Writers

Back to Catagories
Writers          
AuthorsPlaywrightsPoetsJournalists
Authors    
Mary Alloway. (née Dworkin) Born Winnipeg, Manitoba December 3, 1917. Her first career was as a social worker before she became an educator, writer, and editor.  She has written poetry and short fiction.  She is a specialist on the subject of A.M. Klein. In 1998 she was the Canada Council exchange poet in Wales.
Félicité Angers Born La Malbaie, Quebec January 9, 1845. Died June 6, 1924. This was the pen name of Laure Conan, author of nine novels of French Canadian Life. She was a witness to her time. She was the first French Canadian female novelist. All her novels centered on the 3 driving forces of French Canadian life, family, nation, and religion.
Jeanette Armstrong Born British Columbia 1948. She originally studied fine arts at Okanogan College and the University of Victoria. Her current career is being director of the En'owkin Cultural Centre, a cultural and educational organization operated by the Okanogan Nation. Her writings serve the purpose to educate young people about aboriginal history and culture. Her published works have earned the Mungo Martin Award in 1974 and the Helen Pitt Memorial Award in 1978.
Margaret Eleanor Atwood Born Ottawa, Ontario November 18, 1939. "Peggy" is a poet, novelist, editor and critic is one of Canada's major contemporary authors. She has written novels, television scripts, short stories, children's books many of which have won awards locally, nationally and internationally. Her works have won the Governor General's Award for Literature, the Giller Prize, the Los Angeles Times Prize just to name a few! She has also edited such monumental tomes as the Oxford Book of Canadian Poetry. She has an active interest in Amnesty International. Recognition of her career have been way to numerous to list in one paragraph. The variety of awards runs from MS Magazine Woman of the Year 1986 to being a Companion in the Order of Canada. Check out the online edition for the Canadian Encyclopedia for complete listings of her works and her awards.
Constance Barbara Backhouse Born Winnipeg, Manitoba February 19, 1952. She studied for her B.A. at the University of Manitoba and took Law at Osgoode Hall Law School and took her masters LL.M at Harvard Law School in the U.S.A. Since 1984 she has bee a professor of Law at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. Her legal specialty is women and the law. She is interested in women and the law in history and is an considered an expert in the field of gender issues and sexual harassment. Some of the books she has written are considered basic reading for women's study programs across the country. Some of the titles she has written are: The Secret oppression: Sexual harassment of working women (1979); Sexual Harassment on the Job (1981) Petticoats and Prejudice: women and the law in nineteenth century Canada (1991) and Colour coded: a legal history of racism in Canada 1900-1950 (Toronto, 1999)
Nancy Bauer Born Massachusetts, U.S.A. 1934. An author who married a Canadian and moved to New Brunswick to raise her family of two sons and one daughter. She was the publisher of 25 New Brunswick chap books. She founded the Maritime Writers Workshop. She has been writer in residence at the University of New Brunswick, The Cape Code Writers Conference, and Bemidji State University in Michigan, U.S.A. She writes article about craftspeople, visual artists and writers for various Canadian Maritime magazines. She has written several novels and has won the Alden Nowlan Award for Excellence in the Literary Arts in 1999.
Elizabeth Speed Beaven née Frowd  Born Summerside, England Died September 14, 1871.The wife of the Rev. James Beaven, a practicing minister and professor of divinity in King's College in Toronto. Her husband was a writer and no doubt the absence of materials for young ladies prompter her to write her own book called "Devotions for School girls" [Toronto : n.d.] In the 1840's her husband would write of visits to Indian Missions in the Canadas. Perhaps she had traveled with him on these ventures.
Lily Adams Beck née Moresby Born 1862(?) Died January 3, 1931. She traveled to Asia and the Orient but did not begin to write until 1919 and was first published in 1922. She wrote under several pen names and became well known under all the names she used: E. Barrington; Eliza Louisa Beck; and L (Louis) Moresby. During her career she would write almost thirty books published in Toronto, Boston, New York and London. Many of her books were set in the Orient.
Ethel Mary Bennett

née Granger. Born Shorten, Dorsetshire, England 1891. Died April 19, 1988. She and her family immigrated to Canada when she was an infant. Settling in Collinwood, Ontario, young Ethel was writing for the Collingwood Bulletin while still in school. She would attend the University of Toronto . Graduating in 1915 she taught at the Ontario Ladies College in Whitby, Ontario before she married in 1919 and moved to teach in Pennsylvania. She earned her PhD at the  University of Wisconsin and Lectured in French in Victoria during the 1940’s.  In the late 1950’s she published three historical novels featuring women in New France. She won the Ryerson Fiction Award in 1960 for her work Short of Glory.  She also penned stories for Children for Discovery Magazine.

Jehane Benoit. (née Patenaude) Born March 21, 1904. Died November 24, 1987.   This food consultant turned to TV as a medium to explain Canadian cuisine to her home and native land.  She also published some 30 books to generate interest in her field. She studied at the Cordon Bleu and held a degree as a food chemist from the Sorbonne in France. She opened a cooking school in Montreal.  In 1973 she became an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Constance Bersford-Howe. Born November 10, 1922. A novelist she produced seven novels. "The Book of Eve" was adapted to a stage plan and was produced at the Stratford Festival in 1977.
Sandra Louise Birdsell née Bartlette Born Hamiota, Manitoba 1942. An award winning novelist she has won the 1984 Gerald Lampert Award for Night Travelers. In 1990 the Missing Child won the Books in Canada First Novel Award. She has also been nominated more than once for the Governor General's Award. by 2004 she had published 8 books in total.
Marie-Claire Blais. Born Quebec City, Quebec October 5, 1939.  This writer is one of Quebec’s finest contemporary authors.  She published her 1st novel at 20.  It was published in France in 1960 and was translated into English, Spanish and Italian. Her works have earned her the Prix France-Canada, the Prix Médicis, the Governor General’s Award, and the Prix David (Quebec). She has also written for radio, TV, and theatre. She is a Companion to the Order of Canada.
Victoria Grace Blackburn Born Quebec City, Quebec. Died March 4, 1928. Her father, Josiah Blackburn, was editor and proprietor of the London Free Press in London, Ontario. Perhaps it was he who encouraged his daughter to become a journalist. Her works were written under the pen name of "Fanfan." Her only novel "The Manchild" would be published in 1930 after her death.
Jo Ellen Bogart Born Houston, Texas, U.S.A. October 20, 1945. She moved to Canada as an adult in 1975 and she began to consider a career as a writer. By the mid 1980's she had several prepared manuscripts to present to a publisher. Animals in the form a  coatimundi, and Argentine desert tortoise, and Africa Clawed frog, Alvin the chipmunk, several mice gerbils and guinea pigs have been a part of her home menagerie over the years. To write a book about a Blue Macaw was a natural stretch for this author. For her as an author there is sheer enjoyment in making something up and kicking the story. The next best thing is having other people enjoying what she has written as a poem or a story.
