Carolyn Pogue is a Canadian author who lives near the Rocky Mountains in Calgary, Alberta. Her titles include books for teachers, children, adults and teens.
For twenty years, Carolyn has been a regular contributor to The United Church Observer, Canada’s oldest magazine. Currently, she writes The Pogue Blog for The Observer online twice each month.
Her books include two Young Adult historical novels, Gwen and its sequel, West Wind Calling. These books were inspired by the courage of the 100,000 British Home Children who were sent to work in Canada (1870 to 1930). Carolyn’s grandmother was one of these children who arrived in Ontario in 1898, aged 10.
Carolyn was born in Toronto and raised on a small farm in Vandorf, Ontario, a community just north of that city. Growing up the second of four children with 100 acres of cleared land and forest, a barn full of assorted animals, a nearby lake for swimming and a stream for catching tadpoles offered a rich childhood. She has also lived in Quebec and Northwest Territories. She has travelled widely in Canada, the US, Britain, Europe, Central America and also in the Middle East, Zimbabwe and India.
With her husband, Bill Phipps, Carolyn serves on Raffi’s Child Honouring Advisory Council. She is a member of The Child Wellbeing Initiative to end child poverty in Alberta.
Rock of Ages, a creative nonfiction book about the oldest rock on the planet is Carolyn’s current project.
NEW! West Wind Calling, the sequel to Gwen. This story is set in 1898 and Gwen continues her adventures - this time in Calgary, a brand new town in the North West Territory. Join her as she meets new friends - and finds that not all is golden in the golden west. Big sky, new friends and mystery await.
Gwen, Carolyn’s 14th book and first novel was a finalist in The City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize for 2010. This story, set in the 1890s, is suitable for readers aged 10 to adult. Gwen is a British Home Child who is inspired by Mohawk poet/performer, E. Pauline Johnson.
