Victoria Forester is a Canadian author and a

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. She is known for her novel, ''The Girl Who Could Fly''.

Early life

Forester was born and grew up in a remote farm in

Ontario, Canada Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. When she was 7 years old, she was passionate to be a nun, but resisted such a calling after watching

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

's ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...

''. As a child, Forester hoped to become "the sort of princess who solved international crimes" until she became interested in synchronized swimming and, later, writing. She studied and graduated from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

Career

After graduating, Forester's passion for

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural pre ...

led her to write and direct a short film for CBC. ''The Pony Tale'' was aired on Global Television and Forester moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Roger Corman, a famous independent film producer mentored her and gave the opportunity to write and later, direct her first feature film, ''Circuit Breaker'', starring Richard Grieco and

Corbin Bernsen Corbin Dean Bernsen (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor and film director. He appeared as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on the NBC drama series '' L.A. Law'',

. Forester soon directed another film, ''Macon County Jail'' with David Carradine and Ally Sheedy, followed by a

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

film, ''Cry of the White Wolf'' and ''Teen Scorcery'', a story about mischievous teenage witches that was shot in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Novelist, ''The Girl Who Could Fly''

Forester began writing ''The Girl Who Could Fly'' as a

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

, which was optioned by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. She loved the story so much she decided to write it as a

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

Awards

After publishing ''The Girl Who Could Fly'', Forester won the Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year, the Black Eyed Susan Award, Booklist Editors' Choice, Florida

Sunshine State Young Readers Award Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when ...

Master List, Indiana Young Hoosier Award Master List and the Utah Beehive Book Award Master List Awards. The novel was under the Top 10 First Novels for Youth.

Personal life

She is currently living in

with her husband, daughter, and cat.

Publications

* ''The Girl Who Could Fly'' (2008, Reprinted on March 2010) The Girl Who Could Fly ( * ''The Boy Who Knew Everything'' (2015) *''The Girl Who Fell Out of the Sky'' (2020)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forester, Victoria Living people 1974 births Canadian fantasy writers 21st-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian women film directors Film directors from Ontario Writers from Ontario Canadian women screenwriters Canadian women novelists 21st-century Canadian women writers