Find Saskatchewan Writers

Nature, science, a lifelong love of reading about animals. For Gillian Richardson, this has been the perfect mix to inspire her award-winning writing for children. Dozens of her short stories and articles have appeared in children’s magazines, like KNOW and CRICKET.

Among her 24 published books, half are fiction (picture books, chapter books and middle reader novels). Her nonfiction writing combines science and history, and has kindled a passion for research. Kaboom! Explosions of All Kinds, won the American Institute of Physics 2010 Science Writing Award for children. It was also nominated for the OLA  Silver Birch,  Alberta Rocky Mountain and BC Red Cedar Book Awards. 10 Plants that Shook the World, won the 2014 Green Book Festival award (Children’s Book category) and 2013 de Bary Children’s Science Book Award for older children. It also earned the 2013 Silver Honor Award of the California Reading Association, and was a 2014 Next Generation Indie Awards finalist (Children/Juvenile Nonfiction category).

Gillian's recent ventures into ebook publishing have produced 6 titles. Ollie Buggins, Detective? is an amusing romp with lively animal characters entangled in a mystery that will delight chapter book readers age 6-8. For the same age group, Take Me With You involves readers in the action-filled escape adventures of an unusual pair of friends—a hummingbird and a mouse. For ages 9-12, An Instinct for Survival: ten nature adventures (short stories previously published in Cricket Magazine) is rich in detail about animal lifestyles and the survival challenges they face. Also for middle grade readers, Chasing Gold is an historical fiction chapter book set during the 1897 Klondike Gold Rush, and The Forever Place is a coming-of-age novel with a conservation theme set in the Canadian prairie. A memoir, Seasons at Shiregreene, shares essays about the author’s time living in rural PEI. 

A former Teacher/Librarian (PEI and Saskatchewan) and Instructor for The Institute of Children's Literature, Gillian is a founding member of the Children's Writers Round Robin of Saskatchewan. Now living in BC, she returns to Saskatchewan each spring and fall for workshops and conferences. She wrote reviews of children's books for CM (Canadian Materials) from 1999 – 2024. She is an annual Reader for CANSCAIP’s annual Writing for Children Competition, and a member of the Canadian Children's Book Centre.