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Shirlee Smith Matheson
Shirlee Smith Matheson has lived on a farm near the Riding Mountains in Manitoba; on a farm near Sylvan Lake, Alberta, where her older brother still lives; in Lacombe, Alberta; Vernon and Hudson’s Hope , British Columbia; in Australia; and in Calgary.
Becoming a writer, Shirlee thought, was not realistic for somebody whose writing had consisted on keeping diaries and writing poems privately. However, when she and her husband moved to Vernon, she joined a writer’s group. She began entering their Christmas contests and winning prizes for her short stories.
She has worked with W.O.Mitchell, Alistair MacLeod, Irving Layton, Richard Lemm, Phyllis Webb and Orm Mitchell.
Shirlee’s definition of success is taking pride in having written her books well and knowing that they add to society’s collective knowledge.
The latest in Shirlee Smith Matheson’s popular Canadian aviation stories, Amazing Flights and Flyers, is a fascinating collection of adventures ranging from aerial hijackings to secret Nazi weather stations in Labrador, from the missions of the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association to an incredible aerial rescue expedition in the Antarctic. Every story is different, every story is astonishing, and every story is completely true!”
Awards
First Prize for Non-Fiction, Alberta Culture, 1990
Roderick Haig-Brown, B.C. Book Prize, 1990, short-listed
Canadian Award in Aviation, 99s Organization of Women Pilots, 1999
Distinguished Alumni Award, Athabasca University, 2001-2002
Emerald Award for Environmental Excellence, 2001, short-listed
British Columbia: Honorary Associate of Arts degree, Northern Lights College, 2001
Choice Award for Teen Novels, Canadian Children’s Book Centre, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2003
