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Photo of Kristin Butcher

Kristin Butcher

Author

752 Kalmar Road
Campbell River, B.C.
V9W 5S4
Phone: (250) 923-0466
Email: kristin@kristinbutcher.com
Web: www.kristinbutcher.com

Born: April 23, 1951. Winnipeg, Manitoba

Biography

Like most people who enjoy writing, I also love to read. As a child, I couldn't wait to begin school so I could learn how. To me it seemed like magic. Books were treasure chests jammed full of glorious adventures and ideas, but I didn't have the key. I had to rely on my parents and older sister to read to me, and that just wasn't good enough. I wanted to do it myself. And I wasn't disappointed. Reading was everything I had hoped it would be. The only thing that frustrates me now is the knowledge that there are more books than I'll ever get to in my lifetime.

I've noticed when I read author biographies, that many writers are or have been teachers. I'm not quite sure why that is, but it is--and I'm no exception. For me, teaching was good because it helped me to understand children better. You see, I never really was one myself. Children are active, and I've always been more of a watcher than a doer. Maybe that's why I never learned to swim or skate very well. Perhaps it's also why I was farmed off to the outfield during neighbourhood baseball games. I shouldn't give the impression that I was a washout at everything. I could climb trees, though I was even better at falling out of them. And I rode a bike; I even have an assortment of scars to prove it. I may not have been overly athletic, but I did have a great imagination and super friends. We put on theatrical extravaganzas, produced magazines, ran detective agencies, held funerals for birds, operated roadside stands of many varieties, and conducted safaris in the woods behind our homes. I always think I grew up in a wonderful era, but perhaps it's all in the way I choose to remember it. But I do remember it--vividly--and that helps me in my writing. I can't imagine that I'll ever run out of ideas for stories.

Published Works

Chat Room, Orca Book Publishers, 2006
Zee's Way (Orca Book Publishers, 2004)
The Trouble With Liberty (Orca Book Publishers, 2003)
The Hemingway Tradition (Orca Book Publishers, 2002)
Cairo Kelly and the Mann (Orca, 2002)
Summer of Suspense (Whitecap, 2002)
The Gramma War (Orca Book Publishers, 2001)
The Tomorrow Tunnel (Thistledown Press, 1999)
De Vluchtelingen (Deltas, 1999)
Waltzing Annie Home (Storyteller Magazine, 1999)
The Runaways (Kids Can Press, 1997)

Awards

Zee's Way -- Chocolate Lily winner (2006); ALA Quick Pick nominee
The Trouble with Liberty -- Children's Book Centre Our Choice selection (2004)
The Hemingway Tradition -- Children's Book Centre Our Choice selection, 2003; Resource Links Magazine Best Books of 2003 List
The Gramma War: -- OLA Best Bet Book (2001), Children's Book Centre Our Choice selection (2001), CLA Book of the Year Notable (2002), IODE Violet Downey Book for Children nominee (2002), Chocolate Lily Children's Choice Award 2003(3rd place), Red Cedar Award Nominee (2004)
Cairo Kelly and the Mann: -- Chocolate Lily Children's Choice Award nominee (2004), OLA Best Bet Book (2002), CLA Book of the Year nominee (2003), Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award nominee (2004)
The Tomorrow Tunnel - (shortlisted for 1999 CLA Book of the Year)
Waltzing Annie Home - (runner-up in the 1999 Great Canadian Short Story Competition)
The Runaways -- Children's Book Centre Our Choice selection (1998)
The Runaways - (finalist & regional winner of the 1998 OLA Silver Birch Award)

Other Memberships

CWILL (BC Children's Writers & Illustrators), CCBC (Canadian Children's Book Centre), Federation of BC Writers, Writers Union of Canada

Available For

Author readings and talks -- all levels
Writing workshops -- grade 4 & up
Teacher workshops and in-services.