Evelyn Bolduc Born St Victor de Beauce, Quebec July 8, 1888. Died December 22, 1939. Her main career was working as a translator for the Canadian Senate in Ottawa. She would establish herself by writing Manuel de l'Equette ( Ottawa, Queen's Printer, 1937)
Paulette Bourgeois Born Winnipeg, Manitoba July 20, 1951. If you have read any children's stories about a shy turtle called Franklin then you are familiar with the work of Paulette Bourgeois. While she often takes ideas for her books from her own life experiences she admits that she never had a pet turtle! She also likes to write information books for young readers like ; The Amazing Apple Book , The Amazing Paper Book, or The Moon.
Gail Bowen. Born Toronto, Ontario September 22, 1942. The author of several novels, she has set her mystery stories in the province of Saskatchewan. Maybe you will read of the adventures of the character Joanne Kilbourn, an amateur sleuth who also is the mother of three teenagers. Sound like good stories don't they? Check you library to see if you can borrow these books.
Marilyn Bowering Born Winnipeg, Manitoba 1949. A Canadian novelist and poet she has had her works nominated for the Governor General's Awards in literature. In 1996 her Autobiography was the winner of the Pat Lowther Award which is presented annually for the best published work of poetry by a Canadian woman.
Karleen Bradford . Born December 16, 1936. This writer enjoys producing books for young adult readers. She is a working mother of three children who also found time to contribute to her profession by holding positions at organizations such as the Writers Union of Canada, the Canadian Authors' Association and the Public Lending Rights Commission. Her own books have won awards such as; The Max and Greta Ebel Award 1990 ( Windward Island ) and the Young Adult Canadian Book Award of the Canadian Library Association in 1993. The titles of some of her other books include: The Nine Days Queen, The Haunting at Cliff House, There Will Be Wolves, Animal Heroes, Shadows on a Sword. Check the shelves of your local public Library for these exciting titles.
Dionne Brand Born Trinidad 1953. Dionne cam to Canada to study at the University of Toronto. A poet, novelist and non-fiction writer she focuses on issues relating to Black women. She is an active fighter for the rights of marginalized communities, especially blacks and women. Land to Light On won the 1997 Governor General's Award for poetry.
Sheila Branford. Born May 11, 918. An author she is perhaps best known for her novel about animals called the INCREDIBLE JOURNEY. The book was an immediate international best seller and in 1963 it became a Walt Disney movie. It is a great story about 3 friends, a bull terrier, a golden Labrador and a Siamese cat who travel over 300 km through northern Ontario wilderness to return home.  It will be available to borrow from your local library.
Leah Bradshaw Born Sherbrooke, Quebec June 25 1954. This author is a professor of Political Sconces at Brock University in St Catherines, Ontario. She did her studies at bishop's University, York University where she received her PHD in 1984. She has written a book that won the Gelber Award in International relations and the Choice Award from the U.S. She is a working mother with three children to keep her in line at home.
Hélène Brodeur. Born July 13, 1923. After university she married would become mother of five children. Like many of here generation she turned first to teaching and then became a successful civil servant. Through all of this  her desire to write remained strong. She has published works in both English and French . She has earned the Prix Champlain, Prix du Nouvel-Ont. and Prix due Droit. In 1983 she wrote the the TV script Les Ontariens. ( 1997).
Frances Brooke née Moore Born England 1745. Died 1789. Wife of the Reverend John Brooke, onetime garrison chaplain at Quebec she joined her husband in Canada in 1764 for four years. She wrote what may be described as the first Canadian novel, "The History of Emily Montague ( 4 volumes, London 1769, reprinted in 1931). She was also a playwright, essayist, librettist, and stage director. She was well known in the London literary and theatrical circles.
Cassie Eileen Brown née Horwood Born Rose Blanche, Newfoundland 1919. Died 1986. She began writing as a teenager and later worked as a freelance writer of scripts and educational broadcasts for the CBC.  She wrote articles for various publications, short stories and participated in radio dramatizations. In the 1950's her work received five awards through the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts and Letter Competition. From 1959-1966 she was a reporter for the Daily News and she also published and edited the magazine Newfoundland Women (1961-1964). She retired from the Daily News to work on her book Death on the Ice (1972) , a gripping account of the 1914 sealing disaster . She went on to write two additional books.
Margaret Buffie Born Winnipeg, Manitoba March 29, 1945. For this author who writes books for young readers, her inspiration often comes from happenings in her own life. She has lots of ides for books and stories and often wishes she was more than one person so she could put all of her ideas into her computer. She suggests that aspiring young writers keep a combination diary sketchbook to collect information and pictures which could be used for writing a book. Margaret won the Vicky Metcalf Award in 1996. This award is presented to authors who have written more than 4 books which young readers find an inspiration.
Bonnie Burnad Born January 15, 1945. This mother of three is a teacher and guest lecturer. She has toured South Africa, Sweden, Germany and England. To date, for her short stories, she has been awarded the Commonwealth Best First Book Award (1989),  Saskatchewan Book of the Year Award (1994), the Marian Engel Award (1994) and the Giller Award(1999). 
Grace MacLennan Grant Campbell Born Williamstown, Ontario March 18, 1895. Died May 31, 1963. After graduating with a B.A. from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario in 1915 she chose a career in teaching. She would also practice her avocation of writing. She had article and short stories published in several Canadian magazines. Her novels, published mainly in the 1940's , included The Thorn Apple Tree (Toronto, 1942). Fresh Wind Blowing (Toronto, 1947) and The Tower in the Town (Toronto, 1950).
Janet Carnochan Born Stamford, Canada West (Ontario November 14, 1839. Died March 31, 1926. She was a teacher who loved history. She was a tireless worker for the Niagara-on-the-Lake Historical Society in Ontario. She wrote several local church histories in the late 1890's and is the author of History of Niagara (Toronto, 1914)
Lydia Campbell née Brooks. Born Hamilton Inlet, Labrador November 1, 1818. Died April 1905. One of the children of an English settler and his Inuit wife, she lived her entire life in her native Labrador. As an old woman , a journalist  , Arthur Charles Waghorn, sent her a journal and asked her to write down memories of Labrador life and ways. In 1894-1895 13 installments of her writings appeared in the St John's Evening Herald in Newfoundland. Her reflections went beyond the personal and provided a first hand account to life and lore of her home territory. Lydia had married twice and was the mother of 13 children. It is thanks to her sharing her life memories and knowledge that information of nineteenth century Labrador has a written record.
Bertha Carr-Harris née Wright Born 1863. Died November 22, 1949. As an author she would write three main works; White Chief of the Ottawa, (Toronto, 1903); The Hieroglyphics of the Heavens (Toronto, 1933); Love's immensity (Pickering, 1935).
Alice Amelia Chown Born Kingston, Ontario February 3, 1866. Died March 2, 1949. Educated at Queen's University she graduated in 1887. She became an active suffragist and was also know as a promoter of unions. She lent her support to the League of Nations. She wrote her autobiography The Stairway (Boston, 1921).
Annie Rothwell Christie née Fowler Born London, England March 31, 1837 Died July 2, 1927. She came to Canada as a young child with her family and settled on Amherst Island near Kingston, Ontario. Her father was a respected landscape artist. Married and widowed while young she married a second time the the Reverend I. J. Christie and settled in the North Gower, Ontario with her second husband.  She is know for her short stories and her novels which appeared first as magazine sequels. Recognition as a poet was earned when some of her poetry was turned into songs used in "The half breed rebellions"
Elizabeth Anne Cleaver née Mrazik. Born Montreal, Quebec November 19, 1939. Died 1985. An illustrator and author, Elizabeth was most concerned with myths and legends. She obtained several awards for her works including the Frances Howard-Gibbon Award in 1978 and the International Board on Books for Young People's Hans Christian Andersen award in 1882. Maybe you have seen her work “The Loon’s Necklace” or the “The Enchanted Caribou” which is an Inuit legend illustrated with shadow puppets?
