Chris Brookes is one of Canada's better-known audio documentary producers. A native of St. John's, Brookes has established a career as a distinguished disseminator of Newfoundland culture. Among his many endeavors, he established the Resource Foundation for the Arts, now known as the RCA, was the first Executive Director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council and in 1972 was the founding artistic director of the Mummers Troupe, a Newfoundland theater collective. His radio features, documentaries and audio art have been heard on public radio in the USA, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, England, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Canada.
His documentaries have won more than 30 awards, including the Prix Italia, Prix Marulic and Prix Europa Special Commendations for Documentary; Gabriel, Gracie, Armstrong, United Nations, Third Coast Festival/Robert H. Driehaus and New York Radio Festival Grand awards in the United States; and Canada's Atlantic Journalism Award, ACTRA, Nellie, CAJ Best Investigative Journalism and CBC President Awards. In 2006, Chris Brookes won the coveted Peabody Award.
Brookes has directed and produced documentaries for Canadian network television, most notably for CBC Television's East of Canada series and his television writing has been nominated for a Gemini award. He is a published author and playwright, and has taught feature making and storytelling at radio festivals and workshops across North America and Europe.
Chris currently directs the production company Battery Radio, with studios at the bottom of the cliff where Marconi received the first trans-Atlantic wireless message in St. John's.
Chris Brookes is a recipient of the Order of Canada in 1997.