Janet Lunn

{{Short description|Canadian children's writer}}

{{Infobox writer

| name = Janet Louise Lunn

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| birth_name = Janet Louise Swoboda

| birth_date = {{birth date|1928|12|28}}

| birth_place = Dallas, Texas, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2017|06|26|1928|12|28}}

| death_place = Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

| occupation = Writer

| nationality =

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| citizenship = Canada (from 1963)

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| genre = Children's literature, fantasy

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| awards = Order of Canada
Order of Ontario

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Janet Louise Lunn, {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|CM|OOnt}} (née Swoboda; December 28, 1928 – June 26, 2017) was a Canadian children's writer.

Early life and education

Lunn was born in Dallas, Texas; she moved with her family to Vermont when she was an infant. In 1938, she moved again to the outskirts of New York City. In 1946, she came to Canada to attend Queen's University and married a fellow student, Richard Lunn.[https://quillandquire.com/authors/2017/06/28/celebrated-childrens-author-janet-lunn-dies/ "Celebrated children’s author Janet Lunn dies"]. Quill & Quire, Dory Cerny, June 28, 2017 She became a Canadian citizen in 1963. They had five children and her husband died in 1987.{{cite book |editor1-last=Hedblad |editor1-first=Alan |title=Something About the Author. Volume 110 |date=2000 |publisher=Gale |page=137 |chapter=Janet (Louise Swoboda) Lunn (1928-)}}

Career

Janet Lunn published her first children's book, Double Spell, in 1968. From 1972 to 1975, she was a children's editor for Clark, Irwin Publishers.{{cite book |editor1-last=Olendorf |editor1-first=Donna |title=Something About the Author. Volume 68 |date=1992 |publisher=Gale |page=148 |chapter=Janet (Louise Swoboda) Lunn (1928-)}}

From 1984 to 1985, she was the first children's author to be Chair of the Writers' Union of Canada.{{cite book |last1=Irvine |first1=Andrew David |title=Canada's Storytellers |date=2021 |publisher=University of Ottawa Press |isbn=978-0776628035 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hD4qEAAAQBAJ&dq=first+children%27s+author+to+be+Chair+of+the+Writers%27+Union+of+Canada&pg=PT594 |access-date=23 April 2021}}

In 1982, she was awarded the Vicky Metcalf Award. She was awarded the Order of Ontario in 1996 and made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1997. She died on June 26, 2017, at age 88.{{cite web |title=Celebrated Author and TWUC Past Chair, Janet Lunn Passes Away |url=https://mailchi.mp/writersunion/celebrated-author-and-twuc-past-chair-janet-lunn-passes-away |publisher=The Writers' Union of Canada |access-date=23 April 2021}}

Selected works

References