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Photo of Wendy A. Lewis

Wendy A. Lewis

Author

Uxbridge, ON
Phone: (905) 852-0288
Email: lewismurray@powergate.ca

Born: February 10, 1966. Ottawa, Ontario.
Married to Robert Murray with two children: Amelia and Maddie

Biography

Wendy earned her B.A. in English Literature from the University of Toronto, and a certificate in Corporate Communications (post-graduate program) from Seneca College. She has worked as a tutor, a retail store owner, and a sales and marketing representative. While on maternity leave from her marketing job, Wendy gave birth to a baby girl and twelve short stories, which became her first published book, GRAVEYARD GIRL. She never returned to her "real" (paying!) job and in the past six years has written several picture books, chapter books, short stories, one novel, and the beginnings of a dozen more. (Wendy says her biggest problem is too many ideas, not enough time!) To get at the heart of her stories, Wendy has hung out in cemeteries, leaped from an airplane, and patrolled poacher-infested turtle nesting beaches in the dark of night. She believes in challenging limitations in writing and in life, and likes to stretch against the confines of traditional narrative forms.

Her picture book text about a sea turtle won the 1999 Writers' Union of Canada Writing for Children Contest, and earned her a Canada Council grant to research sea turtles in Costa Rica. Her short story "Revelations" won the 2001 Vicky Metcalf Award (administered by the Canadian Authors' Association) for the Best Young Adult Short Fiction.

Published Works

Freefall, Key Porter Books, 2008
Lacrosse Warrior: The Life of Mohawk Lacrosse Champion Gaylord Powless, James Lorimer & Company, 2008
Cheetah, Orca Book Publishers, 2007
Fire on the Water: The Red-Hot Career of Superstar Rower Ned Hanlan, James Lorimer & Company, 2007
Diver, The Leatherback Sea Turtle, Scholastic Education, 2006
A Most Unusual Pet, Scholastic Education, 2006
Come to the Pow-Wow!, Scholastic Education, 2006
Dress Up, Scholastic Education, 2005
I Can Ride, Scholastic Education, 2005
In Abby's Hands, Red Deer Press, 2003.
Graveyard Girl (stories), Red Deer Press, 2000.
"A Hundred Million Kisses", in In My World, Prentice Hall Ginn, 1999.
"Food Bank Souper Heroes", in All Join In, Prentice Hall Ginn, 1999.
"The Great Austini", in Just Watch Me!, Prentice Hall Ginn, 1999.
(The three Prentice Hall Ginn educational anthologies are part of their Collections 2 series for Grade Two readers.)

Recorded Works

"A Hundred Million Kisses", "Food Bank Souper Heroes" and "The Great Austini" are recorded on audio cassettes for the educational market.

Performances

Uxbridge Celebration of the Arts, 2000

Awards

2001 Winner, Vicky Metcalf Award for "Revelations" in GRAVEYARD GIRL
2001 Nomination, Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book of the Year for GRAVEYARD GIRL
1999 Winner, Writers' Union of Canada Writing for Children Contest for MIST (formerly titled WEEWUN'S HATCH DAY)
1997 Finalist, Writers' Union of Canada Writing for Children Contest for IN ABBY'S HANDS (formerly titled A FINE NAME)

Available For

School visits, readings, and writing workshops.