Valerie Sherrard

Valerie (Russell) Sherrard is a celebrated author of children’s and young adults’ literature. She was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Her father was in the Air Force, and his postings took the family to various parts of Canada and to Germany. It was in Germany that her teacher, Alf Lower, encouraged her to consider becoming a writer in the future.

Valerie has made her home in New Brunswick since 1980. In 1985, a personal loss inspired her to foster children in need of homes. Over the years she fostered approximately 70 adolescents for various lengths of time. Valerie also worked as the director of a group home for teens for more than a decade.

In light of those experiences, it was natural that, when she began to write in earnest, she chose to write for children and young adults.

Valerie’s work has been recognized on national and international levels and has been translated into several languages. She has won or been shortlisted for more than fifty awards, including the Governor General’s Literary Awards, the TD Children’s Literature Award, the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Young People, the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction, the Ann Connor Brimer Award, and many others. Valerie works and lives in Miramichi, New Brunswick.