Constance Elvia Crook. Born September 29, 1930. This retired teacher and grandmother is perhaps best known by her pen name : Connie Brummel Crook. She has written Laura's Choice (1993), Nellie L (1994) and Meyers Creek (1995). Be sure to have a look at her books at your local Public Library.
Annie Charlotte Dalton née Armitage Born Birkkby , England December 9. Died January 12, 1938. She would immigrate to Canada with her husband in 1904. She began publishing her works in 1910 and publish some 8 volumes through to 1935. She was well known and respected as a novelist in her own era spanning some thirty years.
Mary Agnes Scott Davis née Scott. Born Quebec City, Quebec December 12, 1863. Died November 19, 1927. She used two successful pen names as a journalist, Amaryillis and the Marchioness. She wrote at the turn of the 1900 for Saturday Night Magazine and she turned "gossip " to pure entertainment and became the toast of the town of Ottawa newspapers and kept readers clamouring for more "intel". . She was a social advocate for welfare children and aboriginals with a keen interest in feminism, all the signs of "the new woman". She married the well to do William P. Davis an gave up her daily journalism, writing only the occasional articles for the Women's Historical Society. After the death of her husband in 1916, she and her two daughters were dependant on family for support and eventually moved to France for less expensive life style. From France she contributed a scattering of writings for the Montréal Star.
Mazo de la Roche Born Newmarket, Ontario January 15, 1897. Died July 12, 1961.  While studying at the Ontario College of Art in 1902 she would publish her first short story in Munsey's Magazine.  She would go on the write for the Atlantic Monthly, the Canadian Magazine and the Women's home Companion. In 1923 she would publish her first novel followed in 1925 with an one act play. In 1927 she won a $10,000.00 award for her novel Jalna.  This novel would be the first of 16 novels about the Whiteoak family. Even the adoption of two children in 1931 did not deter her writing. In 1954-55 the novels were adopted for television by the British Broadcasting Corporation. There was a renewed interest when the CBC TV produced a Jalna series.  However in current times the novels are not on popular reading lists.
Kristen den Hartog Born Deep River, Ontario. Her writings have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. She has produced two novels up to 2005, Water Wings (Toronto, 2001) and The Perpetual Ending (Toronto, 2003). She currently lives in Toronto but frequently returns to her beloved Ottawa Valley to re-energize.
Lauraine (Laurie) Diane Dennett. Born  September 29, 1946. This writer drew from her own experiences publishing stories of pilgrimages. She has made walking pilgrimages in France, Spain, Italy and six other countries. All her walking efforts have raised over 200,000 dollars for medical research. She has been the Honourary Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. In 1993 she received the Confederation Medal to honour her achievements.
Kady MacDonald Denton Born Winnipeg Manitoba July 22, 1942. She is an illustrator and author of books who took the advice of her first editor who told her to have fun! To this day she has 'fun' with her profession. She does take her work very seriously and puts in many hours labouring over each illustration. In 1998 her book, A Child's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes won three top awards including the Governor General's Award.
Sandra Ann Djwa Born St. John's, Newfoundland April 16, 1939. This writer, biographer and educator studied at Memorial University in Newfoundland and the University of British Columbia. Dr. Djwa settled to a position of Professor of English at Simon Fraser University in 1980. She had published numerous articles, edited several works, including books of poetry by Canadian poet, E. J. Pratt and has written several biographies of Canadian authors. She is currently working on a biography of a Victorian poet, novelist and artist P. M. Page.
Lily Dougall. Born Montreal, Quebec April 16, 1858. Died October 9, 1923. She visited England and in 1900 decided to make it her permanent residence. However, as a novelist and religious writer she set the background for 4 of her novels in her home country of Canada. Her works are carefully structured. She used humor and lively dialog to describe her unusual plots and twists.
Ann Douglas

Ann Douglas is an award-winning journalist and the author of some 30 books, many of which have been about baby and child care including: The Mother of All Pregnancy Books, The Mother of All Toddler Books, The Mother of All Parenting Books. She also has an interest in Canadian women’s history and has written Canuck Chicks and Maple Leaf Mamma’s to help others learn more of our women’s heritage.  A parent, educator, lecturer, and mother of four, Ann is currently serving as the honorary Chair of the National Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies 9-Month Club and as a member of the expert advisory group for Invest in Kids.  She recently served as national spokesperson for Sunlight's National Play Day Program and has been featured on a Cheerios box as part of a special "Read the Box" campaign of 2002 and 2005. As past president of the Periodical Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) and  a teacher of  writing courses through Trent University she mentors emerging and established authors.

Mary Alice Dawe Downie née Hunter. Born Alton, Illinois, U.S.A. February 12, 1934. Her Canadian parents moved back to Canada where Mary Alice grew up and graduated from the University of Toronto. While studying she spent much of her time at The Varsity newspaper. In 1959 she married and returned to the U.S.A. to live. It was here that she worked producing films, plays and book reviews. With her young family of two young daughters she moved to Kingston, Ontario, Canada where she still resided today. She has written over a dozen books for young Canadian readers and created the Northern Lights series and the Kids Canada Series. She has won awards from the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council and Ontario Heritage, the Laidlaw Foundation, and the Canadian Children's Book Centre "Our Choice" awards for various books.
Emma Lorne Duff Born Meaford, Ontario. Died March 31, 1935. She would become a Kindergarten teacher in Toronto in 1888 and showed her love of teaching by remaining in the position for some 25 years. During her retirement from teaching she would write "A Cargo of stories for children" Toronto 1931).
Margaret Iris Duley Born St John's, Newfoundland 1895. Died March 22, 1968. Newfoundland was the setting for all of the works by this author. Her first work "Eyes of the Gull (London 1936) drew international acclaim. She would write anther four novels. She is considered the first Newfoundland woman writer to be recognized as a novelist outside her own province.
Dorothy Duncan Born East Orange, New Jersey, United States. Died April 22, 1957. Married to the renouned Canadian author Huh MacLennan ( married 1936) she was a reputed author on her own. She would publish some four works including "Bluenose : a portrait of Nova Scotia (New York, 1942).
Evelyn Durand Born Toronto, Ontario 1870. Died December 5, 1900. She studied for her B.A. at the University of Toronto in 1896. Her written work Elise Le Beau: a dramatic idyll and lyrics and sonnets was published in Toronto in 1921 by her sister Laura.
Edith Eaton Born 1867. Died April 7, 1914. She studied for her B.A. at the University of Toronto in 1896. Her written work Elise Le Beau: a dramatic idyll and lyrics and sonnets was published in Toronto in 1921 by her sister Laura.
