Joanne Findon (1957–) Biography

Born 1957, in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada; Education: University of British Columbia, B.A. (medieval studies), 1982; University of Toronto, M.A., 1987, Ph.D. (medieval studies), 1994.

Addresses

Office—Department of English Literature, Traill College, Wallis Hall 103.2, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8, Canada.

Career

Educator and writer. Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, assistant professor of English literature, 2002–.

Member

Writer's Union of Canada, Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators, and Performers, Canadian Children's Book Centre.

Honors Awards

Toronto IODE Award, for The Dream of Aengus, 1994.

Writings

A Woman's Words: Emer and Female Speech in the Ulster Cycle, University of Toronto Press (Buffalo, NY), 1997.

Auld Lang Syne, Stoddart Kids (Buffalo, NY), 1997.

The Dream of Aengus, Stoddart Kids (Buffalo, NY), 1998.

After thirteen-year-old Holly is sent to stay on her uncle's farm in rural England, she is transported back in time to the Iron age, where she is hailed as a warrior believed to be sent to save the local population from a band of Celtic marauders. (Cover illustration by Igor Kordey.)

When Night Eats the Moon, Red Deer Press (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), 1999.

Science and Technology In the Middle Ages, Crabtree (New York, NY), 2005.

Contributor of short stories to anthologies, including The Blue Jean Collection, Thistledown Press, 1992; and Takes, Thistledown Press, 1996; and Winds through Time, Beach Holme Publishing, 1998.

Sidelights

Canadian children's author and educator Joanne Findon is the author of the time-travel novel When Night Eats the Moon. In this 1999 work readers travel with main character Holly back through time to 600 B.C. and the place known as Stonehenge. Holly finds herself in Britain's Iron Age, a none-too-comfortable epoch made even less pleasant by the fact that Celtic warriors are invading the local people living near the massive stone structure that gives the place its name. Mistaken as a prophesied savior, the North American teen must now embark on a quest to help the doomed locals. "Unlike some time-travel stories, the devices here make sense, and Findon does a particularly good job explaining how the ancient history has affected Holly and her mother's relationship" commented Booklist critic Ilene Cooper.

Findon told Something about the Author: "I blame my two lifelong passions—writing fiction and studying the past—on American children's author Lloyd Alexander, whose books I began reading in Grade 4. His Prydain books gave me the desire to weave spells out of words and transport readers to other worlds. Alexander's inspiration for the books—the medieval Welsh tales called the Mabinogion—piqued my curiosity about early Celtic culture.

"As a result, I have spent years studying medieval history and literature, particularly Celtic literature, and have earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in medieval studies. My studies have also fed my love of writing stories inspired by times past. My first picture book, The Dream of Aengus, is a retelling of a haunting medieval Irish tale of love and transformation, while Auld Lang Syne is a nonfiction picture book about Scottish poet Robert Burns."