 Through Wilder, Findley became a close friend of actress Ruth Gordon, whose work as a screenwriter and playwright inspired Findley to consider writing as well.After Findley published his first short story in the "Tamarack Review", Gordon encouraged him to pursue writing more actively, and he eventually left acting in the 1960s.Findley's first two novels, "The Last of the Crazy People" (1967) and "The Butterfly Plague" (1969), were originally published in Britain and the United States after having been rejected by Canadian publishers.