Alexandra Sandra Fraser Gwyn, (17 May 1935 – 26 May 2000) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

journalist and writer. She was born in St. John's,

Newfoundland 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 population ...

, the daughter of Claude Fraser and Ruth Harley. After her father's death, her mother remarried and the family moved to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

where Sandra attended Sacred Heart Convent. She graduated from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

in 1955. After graduating, she moved to London where she worked at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. She returned to Ottawa and married

Richard Gwyn Richard Gwyn (ca. 1537 – 15 October 1584), also known by his anglicized name, Richard White, was a Welsh teacher at illegal and underground schools and a bard who wrote both Christian and satirical poetry in the Welsh language. A Roman C ...

in 1958. During the 1970s, she was the

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

editor for '' Saturday Night''. In 2000, she was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. She died in 2000 after a five-year fight against

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

. Richard Gwyn subsequently launched a literary award, the

Winterset Award The Winterset Award is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council to a work judged to be the best book, regardless of genre, published by a writer from Newfoundland and Labrador.

, in her memory to honour writers from Newfoundland and Labrador."Winter set for N.L.'s top literary prize"

cbc.ca CBC.ca is the English-language online service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It was introduced in 1996. Under its previous names, the CBC's online service first went live in 1993. The Web-based service of the CBC is one of Canada's m ...

, March 27, 2008.

Selected works

* ''Tapestry of War: A Private View of Canadians in the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

'' (1992) * '' Mary Pratt'' (1989) * ''The Private Capital: Ambition and Love in the Age of Macdonald and Laurier'' (1984), winner of the

1984 Governor General's Awards Each winner of the 1984 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit was selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts."Literary award winners to be announced June 6". ''Montreal Gazette'', May 17, 1985. English ...

References

External links

Order of Canada Citation

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwyn, Sandra 1935 births 2000 deaths Canadian magazine journalists Officers of the Order of Canada Dalhousie University alumni Journalists from Newfoundland and Labrador Writers from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Governor General's Award–winning non-fiction writers Canadian women journalists 20th-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian historians Canadian women historians