Sharon Bird
Categories: Female Authors - Authors of Non-Fiction - Saint John River Valley
Source: Author / auteure
Biography
I was born in 1959 in Saint John, NB but grew up in Burtts Corner. I went to Nackawic Senior High because the Burtts Corner school had no high school. I have three awesome adult children and three grandchildren. My children have been my largest accomplishment; I'm so proud of them.
From the age of 13 I wanted to be a writer, but I was a little slow, completing my first non-fiction book in 2011. Prior to that, I did publish a few articles that are included in the now 40+ pieces in national newspapers and magazines. I have four non-fiction books published, two fiction (one for youth and one adult) in progress, and a couple of ideas for future non-fiction.
I moved to Alberta in 2008 for work, but after the Fort McMurray forest fire and a serious health issue in 2016, I decided it was time to come back home. I'm hoping to pursue my writing on a full-time basis. Unfortunately, now I have children and grandchildren on both ends of Canada.
How has New Brunswick influenced your work?
I love history and New Brunswick is so rich in history. The period I especially enjoy is from the mid 1700s and 1800s on when people immigrated to find a better life. I especially enjoy the stories of small rural communities and hope to capture a lot of those histories in future writing. I want to tell our NB stories so they aren't lost. To date, most of my writing has been non-fiction with a historical component. Even the two fiction books I'm working on are historical fiction; the children's one set in the mid 1960s in a railway community, and the other story beginning in June 1944 in rural NB.
What do you consider to be the highlight of your career so far?
Being recognized with an honourable mention for my unpublished children's novel and having two highly praised and respected UNB professors, Dr. Alan Sears (History professor) and Philip Sexsmith (English professor) give me strong endorsement for my latest book Through the Eyes of Mary. Dr. Sears confirmed he would be using the book in his 2017 winter semester as a resource.
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Literary Prizes |
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| Honourable mention, Joyce Barkhouse Writing for Children Prize - 2001 | In recognition of: The Big Yard Kids (unpublished) |
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Featured Publication |
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Through the Eyes of Mary: The Mary Morehouse Diaries, 1920-1958 (2016) |
Excerpt: Condensed daily diaries (1920-1958) of Burtts Corner resident Mary Morehouse. Her journals are a primary source history that show the way people lived in rural NB during the early 1900s. Advances in technology introduce electricity and household appliances, motorized vehicles, as well as improvements for disease. The book also includes topics such as prohibition, the war years, childbirths and deaths. |
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Find this author in the New Brunswick public libraries catalogue.
Source(s): Author.
