Children’s author Marilynn Reynolds was born in Sudbury, Ontario, where her father worked in the mines, and spent her childhood in Nipigon, Vancouver and Calgary. She enjoyed summer holidays with grandparents near Cut Knife and Unity, Saskatchewan, absorbing stories about the prairie that she eventually wrote about in her books for children.
After graduating from the University of Alberta with a BA in English, she worked as a reporter and book reviewer for The Edmonton Journal and was Edmonton editor of Western Living Magazine.
Marilynn was a free-lance writer for several years before publishing her eight children’s books with Orca Book Publishers. She now lives in Victoria where she continues to write.
Education
- Banff School of Fine Arts writing scholarship
- BA in English, University of Alberta, 1961
- Diploma in Fine Art, Grant MacEwan University, 1984
Books
- Belle’s Journey, 1993 (translated into German, Japanese and Braille)
- Included in Anthology “I Remember When” University of Toronto press
- Included in German language anthology of true animal stories
- A Dog for a Friend, 1994
- The New Land, 1997
- The Prairie Fire, 1999
- The Magnificent Piano Recital, 2000
- A Present for Mrs. Kazinski, 2001 (translated into Korean.)
- The Name of the Child, 2002
- Goodbye to Griffith Street, 2004
Awards
Belle’s Journey
- Canadian Children’s Book Centre “Our Choice”
- Shortlisted for Henry Kreisel Award for best first book by an Alberta author
- Canadian National Institute for the Blind “Tiny Torgi” shortlist
The New Land
- Canadian Children’s Book Centre “Our Choice”
- American Book Association “Kids Pick of the Lists”
The Prairie Fire
- Canadian Children’s Book Centre “Our Choice”
- American Book Association “Kids Pick of the Lists”
- Nominee, Canadian Library Association “Book of the Year”
- First Runner Up, Western Writers of America Storyteller Award
- Shortlist, R. Ross Annett Award
- Nominee, Alcuin Award for book design
- Nominee, Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award
The Magnificent Piano Recital
- Canadian Children’s Book Centre starred “Our Choice”
- Amelia Frances Gibbon Award for illustration
- US Storytelling World Honor Book
A Present for Mrs. Kazinski
- Canadian Children’s Book Centre “Our Choice”
The Name of the Child
- Canadian Children’s Book Centre “Our Choice”
- Mr. Christie Silver Seal
- US Storytelling World Honor Book
- Nominee, Blue Spruce Award
- Nominee, Chocolate Lily Award
Goodbye to Griffith Street
- Canadian Children’s Book Centre “Our Choice”
- B.C. book award’s Christie Harris prize for Children’s Literature
