Kirk, Heather 1949–

PERSONAL: Born October 17, 1949, in London, Ontario, Canada; daughter of Jack Willsie (a civil engineer) and Gwendolyn Lundy (a homemaker; maiden name Pearson) Kirk; married John Ernest Winzer (a engineering professor), 1984. Education: Dalhousie University, B.A., 1973; University of Toronto, M.A., 1975; York University, M.A., 1989. Hobbies and other interests: Long-distance swimming, dog walking.

ADDRESSES: Home—155 Owen St., Barrie, Ontario L4M 3H8, Canada. E-mail—shall-be@rogers.com.

CAREER: Writer, teacher, and editor. Freelance writer and editor; University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, lecturer, 1975–77; University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland, instructor, 1977–79; Grande Prairie R. College, Grande Prairie, Alberta, instructor, 1980–84; Georgian College, Barrie, Ontario, Canada, part-time instructor, 1990–2005.

MEMBER: Canadian Society of Authors, Illustrators, and Performers; Writers' Union of Canada.

AWARDS, HONORS: Second prize, L.F. Brannan Memorial Essay Competition, 1987, for Negative Capability; Frank E. Thomas Award, 1988, for nonfiction prose in Cross-Canada Writers' magazine; nonfiction prize, Grain, 1999; finalist, Writers' Union of Canada Writing for Children Competition, 2000.

WRITINGS:

Warsaw Spring, Napoleon Pub. (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2001.

A Drop of Rain (sequel to Warsaw Spring), Napoleon Publishing (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2004.

Wacousta (based on the novel by John Richardson), Winding Trail Press (Embrun, Ontario, Canada), 2005.

Contributor to periodicals, including Canadian Literature 84, Grain, Beaver, Bookbird, Books in Canada, Canadian Author, Canadian Children's Literature, Canadian Review of Materials, Canadian Women's Studies, Contemporary Verse II, Cross-Canada Writers', Literary Review of Canada, Poetry Toronto, Quill & Quire, Scrivener, Wascana Review, and Western People. Author of radio scripts for Canadian stations, including Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

WORK IN PROGRESS: A novel for young adults; a humorous grammar book; a junior biography, Mazo de la Roche: Rich and Famous Writer, for XYZ Publishing, 2006.

SIDELIGHTS: Heather Kirk once commented: "I wrote the novels Warsaw Spring and A Drop of Rain because I admire modern Poland. The Polish solidarity uprising was one of the greatest passive-resistance movements of the twentieth century, if not the greatest!

"I rewrote the classic Canadian novel Wacousta, by John Richardson, because I am fascinated with the early history of Canada. Wacousta illuminates the early conflicts between aboriginals and Europeans, and it is fair to both sides."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Books in Canada, April, 2003, Clara Thomas, review of Warsaw Spring.

Midwastern Book Review, October, 2004, review of A Drop of Rain.

Resource Links, October 2, 2004, Margaret Mackey, review of A Drop of Rain.

ONLINE

Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators, and Performers Web site, http://www.canscaip.org/ (November 6, 2005), "Heather Kirk."

Writers Union of Canada Web site, http://www.writersunion.ca/ (November 6, 2005), "Heather Kirk."