Charis Cotter is a Canadian author and storyteller known for her works of fiction for middle-grade readers.

Early life and education

Cotter grew up in downtown Toronto, Canada, behind a cemetery. She studied English in university and went to drama school in London, England.

Career

Editing years and non-fiction work

In 2004, Cotter’s first book was published: ''Toronto Between the Wars: Life in the City 1919–1939'', by Firefly Books. In 2007,

Annick Press Annick Press is a Canadian book publishing company that was founded in Toronto, Ontario in 1975 by Anne Millyard and Rick Wilks. Rick Wilks became the sole owner in 2000. A second editorial office was opened in Vancouver by Colleen MacMillan in 1 ...

published Cotter’s first non-fiction book for children: ''Kids Who Rule: The Remarkable Lives of Five Child Monarchs''. It was followed by ''Wonder Kids: The Remarkable Lives of Nine Child Prodigies'', and ''Born to Write: The Remarkable Lives of Six Famous Authors''. Annick Press also published Cotter’s first ghost-themed book, ''A World Full of Ghosts'', in 2009.

Works of fiction and awards

Cotter’s breakout work of fiction was her novel ''The Swallow: A Ghost Story'', published in 2014 by

Tundra Books In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...

. It tells the story of two lonely girls who become friends over their mutual fascination with ghosts, and explores themes of childhood neglect, mental illness, and death. ''The Swallow'' won the 2015 Violet Downey Book Award and was a Silver Birch Honour Book as part of the

Forest of Reading The Forest of Reading is Canada's largest recreational reading program, featuring ten award programs and run by the Ontario Library Association (OLA). Programs are primarily geared towards French and English readers in kindergarten to grade twelve ...

program in 2016. It was one of ten finalists for the

Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award The Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award is a literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian children's book. The book must be written in English and published in Canada during the preceding year (and nominated by ...

in 2015, receiving an honourable mention. In 2017, Tundra Books published Cotter’s second novel, ''The Painting'', which explores similar themes of ghosts, loss, and fractured family relationships. It won the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Award in 2019 and the

Ann Connor Brimer Award The Ann Connor Brimer Award for Atlantic Canadian Children's Literature is a $2,000 annual award given to an Atlantic Canadian writer deemed to have made an outstanding contribution to literature for young people. Starting in 2016, the prize altern ...

for Children’s Literature at the

Atlantic Book Awards & Festival The Atlantic Book Awards & Festival is an annual event celebrating Atlantic Canadian writing and book illustration. Free events take place across the four Atlantic provinces (Newfoundland & Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Sco ...

in 2018. Her next book, ''The Ghost Road'', was published by Tundra Books in 2018. Set in Newfoundland, it tells the story of two girls who must break a family curse, and centres around issues of domestic violence and intergenerational trauma. It won the Bruneau Family Children’s/YA Literature Award at the

Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards The Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards were established in 1997 by the Writer's Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador (WANL), Canada. The awards are administered in partnership with the Literary Arts Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. The ...

in 2020. Her fourth novel, ''The Dollhouse: A Ghost Story,'' was released in 2021. ''The Dollhouse'' was also released as an audiobook. In addition to her novels, Cotter has written several picture books for children inspired by ghost stories from Newfoundland. Her first of these was ''The Ferryland Visitor: A Mysterious Tale'', published in 2016 by Running the Goat Books & Broadsides, with artwork by acclaimed Newfoundland artist

Gerald Squires Gerald Leopold "Gerry" Squires, (November 17, 1937 – October 3, 2015) was an artist from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Perhaps best known for painting dramatic landscapes in acrylic and oil, Squires also produced major work in sculpture, l ...

. ''Footsteps in Bay de Verde: A Mysterious Tale'', illustrated by Jenny Dwyer, was published by Running the Goat Books & Broadsides in 2020, and won the Bruneau Family Children’s/YA Literature Award at the Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards in 2022. In 2020, ''Screech! Ghost Stories from Old Newfoundland'', a collection of stories with art by Genevieve Simms, was published by Nimbus Publishing. It won the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Award in 2022. Several of Cotter's books have been translated into Korean, German, and Russian.

Storytelling, workshops, and other pursuits

Cotter has developed several workshops and storytelling presentations for children, which she tours around schools across Canada. She has done an annual ghost story tour of Newfoundland schools since 2009. Cotter founded her own publishing company, Baccalieu Books, under which she has published several collections of local ghost stories from children in Newfoundland schools. She has been a guest on Danny Robins’ supernatural show for the BBC, '' Uncanny (radio series)''. According to Cotter's website, her readers have unofficially dubbed her "Canada's Queen of Ghost Stories."

Personal life

Charis Cotter lives and works in Western Bay,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Bibliography

* ''Toronto Between the Wars: Life in the City 1919–1939'' (Firefly Books, 2004) * ''Kids Who Rule: The Remarkable Lives of Five Child Monarchs'' (Annick Press, 2007) * ''Wonder Kids: The Remarkable Lives of Nine Child Prodigies'' (Annick Press, 2008) * ''Born to Write: The Remarkable Lives of Six Famous Authors'' (Annick Press, 2009) * ''A World Full of Ghosts'' (Annick Press, 2009) * ''The Ghosts of Baccalieu'' (Baccalieu Books, 2013) * ''The Swallow: A Ghost Story'' (Tundra Books, 2014) * ''The Ferryland Visitor: A Mysterious Tale'' (Running the Goat Books & Broadsides, 2016) * ''The Painting'' (Tundra Books, 2017) * ''The Ghosts of Southwest Arm'' (Baccalieu Books, 2017) * ''The Ghost Road'' (Tundra Books, 2018) * ''Footsteps in Bay de Verde: A Mysterious Tale'' (Running the Goat Books & Broadsides, 2020) * ''Screech! Ghost Stories from Old Newfoundland'' (Nimbus Publishing, 2020) * ''The Dollhouse: A Ghost Story'' (Tundra Books, 2021)

References

External links

Charis Cotter's official website

Cotter interview on ''The Dollhouse''

Cotter reads from ''Screech: Ghost Stories from Old Newfoundland''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cotter, Charis Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian women writers People from Toronto