Winnifred Eaton

Onoto Watanna

 Born Montreal, Quebec 1875. Died April 8, 1954. She was the 8th child of 14 children of a British silk merchant and a Chinese mother, Grace, who had lived with missionaries. Both she and her older sister would take to the art of writing. Winnifred was a writer in many arenas from newspaper articles, magazines and journals, short stories, successful novels ( some of which became plays and movies) cookbooks, and movie scripts. She was 14 when she had her first newspaper article published. At seventeen she left home to wander to Jamaica and New York City. Although she was of Chinese she choose a Japanese pen name Onoto Watanna since Japanese novels were more popular. She married Bernard Babcock but the marriage was short lived. In 1917 she married Frances (Frank) Fournier Reeve and moved to settle to a ranch in Calgary Alberta for a couple of years before she once again had wanderlust ending up in Hollywood and New York once again. In 1932 she returned to her husband in Calgary to basically settle. She took an interest and founded the Little Theatre.  She was the first known writer oa Asian descent to be published in America. Her first novel, Mrs Nomé of Japan was published in Chicago in 1899 and was republished in 1999. Her granddaughter Diane Birchall wrote Onoto Watanna, a biography in 2001.
Deborah Ellis. Born Cochrane, Ontario. August 7, 2960. A self declared loner she started writing at 10 or 11 years old.  She has won the Canadian Governor General’s Award, (2002), the Ruth Swartz Award, Sweden’s Peter Pan Prize,  the University of California’s Middle East Book Award, the Jane Addams Peace Award and the Vicky Metcalf Award. Her books give western readers a glimpse into the plight of children in today’s developing countries. As a teen in high school she joined the peace movement and is also a longtime feminist . She pledged the earnings from her Breadwinner Trilogy, published around the world in seventeen languages, more than half a million dollars, to Street Kids International and to Women for Women, an organization for Afghan girls in refugee camps in Pakistan. Book proceeds have also been shared with UNICEF.
Sarah Ellis Born Vancouver, British Columbia. May 19,1952. She wrote novels when she was 12 years old! She too time out to go to school and become a librarian but at 30 found herself on leave from her job to write books again. By 2001 she had published some 10 books. Pic-Up Sticks was the 1991 winner of the Governor Genera's Award. Out of the Blue, 1994 won Mr. Christie's Book Award. She loves to write in her little office in the attic of her house.
Constance May Evans. Born Montreal Quebec March 15, 1888. Died ????.  She studied art and music in London, England with private lessons. She enjoyed writing short stories and stories in serial format for popular magazines. She would, during her career, that stretched from the early 1930's through to the 1970's, produce some 125 romance novels both under her own name and the nom de plume of Mairi O"Nair. She was not as lucky finding a life long romance as some of her book hero were. She never married although engaged three times. one of her suitors was killed, a second died from old war wounds and a third died of heart failure. She eventually adopted three daughters.
Eugenie Fernandes Born Huntington, New York, U.S.A. September 25, 1943. She began her career as an illustrator by working for a greeting card company. She illustrated cheap books where she says she learned to become a better artist. She enjoys illustrating books for young readers and has also written some of her own books. Some of her titles are : Waves in the Bathtub ( 1993), Ordinary Amos and the Amazing Fish (2000).
Kim Fernandes Born Huntington, New York, U.S.A. September 4, 1969.In high school she learned to sculpt  and found that three dimensional art was just how she could best express herself! Kim's Mom, Eugenie, is an illustrator and author of books for youth. Kim was encouraged to use her clay illustrations and write books to accompany her art. She attended the Ontario College of Art in Toronto and developed skills that lead her to a career of full time illustrator and part time author. She stores her fimo ( type of clay) illustrations in pizza boxes! She is a strong believer of 'visualization" ( seeing the completed work in her mind) before she begins working.
Mary Agnes Fitzgibbon Born Belleville, Canada East (Ontario) June 18, 1851. Died May 17, 1915. Some might say that as the grand daughter of the famous Susanna Moodie she came by her desire to write naturally. She wrote thee books including "A trip to Manitoba" (London 1880) and Historic Days (Toronto 1898). She had an avid interest in Canadian history and in 1894 she founded the Canadian Women's Historical Society of Toronto.
Ann Cuthbert Fleming

née Rae. Born Aberdeen, Scotland. 1788. Died March 15, 1860. She married James Innis Knight July 3, 1810 and later as a young widow married James Fleming May 8, 1820 in Canada. In 1815 and 1816 she published two books called Home and a book of poems entitled A year in Canada and other poems.  Once settled in Canada she became a teacher concerned that the school books being used in her Canadian school house had very little Canadian content. She developed school books specifically for her young students. Her works may have been the first books for Canadian children. Her published works contained views of Canadian scenery and the book The Prompter was subtitled: Progressive exercises on English Language. She wanted to provide interesting lessons for her students and continued to “Canadianize” early textbooks. Source: Dictionary of Canadian Biography Vol. lll pg. 734-35
Pearl Beatrix Foley Born Toronto, Ontario Died October 12, 1953. While she entered her studies at the University of Toronto she did not graduate. This however did not stop her determination to write. She would produce four novels. The third novel was published under the pen name of Paul de Mar.
Minnie Caroline Forsythe Grant née Robinson. Born Toronto, Ontario. Died November 2, 1923. As the daughter of John Beverly Robinson she was from one of the big families of Toronto and was married in 1842. She enjoyed writing and published a book, Scenes in Hawaii in 1888. Later she became interested in history and turned her writing talents to producing series of articles for the Canadian magazine entitled Bygone Days which were published in 1914.
Elizabeth Frame Born Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia 1820. Died 1913. She took early training at Normal School (Teacher's College) and taught in Nova Scotia. She enjoyed writing and produced two books. Descriptive Sketches of Nova Scotia (Halifax, 1864) and The Twilight of Faith (Boston, 1891).
May Agnes Fleming. (née Early). Born Saint John, New Brunswick November 15, 1840. Died March 24, 1880.  Her early stories were published in New York and Boston while she was still in school! She enjoyed writing romance and mystery novels but as was the fashion of the time her novels would appear as serials (chapter by chapter in newspapers) before being published as full books.  Her serials were published in New York and London, England!
Florio Graham, Barbara

Born  New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A.  Barbara was first published at the age of 9 in Humpty Dumpty Magazine, and then  in Jack and Jill, winning a National Scholastic Magazine regional short story award when she was 14. With her B.A. degree from Columbia University she taught English, speech and drama in New York and Chicago and worked in public relations before moving to Canada in 1967. A popular speaker for local, national and international organizations, she has taught courses in writing, speaking and media training. The author of three books, including the 20th anniversary edition of Five Fast Steps to Better Writing and a revised edition of Five Fast Steps to Low-Cost Publicity. Her alter-ego, Simon Teakettle, owns the company, Simon Teakettle Ink, and this cat has his own credits as a writer. Barbara and Simon collaborated Mewsings/museings, a collection of their best humor writing. Together, Barbara and Simon have contributed to 29 anthologies in six countries. Their website is www.SimonTeakettle.com.

Mavis Leslie Gallant. (née Young).  Born Montreal, Quebec August 11, 1922. A fiction writer since 1951 she has published more than 100 stories, most of which first appeared in the New Yorker Magazine. In 1993 she became a Companion of the Order of Canada. She has also written a play She has also written an impressive body of reviews and essays on French culture and society.
