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Professional Bio
Dorene Meyer is the award-winning author of Jasmine,
The Little Ones, Deep Waters, Colin's Choice and Get Lost! and
Pilot Error. She is also the author of a resource book: Meet Manitoba
Children's Authors and the editor of nine anthologies of Manitoba authors
Remember Me, Isle of Mirage, Voice Behind the Mask, Squirrel Tales and Rabbit Trails, Northern Writers Volume 1, 2 and Prairie Writers Volume 1, 2 & 3.
Her many other writing credits include editorial, reviews, news, feature
articles, profiles, script-writing and poetry. Using this wide variety of writing
experience, Ms. Meyer teaches classes that provide encouragement and
practical help to writers of all genres.
Ms. Meyer is a professional member of The Word Guild and also a
member of the Manitoba Writers Guild.
Awards include: Novice writing award for poetry prose in 2004, Young
Adult Book Award of Merit in 2006 and best Children's Book Award for
2007 both from The Word Guild Canadian Writing Awards.
Ms. Meyer has a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a diploma in Developmental Services.
In addition to teaching part-time at the University College of the North, she also teaches writing courses:
Creative Writing
Write that book you’ve always dreamed of! Award-winning author and journalist, Dorene Meyer, will guide you through
the process as you develop compelling plots, create believable characters and write engaging dialogue. In this 8-
week course, writers of all skill levels will learn how to get started – and how to get published!
The Publishing World
Agents, editors, query letters, proposals and pitches! In this 6-week course award-winning author and journalist,
Dorene Meyer, will guide you through the wonderful World of Publishing. Whatever your chosen genre or skill
level, this course is for you! Learn how to prepare your manuscript, find the publisher that’s right for you – and
even learn how to market your new book!
Manuscript Critique
Have you written a book-size manuscript? Would you like some feedback on your work before sending it off to a
publisher? In this 8-week course, you will have an opportunity to have your work critiqued by the teacher and by
your fellow students. Award-winning author and journalist, Dorene Meyer, will guide you through the critique
process and offer valuable instruction on getting your manuscript ready for publication. |
Personal Bio
Sometimes people ask me why I, as a white person, write about, and for, First Nations people. I never set out
intentionally to do this but rather arrived there as an equilibrium point. It is, in fact, my comfort zone.
I am most familiar with the Ojibway and Cree Nations of Northwestern Ontario. I spent the first four years of my
life living in Lac Seul First Nation, where my father was an Anglican priest. There were no other white people
living there at that time (except perhaps the Hudson Bay manager and his wife) and Lac Seul was quite isolated
at that time, so the only people that I knew besides my immediate family were all First Nations. Even now, there
is a certain comfort and familiarity there for me. Warm memories are evoked when I hear an Ojibway woman
singing; or when I smell rawhide or pipe smoke; or taste tea with evaporated milk in it.
My father and mother separated when I was 4-years-old. My mother moved down to Sioux Lookout with my brother and sister and I, and began to take care of children as a full-time occupation. This photo was taken when I was about 5 - I'm the one in the red dress. It is the last photo taken that includes my biological siblings - the next time we are together in a photo is when we're all grown up with kids of our own. 
My mother took care of a LOT of children. At the time this photo was taken, there was a newspaper article written about her in our local paper that said that she had taken care of over 500 children (and my mother continued to foster kids for several years after that). I remember there used to be between 20 and 25 people (mostly kids) all the time living at our house. My Mom adopted two children and there were others who were in long-term foster care with us. All the kids called my mother, "Mommy", and I always felt as if the foster children were my brothers and sisters (I still can't give a clear answer to the simple question: "How many brothers and sisters do you have?"). I have very few childhood memories of my biological siblings since I was closer in age to my foster brothers and sisters grewing up. 
Tackling the Tough Issues
 I first began to write because of a deep
concern that I had for the victims of abortion
(the Moms, Dads and the babies). Because I lived
in an isolated community in Northern Ontario, I
didn't feel there was much I could do to change
things... but I could write. So began the series
of books: "Rachel's Children".
As events unfolded in my life, I continued to write
about the things that I cared deeply about. I
attended a Rising Above conference (for more
info on this organization go their website:
www.risingabove.ca). Along with some
personal healing, my concern for others who had
experienced child sexual abuse, also grew. I did a
lot of research and listened to many personal
stories before writing: Colin's Choice.
Other subjects that I have become deeply
interested in and have written about are: recovery
from alcohol abuse, Indian Residential school
syndrome, suicide and depression, AIDS, racism
and the sex trade.
I don't take any of these issues lightly. My sincere
desire is that what I write will bring hope and
healing to those who are hurting.
Christian World View
I write from a Christian world view. That
does not mean that I use my books as a
"soapbox" for expressing my beliefs. My first
job as an author is to write a good book; one
that people will enjoy reading.
It is more a matter of not excluding my faith
than it is of consciously "injecting" it into the
story. I don't try to artificially "put God in"
but neither do I take desperate measures to
remove Him either. When I write the first
draft of a manuscript, I let the ideas flow
freely - not critiquing myself or allowing
myself to imagine the possible responses of
future readers.
I do believe that it is impossible for an author to not have any of his/her world views come through
in some way in their writing. If you do attempt to surgically remove all traces of the author's personal
views, you will likely end up with a very boring book. And for those of you who have read my books
and previewed manuscripts of future books, I think you will agree that they are anything but boring!!
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