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Ami McKay, novelist, journalist (born in Indiana, USA 1968). Born and raised in rural Indiana, Ami McKay began her career as a music teacher after earning an undergraduate degree in music education and a graduate degree in musicology at Indiana State University.

Louise Penny, writer (born 1 July 1958 in Toronto, ON). Upon receiving her Bachelor of Applied Arts in Radio and Television Arts from Ryerson Polytechnic in 1979, Louise Penny began a lengthy career as a radio host and journalist with the CBC.

Carol Shields, novelist, poet, playwright, biographer (born at Oak Park, Illinois 2 Jun 1935; died at Victoria, BC 16 Jul 2003). Shields was educated at Hanover College, Indiana, the University of Exeter England, and the University of Ottawa.

Alison Calder, poet (born in London, England on 21 Dec 1969).

Hélène Pedneault, writer, columnist, journalist, scriptwriter, activist (born 14 April 1952 in Jonquière, QC; died 1 December 2008 in Montréal, QC). Hélène Pedneault was a writer and activist who was deeply involved in causes including environmentalism, feminism and Québec sovereignty.

Dany Laferrière, né Windson Kléber, novelist, essayist, poet and journalist (born 13 April 1953 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti).

Alan Cumyn, writer (b at Ottawa 1960). Alan Cumyn was born and grew up in Ottawa. He spent one year at Royal Roads Military College in Victoria, BC, and then transferred to Queen's University, where he completed a BA in English and History.

Kim Thúy, CQ, writer (born 18 September 1968 in Saigon, Vietnam). The winner of several prestigious literary awards for her first novel (Ru), this Quebec writer of Vietnamese origin is known for her short and elegant stories. Her novels deal with the migrant experience and the challenges of adapting to a new culture. Written in French, which Thúy calls her “second mother tongue,” they have been translated into 15 languages.

Art Linkletter, born Gordon Arthur Kelly, radio and television host, author (b at Moose Jaw, Sask 17 Jul 1912, d at Los Angeles 26 May 2010). Art Linkletter was adopted as an infant by a travelling evangelical preacher and his wife.

Angela Abdou, writer (born 11 May 1969 in Moose Jaw, SK). Angie Abdou earned a PhD in English literature and creative writing from the University of Calgary, following degrees from the University of Regina and University of Western Ontario.

Aritha van Herk, novelist, anthologist, essayist (b at Wetaskiwin, Alta 26 May 1954). Aritha van Herk, the daughter of Dutch immigrants, was raised on a farm in the Scandinavian community of Wetaskiwin.

William Charles Foran, writer, journalist and educator (born at Toronto, Ont. 2 August 1960). The son of a FRANCO-ONTARIAN mother and IRISH Canadian father, Foran was raised in Toronto.

Arthur Reginald Scammell, CM, teacher, songwriter, singer, poet, writer (born 12 February 1913 in Change Islands, NL; died 28 August 1995 in St. John’s, NL).

Alan Hepburn Jarvis, art connoisseur, sculptor, editor, author (b at Brantford, Ont 6 July 1915; d at Toronto 2 Dec 1972).

Adam Pettle, playwright (born at Toronto 1973). Adam Pettle is one of the most high-profile graduates (1999) of the National Theatre School of Canada's (NTS) playwriting program. He received a BA in theatre from Dalhousie University in 1994.

Zsuzsi Gartner, writer, editor, journalist, (born at Winnipeg, MB, 4 May 1960) began her career in journalism.

 Ann Blades's illustrations for Betty Waterton's A Salmon for Simon (1978), set in a native fishing village, received the Canada Council Children's Literature Prize. By the Sea: An Alphabet Book (1985) won the Elizabeth Meazik-Cleaver Award for Illustration.

Augustus (John) Bridle. Critic, writer, editor, b East Stour, Dorsetshire, England, 4 Mar 1868, d Toronto 21 Dec 1952. Of illegitimate birth and orphaned in infancy, he became a ward of the Rev T.B. Stephenson, founder of the National Children's Home in London.

Buffalo Child Long Lance, writer, actor, impostor (born Sylvester Long at Winston-Salem, North Carolina on 1 December 1890; died in Arcadia, California on 20 March 1932). Of mixed Indigenous and white (and possibly black) ancestry, he was able to escape the segregated southern US because he looked "Indian."

Mary Helen Creighton, CM, song collector, folklorist, writer (born 5 September 1899 in Dartmouth, NS; died 12 December 1989 in Halifax, NS). A pioneering collector of Maritime folk music and folklore, Helen Creighton helped define Maritime culture.