Elsie Bell Gardner Born Gateshead-on-tyne, United Kingdom  May 15,1895. Died October 1994. The family grew up in Scotland and Trinidad ,for several years when the father had a position with the police force. During World War l, while working at a munitions factory, Elsie and her sister were enamored with a pair of friends from Newfoundland. Elsie did not enjoy life in Newfoundland and she, her husband and budding young family moved to southern Ontario. Elsie turned to writing overcoming the death of a son. She wrote a series of  books around the world life adventures of a character named Maxie. She typed with using only two fingers on an old Underwood typewriter. Her daughters and their friends used to stand beside the typewriter and read the exciting pages as they came off the machine. When she first started writing she could not find a Canadian publisher and while the American company of Cupples and Leon in New York accepted the manuscripts, they requested that Maxie become American rather than Canadian. Elsie had to retype the entire manuscripts of her first three books! Maxie, an adorable Girl, Maxie in Venezuela and Maxie, Searching for her parents, were runaway success stories. Four more books appeared in the series. A member of the Hamilton Women's Press Club, Elsie also penned a column for the Mail and Empire (now the Globe and Mail) newspaper entitled  Life begins at forty. The Maxie series of books would be finished when the family lived in Burlington. Always interested in politics, Elsie Bell Gardner became the first woman elected to the Burlington Town Council.  Submitted by Anita Gardner Brit, Victoria, British Columbia.
Margaret Gibson. Born April 6, 1948. This writer started off with a bang when one of her first published works, The Butterfly Ward, made her a co-winner of the Best Canadian Short Story. She shared this award with Margaret Atwood. It would later be made into a TV movie for CBC. The movie Outrageous was also based on her work entitled Making it. More recently the made for CBS TV movie For the love of Aaron was based on an aspect of her life. 
Mary Evelyn Gannon Born Fredericton, New Brunswick 1900. Died 1975. She started her working career as so many of her generation of young women did, as a teacher. She had a real gift however, she had a passion for writing stories for children. Her storey telling career took off when in the mid 1930's she began to tell her stories on a local radio program. News of her talent spread and she was discovered by the CBC> The partnership would last from the end of 1930 into the 1960's. She was JUST MARY and her characters, Maggie Muggins, Mr. McGariety, Petunia 'Possum, Mrs. Bettlebug and others found themselves featured in more than thirty books and well as thousands of radio and TV programs. Her home at 35 Brunswick St. in Fredericton is now an historic cite of the Province of New Brunswick.
Phoebe Gilman Born New York City, New York, U.S.A. April 4, 1940. Her career started out as a hobby. She was a professional traditional artist. It took her a long time to finally seek a publisher for her first book, The Balloon Tree in 1985. She was determined to get the book published even though she received over 50 rejection slips! As a child reading books herself she would seek out books with female heroines. She had to be satisfied with Nancy Drew because there were few fictional heroines. She uses heroines like Gillian Giggs in the books she writes. She was awarded the Vicky Metcalf Award in 1993. This award honours Canadian Authors who have written at least four inspirational books for young people.
Rosalind Goforth née Bell-Smith Born 1864. Died 1942. Married to the Rev. Jonathan Goforth she would follow him on his mission work to China. In 1937 she published her husband's biography entitled Goforth in China. She also published How I know God Answers Prayer (Toronto, 1939) and Climbing: Memoirs of a missionary's wife (Toronto), 1940).
Sondra Gotlieb.   Born December 30, 1936.  An author, who has one the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, she has also authored two Canadian cookbooks.  She writes articles for such notable publications as Saturday Night, Maclean’s, and the New York Times.
Elizabeth Goudie. (née Blake) Born Mud Lake, Labrador April 20, 1902. Died Happy Valley, Labrador 1982. She was a wife and mother in Labrador.  After the death of her trapper husband in 1963 she wrote her autobiography, Woman of Labrador (published in 1993).The book became an international best seller.  It is the first recorded history of family life in the wilds of Labrador.
Emma Graham née Jeffers Born Wilton, Canada West (Ontario) Died August 20, 1922. While her father, the Rev. Wellington Jeffers was the editor of the famous newspaper the Christian Guardian, she contributed articles to the newspaper. She was also a contributor of articles to the Toronto Globe. She married the Rev. James Graham and was mother to three daughters and three sons. She would published "Etchings from a parsonage verandah (Toronto, 1895)
Gwethalyn Graham (real name Gwethalyn Graham Erichse-Brown).  Born January 18,1913.  This author would use only her first 2 names. Her novel Earth and High Heaven was the first Canadian novel to top the American bestseller list (1945). This same novel would win a Governor Generals Award, would sell for movie rights (alas it was never to be a movie) and would be translated into Braille and 18 different languages! She continued to write but always in the shadow that she could never do as well with another novel.  She wrote articles on immigration, anti-Semitism and women’s issues. Later in her career, she successfully turned her talents to writing TV Scripts.
Linda Granfield Born Melrose, Massachusetts, U.S.A. November 22, 1950. A voracious reader as a child, she credits Louisa May Alcott's character, JO, in the book, Little Women for being her inspiration to write. Her first writing job was to do the high school cafeteria menu each week for the local town newspaper. She worked in her cold basemen, wearing fingerless gloves that allowed her to type and try to keep warm. She is a collector of information on community events. Flyers, real estate advertisements, price lists of everything…all of these things are filed away in order so that they can be retrieved at some future date as a resource. She was awarded the Vicky Metcalfe Award in 2001. his award honours Canadian authors who have written 4 or more works that have inspired youthful readers.
Vanessa Grant An international lecturer and author of some 25 romantic women's fiction novels she has used her expertise to write a "How-to" book, Writing Romance. Her books have been translated into some 15 foreign languages. Her west coast North American settings for her novels are very popular with readers around the world.
Barbara Greenwood Born Toronto, Ontario September 14, 1940. She has always had a secret desire to be a writer Her high school English teacher would encourage her secret desire that would become her successful career. A piece on Louis Riel published in her high School yearbook would eventually become an acclaimed novel : A QUESTION OF LOYALTY. All her books use Canada as a background setting. She does in-depth research for her historical novels. She learns from primary documents about the people and she also studies the events and how they were described by others during the events themselves. Her book : A Pioneer story (1994) wpm the Information Book Award, Mr. Christie's Book Award and the Ruth Schartz Award.
Germaine Guévremont née Grignon Born St Jérome, Quebec 1900. Died August 21, 1968. As a journalist she was a correspondent for the Montreal Gazette. In the 1940 she wrote three novels in French. Two of the novels were translated into one volume in English entitled the Outlander ( Toronto, 1950) which won the Governor General's Award, In 1961 she was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Julia Catherine Hart. née Beckwith Born Fredericton, New Brunswick March 10, 1796. Died November 28, 1867. She wrote the first work of fiction by a native born Canadian to be published in Canada. Her novel was called St Ursula’s Convent or The Nun of Canada, Containing Scenes from Real Life” (1824). She wrote this book when she was only 17 years old! She would continue publishing her writings while she raised 6 children!
