Elma Schemenauer

Elma Schemenauer was born in a Saskatchewan community like the fictional Coyote in her 1940s-era novel Consider the Sunflowers. "As I grew up," she says, "I sank deep roots into prairie life and the traditions of my extended Mennonite family." After teaching for several years, Elma moved into a publishing career in Toronto. She is the author of many books including Yesterstories, Russia, Jacob Siemens Family Since 1685, Ottawa, and Hello Vancouver. In 2006 she and her husband relocated to Kamloops, British Columbia. There she writes, blogs, and walks on grassy hillsides that remind her of her prairie roots.