated by astronaut Steve MacLean.
[13] Wharton subsequently published a three-volume fantasy novel for younger readers, The Perilous Realm.
Wharton's 2014 novel Every Blade of Grass was the story of a decades-long correspondence between a man and woman who share a love for the wonders and oddities of nature.
His 2023 novel The Book of Rain was a shortlisted finalist for the 2023 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.