Elizabeth Grace Hay Born Owen Sound, Ontario 1951. While working for the CBC Radio she lived in various areas in Canada including Yellowknife in the northern territories, Winnipeg and Toronto. She rounded out her North American living with time living in Mexico and New York City.  She has won several acclaims for her works including the National Magazine Award Gold Medal in Fiction. Her works have also been on the finalist listings for the Governor General's Awards in literature. her works have included Canadian Tales: Canadians in New York (1993); The only Snow in Havana (1992); Small Change (1997) ; A student of weather (2000).
Lillian Margaret Hendrie Born Montreal, Quebec 1870. Died May 12, 1952. A teacher by profession she was the headmistress of Montreal High School for Girls from 1911 through to 1930. She wrote one book; Early days in Montreal and rambles in the neighborhood (Montreal, 1932).
Mary Eliza Herbert Born Halifax, Nova Scotia 1832. Died July 15,1872. An author and editor her first published work were poems that she co-authored with her sister Sarah in 1857. She was the first woman in Nova Scotia to edit and publish a magazine, The Mayflower or Ladies' Acadian Newspaper. The publication was some 32 pages an issue and began publishing in 1851. It only lasted some nine months with failed support from the population. She continued to write and some 4 of her books were published at her own expense due to an absence of any book publishing firms in the province.
Norah Mary Holland Born Collingwood, Ontario January 10, 1876. Died 1925.   A cousin to the famous Irish writer, W. B. Yeats, this Canadian novelist toured Ireland on foot in 1904.  She published several of her works and in her own day she was a well-respected poet.
Margaret Hollingsworth. Born London, England June 5, 1939. She emigrated from England to Canada in 1968 where she attended a University in Ontario before moving to British Columbia for post graduate studies. She is a notable playwright. Five of her plays were collected and published in 1985 in the book Willful Acts. 
Janet Turner Hospital Born Melrose, Australia November 12, 1942. She moved to Kingston, Ontario in 1971 and attended Queen’s University. She published her first novel, The Ivory Swing in 1982 followed with more novels in the 1980”s and 1990’s. She also published short stories and dipped into the murder mystery genre in 1990 with A very proper death under the nom de plume Alex Juniper.
Monica Hughes. (née Irse). Born Liverpool, England November 3, 1925. Died March 7, 2003.  This author, between 1980 and 1984 won 7 major Canadian awards for literature! In her lifetime she would publish some 35 books for young people.  She is best known for her young adult science fiction, fantasy and contemporary novels. In 2002 she became a member of the Order of Canada.
Nancy Lynn Hundal Born Vancouver, British Columbia January 31, 1957.  She studied for her BA and her teaching certificate at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. A busy mother of 3, she has found time to exercise her passion of writing books, short stories and poems for young readers. Her published titles include I heard my mother call my name (1990); November boots, 1993; Puddleduck, 1995; and Camping 2002. Among her awards are the BC Price in 1991, the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Prize.
Linda Hutcheon.  Born Toronto, Ontario August 24, 1947. She is an author, editor and a critic of art and literature which she combines with being a professor at the University of Toronto.  Among her published books is a study of contemporary Canadian fiction.
Edith Margaret Fowke. (née Fulton). Born Lumsdon, Saskatchewan April 30,1913. Died March 28, 1996. This folklorist, collector, writer, and teacher was interested in Ontario folklore. She presented the songs she recorded on the CBC radio on various shows featuring weekly programs on folklore from 1950 to 1974.  She was a founding member of the Canadian Folk Music Society and editor of the societies journal.
Phyllis Fay Gotlieb. (née Bloom.)  Born May 25,1926.  She published 4 volumes of verse, 5 verse plays, science fiction short stories, and science fiction novels. Some of her works have been translated into several languages.
Marjorie Harris. Born Shaunovon, Saskatchewan September 15,  1937. Her career as editor-in-chief of Gardening Life Magazine has not kept this energetic author from publishing some 19 books, many of which are on her first love of gardening. She has written articles for all the major Canadian magazines and appears regularly on both CBC and CTV radio and television. She was featured in Toronto Life magazine with a biographical sketch. Her latest book, in 1999, is Seasons of my garden. She is already researching another book on the social and anecdotal history of native plants in North America. Have an interesting anecdote to pass on about plants in your area? Contact Marjorie at: florana@interlog.com.  A good web page on Marjorie is: http://www.marjorieharris.com/
Annie l. Jack (née Hayr)  Born Northampton, England January 1,1839. Died February 15, 1912.  She was Canada’s first professional woman garden writer.  When she moved to Canada, she used her gardening skills to experiment and make a profit.  Her skills became known throughout North America and she was written up in American publications.  While she wrote and published short stories and poems, it is her horticultural articles for which she is remembered.  Her book The Canadian Gardener : A pocket Help of the Amateur  was published in 1903 and set the gardening standard for all of pre World War 1 Canada.  
Anna Brownell Jameson. (née Murphy). Born Dublin, Ireland May 17, 1794. Died March 17, 1860. A well known author by the time she came to Canada to join her husband she chronicled her 8 month stay in her book “Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada” (1838).
Nina Jamieson née Moore Born Dundas, Ontario. Died November 6,1932. As a career journalist she contributed occasional papers on rural life to the Toronto Mail and Empire. She also wrote three books; The Hickory stick: a romance of the school in the cedars (Toronto, 1921) ; The cattle in the stall; sketches and poems (Toronto, 1932)
Amelia Clotilda Jennings. Born Nova Scotia. Died 1895. During her writing career she would use the pen names of "Maude" of Mileta" She wrote some three books: Lenden Rhymes (Halifax, 1854); The White Rose in Acadia (Halifax, 1855) and Autumn in Nova Scotia (Halifax, 1855).
Mabel Annesley Johnston née Sulivan Born Toronto, Ontario 1870. Died April 1, 1945. As a writer she often used the pen name of Susanne or Suzanne Marny. She is credited with tow books: The Canadian book of months (Toronto, 1908) and Tales of old Toronto (Toronto, 1909)
Alice Jones. Born Halifax, Nova Scotia August 26, 1853. Died February 27, 1933. This author developed the “new woman” theme in her novels.  She also wrote shot stories and travel articles for magazines.  She used the pen name of Alix John for one of her novels.  In 1903 she was described as one of Canada’s leading women novelists. Her works included : The Night Hawk (Toronto & New York 1901); Bubbles we buy (Toronto, 1903) Gabriel Praed's castle (Boston, 1904) ; Marcus Holbrach's daughter (New York, 1912) and Flame of Frost (1918).
Rukhana "Roxy" Kahn Born Lahore, Pakistan March 13, 1962. Rejection of her first storybook by publishers encouraged Rukhana to put away her writing. She got married and started a family leaving her writing alone. Coming across her old rejection slips she found that publishers had actually been encouraging her and made suggestions to improve her writing. She decided to give it a try again. A local librarian encouraged her to learn more about writing from the Canadian Children's book Centre. By the end of 2000 she had penned some five books including an in depth novel. Not a bad accomplishment for someone who thought she could not become a writer because of her ethnic background!
