Simmie, Lois (1932-)

Lois Simmie, an author who has specialized in Children’s Literature and short fiction, was born on June 11, 1932, in Edam, Saskatchewan. She spent her youth in small towns, where her father was a grain elevator agent, and this background is reflected in many of her stories. She taught writing classes for many years, including numerous workshops at the Saskatchewan Summer School of the Arts and sessions at the Canadian Authors Association conferences. She was writer-in-residence at the Saskatoon Public Library in 1987–88. Her work includes They Shouldn’t Make You Promise That, An Armadillo is Not a Pillow, Betty Lee Bonner Lives There, Auntie’s Knitting A Baby, Oliver’s Chickens, What Holds Up the Moon? Who Greased the Shoelaces? and Secret Lives of Sargent John Wilson. Her short story Red Shoes was adapted as a feature film in 1986, and the play Auntie’s Knitting a Baby, based on her book, was presented by 25th Street Theatre in 1991. Her work is included in several anthologies and has been broadcast on CBC. Lois Simmie has won several awards recognizing her achievements: the Saskatchewan Writers Guild’s Literary Award for Fiction (1983), the Saskatchewan Book Award for Children’s literature (1995), and the Crime Writers of Canada’s Arthur Ellis Award (1995).

Daria Coneghan

Further Reading