The fonds includes manuscripts of most of his published works—novels, short stories, articles, radio broadcasts and plays, and forewords for other works—from 1929 to 1976; research notes and general historical studies; sound recordings; correspondence covering the years 1914 to 1994 (including letters with other authors and his publishers, among others); diaries (closed at the author's request until 2019); photographs; memorabilia; material related to his father who fought and died in World War I; and several scrapbooks containing reviews of his books, clippings, and other research material.
Collection contains both original records and reproductions of materials related to Reverend Thomas McCulloch. Items include a glass plate etching of McCulloch, microfilm copies of his books, a sample of his shorthand, a ticket to a lecture given by McCulloch, and correspondence. The collection also includes a microform copy of a thesis written by a Dalhousie student about McCulloch.
Fonds comprises records related to Terrence Gordon's biography of Marshall McLuhan published in 1997 and includes correspondence with publishers and reviewers; a curriculum vitae; a manuscript draft; newspaper clippings and copies of reviews; and secondary research materials. Other records include the working papers from three books edited by Gordon: McLuhan Unbound, Understanding Media (Critical Edition) and The Classical Trivium: The Place of Thomas Nashe in the Learning of his Time.