Valerie Jean Knowles. Born Montreal, Quebec  August 2, 1934. She completed degrees from Smith College, McGill University in Montreal and Carleton University in Ottawa. This former history teacher and, now, free lance writer who has been successful in writing for newspapers, magazines and federal government departments. She has authored some 9 books. She uses her historical studies and archives  background to develop her contribution to historical writings of Canada. Her book, Strangers at Our Gates, currently in its 2nd edition (1997) provides the only writing to give a complete overview of the history of Canadian immigration.  She has established herself as a biographer of note with her works on Cairine Wilson, Canada's first woman in the senate (1988),  the award winning book Telegrapher to Titan the life of William C. Van Horne (2004) and a collection of profiles of famous and obscure figures of Ottawa in Capital Lives. (2005)
Joy Nozomi Kogawa. Born Vancouver, British Columbia June 6, 1935. This busy mother of two had previously worked as a writer in the Prime Minister's Office. She is known for her novels, children's books, poetry and essays, which have been published in Canada and in Japan. She is also an activist. She was instrumental in influencing the Canadian government in their settlement with Japanese Canadians for loss of liberty and property in Canada during World War ll.  She is a member of the Order of Canada.
Margaret Laurence. (née Jean Margaret Wemyss) Born Neepawa, Manitoba July 18, 1926. Died January 5, 1987. From age seven she wrote stories. Her gift of writing leaves a permanent mark on contemporary Canadian Literature. Her first writing job was as a reporter and book reviewer for the Winnipeg Citizen. She has been able to write with experience of having lived in England, Somalilanc, Ghana, Greece, Crete, Palestine, India, Egypt and Spain but Canada was always home.  She is much beloved and remembered for her works, her personal warmth, strength and humor which she shared so generously.
Mary Jane Lawson née Katzmann Born Dartmouth, Nova Scotia 1828. Died 1890. She married William Lawson shortly before her death. Perhaps it was his dedication that got her books published posthumously. There was a book of poetry published in 1893 and The History of the Townships of Dartmouth, Preston and Lawrencetown, Halifax Country, Nova Scotia (Halifax, 1893)
Mary Leslie Born Leslie's Corners, Upper Canada (Ontario) June 11, 1842. Died March 1, 1920. Like many of the well to do pre- Confederation well to do families in Canada, her family sent her to Europe to tour. While she was in Holland she continued her studies in art. However it is her writings that would remain her legacy. She would publish some three books including Historical Sketches of Scotland (Toronto, 1905)
Jean Little Born  Formosa (Taiwan) China. January 2, 1932.  When her doctor parents realized that baby Jean had severe site problems they moved to Canada. Although legally blind she completed her BA at the University of Toronto and trained as a special education teacher. Jean  always knew she would be a writer but she also felt that she had to work at a real job to make a living. She soon gave up being a teacher to be a full time writer.  She has written some 25 children’s books and two autobiographies Little by Little (1987) and Stars Come Out within (1990). Jean Little's first book, Mine for Keeps, won the Little Brown Children's Book Award in 1962 and was republished by Viking Penguin in 1995. She has won a number of additional awards, including a Canadian Library Association (CLA) Book of the Year Medal , the Vicky Metcalf Award,  a Canada Council Children's Literature Award , The Ruth Schwartz Award and the Mr. Christie’s Book Award. . Her books have attracted an international readership and have been translated into several different languages including Korean. Jean lives with her talking computer, her seeing  eye dog, several collected family members and a menagerie of pets including dogs, cats, birds and turtles. Her advice to young people of the world “ Always remember that  the best place for your nose is inside a book.” (quote from www.jeanlittle.com January 2006) A A
Robina Lizars Born Stratford, Ontario. Died August 26, 1918. She is some times referred to by her married name of Smith. She and her sister Kathleen co-authored several historical works including In the days of the Canada Company (Toronto, 1896).
Kathleen Macfarlane Lizars Born Stratford, Ontario.  Died April 20, 1931. Kathleen was educated in Toronto and also studied in Scotland. With her sister, Robina she wrote several books including In the Days of the Canada Company (Toronto, 1896). She also published on her own a historical work, The Valley of the Humber (Toronto, 1913.)
Nicole Luiken. Born May 25,1971. It was not until the summer between grades seven and eight that she read Guide to Fiction writing and began to take her writing seriously.  She began a regimen of writing regularly, one hour per day that grew to three hours each evening. She pounded out eleven books in four years, two are now in print. One is a great ghost story that may be borrowed through your own library.
Janet Lunn Born Dallas, Texas, U.S.A. December 28, 1928.An author of books of historical fiction for young readers her writings have won the Canada Council Prize (1979 and 1988), the CLA Book of the Year for Children (1981 & 1988), the Ruth Schwartz Award ( 1988), the Information Book Award ( 1995), the Mr. Christie's Book Award ( 1995) and the Governor General's Award ( 1998) For all her efforts she received the Vicky Metcalf Award in 1982 which recognizes authors who have inspired youth. She has the ability to transform avid research into a real time machine for young readers. She assures her readers that she does have a ghost in her house and his story is written up in her book "The Root Cellar" (1981).
Vera Lysenko née Lesek  Born Winnipeg, Manitoba 1910. Died 1995. Educated at the University of Manitoba she worked as a nurse, a school teacher and a Journalist at various times in her varied career. She sometimes used the name Luba Novak for her writings. Her work tended to confound standard critical categories and has therefore been much neglected as Canadian writer.
Madge MacBeth. Born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1878. Died September 20, 1965. She had married at 15 and was a widow in her 20's with two young sons. She turned to writing to support her small family. She was one of the first travel writers and she constantly had a notebook in her hands and she wrote about everything she saw. . She would have to her career credit some 20 novels, two autobiographies, biographies. travel books and hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles. She also enjoyed radio writing and by 1938 she had written several radio plays, one with 24 episodes! She believed in supporting her profession and was a popular and willing speaker at many events. She was also a president of the Ottawa Branch of the Canadian Women's Press Club.
Jane Elizabeth MacDonald née Roberts. Born Westcock, New Brunswick February 17, 1864. Died November 8, 1922. The sister of the famous author Sir Charles C.D. Roberts she moved west and finally settled in Ottawa, Ontario. She wrote "Our Little Canadian Cousin" (Boston, 1904) and "Dream Verses and other" (Boston, 1906) She co-authored with family members "Northland Lyrics (Boston, 1897)
Blanche Lucile Macdonell Born 1853. Died November 24, 1924. She was educated in Toronto, Ontario. She wrote several stories and published a novel "Diane of Ville Marie (Toronto, 1896).
Agnes Maule Machar Born Kingston, Canada West (Ontario) January 23, 1837. Died January 24, 1927. Educated in Kingston she would show her skills as a writer under the pen name "Fidelis" She would published novels , historical works as well as collections of prose and poetry. For her early work Katie Johnston's Cross (Toronto, 1870) she would receive a prize for the best children's Sunday School Fiction. Among her several works were The Story of Old Kingston (Toronto, 1908) and Stories of the British Empire (Toronto ,19130 In 1873 she wrote with her mother , Memoirs of the Rev. John Machar (Toronto, 1873) Her writings did not masque her views as a Christian, a nationalist, a feminist and a social crusader.
Isabel Ecclestone MacKay née Macpherson. Born Woodstock, Ontario November 25, 1875. Died August 15, 1928. In 1895 she married Peter J. MacKay and in 1909 the couple moved to Vancouver, British Columbia. As a poet she would published some three volumes of verse, including a volume for children. She published short stories and some seven novels. She was a prominent worker with the Canadian Women's Press Club. As a playwright she wrote a number of plays which have been produced in Canada and the United States.
