Quarrington, 56, was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer in 2009. In a September 2009 CBC news piece, Quarrington spoke openly about his terminal illness and about his decision to return to his love of recording and performing music in the months before his death. His band, The Pork Belly Futures, performed at the Keshen Goodman Library in 2008.

Quarrington was an award-winning author of primarily humourous fiction. His 1989 novel Whale Music was awarded a Governor General’s Award and was made into a film in 1994 (Quarrington had a cameo in the film).

In CBC radio’s 2008 Canada Reads competition, Quarrington’s comic hockey novel King Leary was championed all the way to the winners circle by musician Dave Bidini who said of the novel: “Finally, humour and wit has won the day, proving that Canadian writing is about more than just dark places and poetry.”

The complete list of materials by Paul Quarrington held by Halifax Public Libraries can be found here.