Skip navigation.
CANSCAIP logoPicture of text Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers
Frequently Asked Questions Join CANSCAIP CANSCAIP Meetings Buy CANSCAIP Contact Us  
What’s New?
CANSCAIP Members
School/Library Visits
Meeting Minutes
The CANSCAIP Collection
Packaging Your Imagination
Members/Friends Only
Member Biography Updates

CANSCAIP Members

Sarah Ellis

Author

4432 Walden St.
Vancouver, B.C.
V5V 3S3
Email: andyspandy@telus.net

Born: May 19, 1952. Vancouver, B.C.

Biography

Sarah Ellis was born in Vancouver and although she has travelled and lived elsewhere she always misses the sea and the rain and has to come home. As a child she read everything in sight and when she grew up she was lucky enough to find a career where reading is encouraged. During her ten years as a children's librarian she discovered a delight in performing -- in puppetry and storytelling. At the same time she became interested in writing about children's books, spending a year at the Center for the Study of Children's Literature at Simmons College in Boston. She now writes a review column for Quill and Quire and lectures internationally on Canadian children's books. It seems inevitable that having had this much pleasure from children's books she would one day try her hand at writing juvenile fiction herself. A dozen books later she is well and truly hooked. When she is not telling stories, whether on paper or in the air, Sarah works part-time as a reference librarian, gardens, cooks, reads, goes for long walks and potters around her basement.

Published Works

Big Ben. Illustrated by Kim LaFave. Toronto: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2001.
Girls' Own: An Anthology of Canadian Fiction for Young Readers (editor). Toronto: Penguin Books, 2001.
A Prairie As Wide as the Sea: The Immigrant Diary of Ivy Weatherall. Toronto: Scholastic Canada, 2001.
Next Stop. Illustrated by Ruth Ohi. Toronto: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2000.
From Reader to Writer: Teaching Writing Through Classic Children's Books. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2000.
The Young Writers' Companion. Toronto: Groundwood, 1999.
Back of Beyond: Stories. Toronto: Groundwood, 1996.
Out of the Blue. Groundwood, 1994.
Pick-Up Sticks. Groundwood, 1991.
Putting up with Mitchell. Illustrated by Barbara Wood. Vancouver: Brighouse Press, 1989.
Next-Door Neighbours. Toronto: Groundwood, 1989.
The Baby Project. Toronto: Groundwood, 1986.

Awards

Sheila Egoff Award (B.C. Book Prizes) for Back of Beyond.
The Canadian Author's Association Vicky Metcalf Award for a body of work.
The Mr. Christie Award for Out of the Blue
The I.O.D.E. Violet Downey award for Out of the Blue.
The Governor General's Award for Pick-Up Sticks.
Sheila Egoff Award (B.C. Book Prizes) for The Baby Project.

Other Memberships

IBBY, Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable, The Writers' Union of Canada, Vancouver Society of Storytellers, Canadian Children's Book Centre, Children's Writers and Illustrators of B.C., PEN

Available For

Readings and conferences.