Jean Newton McIlwraith Born Hamilton , Canada West (Ontario) 1859. Died November 17, 1938. A prolific writer for her day, many of her works were meant to provide information and biographical data for her readers. The making of Mary (New York, 1895) was followed with A Book About Shakespeare (New York, 1898) and Canada (New York, 1899) She would also write Sir Frederick Haldimand (Toronto, 1904) among others.
Louise Maheux-Forcier. Born June 9, 1929.  In 1963 her first novel was awarded the Prix du Cercle du livre de France.  She wrote of the then critical theme of lesbianism. She continued to write novels and branched out to short stories and scripts for films for TV.
Antonine Maillet. Born May 10, 1929. A storyteller supreme, this novelist is most famous for her French language work La Sagouine which is rich in Acadian heritage. This novel has been made into a very popular one-person play. Linda Evangelista.   Born 1965. At 15 while a unsuccessful contestant in a beauty contest she was approached by a modeling agent.  A serious and successful international model she has been on the cover of every major fashion magazine cover around the world.
Alice Stuart Massey née Parkin. Born Fredericton, New Brunswick  Died July 29, 1950. The wife of Canada's first Canadian Born Governor General, kept her busy with an extremely active social life that was required of the family she had married into. She did have an interest in women's roles in modern society and was author of Occupations for trained women in Canada (London, 1920)
Carol Matas Born Winnipeg, Manitoba  November 14, 1949. She went to theatre school and acted in Toronto before discovering her talent for writing children's books. She enjoys writing fantasy. She also has taken what she considered an important story about the treatment of Jews in World War ll and written a book so that Canadian youth would know what happened. Her books have won the Geoffrey Bilson Award ( 1987), the Silver Birch Award (1993) and the Red Maple Award( 1996).
Margaret Dixon McDougal Born (1826 (?) Died 1898. As a writer she was known to have used the pen name "Nora" or Norah" One larger work that was published was "The letters of "Norah" on her tour through Ireland. She also published "Verses and Rhymes by the Way" (Pembroke, 1880) and The Day of a Life (Almonte, 1883)
Margaret Millar née Sturm. Born Kitchener, Ontario 1915. Died March 26, 1994. She married Kenneth Miller when she was a student studying the classics at the University of Toronto in 1938. In 1941 she penned her first novel The Invisible worm" She would write some 6 novels in her early career all of which had a Canadian setting. After 1950 her mysteries were mainly set in California where she had settled with her family. She even did the Hollywood 'thing' after world war ll when she was a screenwriter for Warner Brothers Studios. She and her husband, had a mutual enjoyment of nature and helped found a chapter of the National Audubon Society. in 1965 she was the Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year. Her numerous writings are often overshadowed by the works of her husband who became a well known mystery writer under the pen name of Ross Macdonald.
Lucy Maud Montgomery. (married name Macdonald.)  Born Clifton, Prince Edward Island November 30, 1874. Died April 24, 1942 It is no surprise to know that she was born in Prince Edward Island.  She would use the stories and lessons of growing up in her world famous novels about a young orphan named Anne. Later there was also Emily and Jane, new characters to share with the world. Have you ever read "Anne of Green Gables?"  In which of the 14 languages the book is translated did you read the book?
Susanna Moodie (née Strickland). Born Bungay, England December 6,  1803.  Died 1885. Susanna was a settler in Upper Canada and she wrote about her adventures in a famous book called Roughing it in the Bush. She was also an early Canadian journalist writing for the best of the Canadian literary journals of the day. She was very suspicious of the “Yankee” (American) influence on early Canada. Her sister, Catherine Parr Trail was also a famous Canadian author.
Alice Munro. Born Wingham, Ontario July 10,1931.  Her short stories appear in magazines such as the New Yorker and The Atlantic.  She has collected her stories and published numerous books of stories. A novel, Lives of girls and women, grew from her short stories.  She has received 3 Governor General’s awards for her works.  She also has won the Canada-Australia Literary Prize and the Marion Engel Award and the W. H. Smith Award from Great Britain.
Louisa Annie Murray Born Carisbrooke, England May 24, 1918. Died July 27,1894. She emigrated to Canada in 1844 with her family and they became pioneers on Wolfe Island near Kingston, Ontario. She taught school as a young woman. She began to write with the encouragement of a neighbours. With the endorsement of Susanna Moodie her work Fauna, or the red flower of leafy Hollow appeared in the Literary Garland magazine in 1851 in serial format. She persevered publishing perils and loss of work to become the major Canadian prose writer of the 1870's. She also published a small number of poems.
Mitiarjuj Nappaaluk. Born Kangiqusujuaq, Quebec. An esteemed story teller whose stories and legends have been broadcast for years on the CBC radio she draws on her traditional upbringing. She had her feet firmly planted in both the traditions of her people and the modern worlds. As an author she is the first author to publish a novel in the Inuktitul language. She has translated the Roman Catholic Book of Prayer into Inuktitut so that her people my learn in their own language. She has compiled an encyclopedia of traditional Inuit knowledge, legends and natural history so that the traditional spoken knowledge may be passed to all who seek knowledge of the unique culture of her people. In 1999 she received an National Aboriginal Achievement Award for her contributions to heritage and spirituality
Martha Ostenso. Born Bergen, Norway  September 6, 1900. Died 1963. She was educated in a Winnipeg high school and the University of Manitoba. While she taught school she worked on her 1st novel,” Wild Geese” (1925). She spent time as a reporter, and a social worker but still found room for her writings.  She would complete another novels.
Francine Pelletier. Born April 25, 1957. This author has written 14 novels for young adults and several novels for adults.  In 1988 she was awarded the "Grand Prix de la science-fiction du fantastique Quebecoise" for her work, La petite fille de silence, also the same year she was awarded the "Prix Boreal" for the work, les temps de migrations. 
Sharon Pollock. Born Fredericton, New Brunswick April 19, 1936.  Her birth name was Mary Sharon Chalmers. Her first published play , A compulsory Option, won the 1971 Alberta Playwriting Competition. After teaching at several western Canadian institutions she became, in 1984, the first woman artistic director of a major western Canadian theatre.  She has written several plays of children as well as TV and radio scripts. Her play DOC earned her the 1984 Governor General's Award.  In 1988 she was awarded the Canada-Australia Literary Prize.
Agnes Helen Fogwill Porter. (née Wright) Born St. John’s, Newfoundland May 8, 1930. She began her writing career as an adult in 1964. She was already a busy wife and mother of 4 children. She excels in  writing fiction poetry and writing of drama. She won the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Canada Book Award in 1989 and received the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993.
Rosa Portlock née Elliott. Born England 1839. Died 1928. She emigrated to Canada in 1871. She married William Portlock. It was not until after the death of her husband in 1893 that she began to consider publishing her works which were mainly autobiographical in nature. The Head Keeper (Toronto, 1898) and 25 years of Canadian Life (Toronto, 1901).
Gwendolyn Ringwood. (née Phares) Born Anatone, Washington U.S.A. August 13, 1910. Died May 24, 1984. In 1941 she received the Governor General's Award for outstanding service to Canadian drama. She was the first Canadian playwright to publish a volume of collected plays in 1982.
Ellen Ross née McGregor