Janet McNaughton (born November 29, 1953) is a Canadian writer from

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

. She wrote the coming of age novel, ''An Earthly Knight'', published in 2003.

Life

She was born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and stayed there for 26 years, moving to St. John's in 1979. Janet McNaughton got into writing early. She was only fifteen when she began to write her first book. It was a historical novel intended for a young readers. She did not finish it. However, the writing helped her to identify her interest, a love for learning about people's lifestyles and thoughts in the past. She pursued this interest by studying folklore in university. She went on to complete a Ph.D in Folklore. Her novel ''An Earthly Knight'' drew inspiration from two ancient ballads: ''

Tam Lin Tam Lin, also known as Tamas-Lin, Tamlane, Tamlene, Tamlin, Tambling, Tomlin, Tam-Lien, Tam-a-Line, Tam-Lyn or Tam-Lane, is a character in the legendary ballad originating from the Scottish Borders. History The story of Tam Lin revolves around ...

'' and ''

Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight "Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight" (Child #4; Roud #21) is the English common name representative of a very large class of European ballads. The most frequently collected variant, The Outlandish Knight or ''May Colvin'' tells the tale of a young ...

''.

Awards

McNaughton has been awarded the Violet Downey National Chapter of the IODE Book Award for the best Canadian English Language Children's Book, the

Ann Connor Brimer Award The Ann Connor Brimer Award for Atlantic Canadian Children's Literature is a $5,000 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 alter ...

for Children's Literature in Atlantic Canada, and the

Geoffrey Bilson Award The Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young Readers is a Canadian literary award that goes to the best work of historical fiction written for youth each year. The award is named after Geoffrey Bilson, a writer of historical fiction ...

for Historical Fiction for Young People. She also received the Mr. Christie's Book Award for ''The Secret Under My Skin'' and was short-listed for a

Governor General's Literary Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

in 1998.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McNaughton, Janet 1953 births Living people Canadian children's writers Writers from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Novelists from Toronto 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian women writers