Heather Robertson is a Canadian journalist, novelist and non-fiction writer. She published her first book, Reservations are for Indians, in 1970, and her latest book, Walking into Wilderness, in 2010. She was a founding member of the Writers' Union of Canada

Writers' Union of Canada

The Writers' Union of Canada , founded in 1973, describes itself as supporting "the country's authors by advocating for their rights, freedoms, and economic well-being." Its members are professional writers who must have published at least one book through a commercial publisher.The Union addresses...

 and the Professional Writers Association of Canada

Professional Writers Association of Canada

The Professional Writers Association of Canada is a professional association representing professional freelance writers in Canada, predominately in the newspaper and magazine industries...

, and launched the Robertson v. Thomson Corp.

Robertson v. Thomson Corp.

Robertson v. Thomson Corp., is a 2006 Supreme Court of Canada decision on the ownership of copyright in published text that are stored in databases. The ruling held that though a newspaper held the copyright in the collection and the arrangement of freelance articles and in its newspaper, it...

 class action suit regarding freelancers' retention of electronic rights to their work.

Life and career

Heather Robertson was born in Winnipeg

Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

 in 1942. After graduating from Kelvin High School

Kelvin High School

Kelvin High School is a public high school, located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.-History:Founded in 1912 as Kelvin Technical High School, the name was later shortened to Kelvin High School. The school is named after the mathematical physicist and engineer Sir William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin of...

, she completed an Honours BA in English at the University of Manitoba

University of Manitoba

The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...

 in 1962. She began her journalism career at the Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press

The Winnipeg Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1872, as the Manitoba Free Press, it is the oldest newspaper in western Canada. It is the newspaper with the largest readership in the province....

 then moved to the Winnipeg Tribune

Winnipeg Tribune

The Winnipeg Tribune was a metropolitan daily newspaper serving Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada from January 28, 1890 to August 27, 1980. The paper was founded by R.L. Richardson and D.L. McIntyre who acquired the press and premises of the old Winnipeg Sun newspaper. It was often viewed as a liberal...

. In the late 1960s, Robertson received a grant to study native people; this research provided much of the material for her first book, Reservations are for Indians, published in 1970.

Robertson published four books in the 1970s, including Grass Roots, which profiles four modern prairie towns and the difficulties faced by farmers in Western Canada, Salt of the Earth and A Terrible Beauty: The Art of Canada at War. In 1981 she chronicled the life of the Winnipeg bank robber Ken Leishman in The Flying Bandit.

In the 1980s, Robertson turned to fiction based on real-life characters, and won the Books In Canada Best First Novel Award for Willie, A Romance, based on the life of former Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King

William Lyon Mackenzie King

William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...

. Two more novels followed: Lily: A Rhapsody in Red and Igor: A Novel of Intrigue.

Throughout her writing career, Robertson has been a prolific freelancer for the CBC

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

 and national magazines such as Macleans, Chatelaine

Chatelaine (magazine)

Chatelaine is an English-language Canadian magazine of women's lifestyles. Both Chatelaine and its French-language version, Châtelaine, are published monthly by Rogers Media, Inc., a division of Rogers Communications, Inc...

, Saturday Night

Saturday Night (magazine)

Saturday Night was a Canadian general interest magazine. It was founded in Toronto, Ontario in 1887.The publication was first established as a weekly broadsheet newspaper about public affairs and the arts, which was later expanded into a general interest magazine. The editor, Edmund E. Sheppard,...

, Canadian Forum

Canadian Forum

The Canadian Forum was a left-wing literary, cultural and political publication and Canada's longest running continually published political magazine.It was founded in 1920 at the University of Toronto as a forum for political and cultural ideas...

 and Equinox.

She lives in King City, Ontario

King City, Ontario

King City is an affluent, unincorporated village in King Township, Ontario, Canada, located just north of Toronto. It is the largest community in King Township, with 1,629 dwellings and a population of 4,902.-History:...

, with her husband Andrew Marshall.

Awards and honours

• 1983 Canadian Authors' Association Fiction Prize (for Willie: A Romance)
• 1983 Books in Canada Best First Novel Prize (for Willie: A Romance)
• 1995 National Business Book Award (for Driving Force)
• 1998 Honourary Doctor of Laws, University of Manitoba
• 2003 Lawrence Jackson Award for Achievement, Professional Writers Association of Canada
• 2003 Ontario Historical Society, Best Regional History (for Magical, Mysterious Lake of the Woods)

Novels

• Willie: A Romance (1983) Lorimer
• Lily: A Rhapsody in Red (1986) Lorimer
• Igor: A Novel of Intrigue (1989) Lorimer

Non-fiction

• Reservations are for Indians (1970) Lorimer
• Grass Roots (1973) Lorimer
• Salt of the Earth (1974) Lorimer
• A Terrible Beauty: the Art of Canada at War (1977) Lorimer
• The Flying Bandit (1981) Lorimer
• More than a Rose: Prime Ministers, Wives and other Women (1991) Seal Books
• On the Hill: A People's Guide to Canada's Parliament (1992) McClelland & Stewart
• Driving Force: The McLaughlin Family and the Age of the Car (1995) McClelland & Stewart
• Writing from Life: A Guide for Writing True Stories (1998) McClelland & Stewart
• Meeting Death: In Hospital, Hospice and at Home (2000) McClelland & Stewart
• Magical, Mysterious Lake of the Woods (with Melinda McCracken) (2003) Heartland Associates
• Measuring Mother Earth: How Joe the Kid became Tyrrell of the North (2007) McClelland & Stewart
• Walking into Wilderness: The Toronto Carrying Place and Nine Mile Portage (2010) Heartland Associates