Glenda Goertzen

Who is Glenda Goertzen?

Glenda Goertzen is a Canadian author.

Goertzen is the author of the children's novels The Prairie Dogs, City Dogs, and Miracle Dogs, canine adventures set on the Canadian prairie. The Prairie Dogs has been nominated for the Silver Birch Award, the Saskatchewan Book Award and the Diamond Willow Award. City Dogs has been nominated for the Saskatchewan Book Award and is listed as a Canadian Children's Book Centre's Best Book for Kids & Teens. Goertzen's love of animals and Canada's natural environment plays a strong role in her books.

She began her creative career at the age of four by drawing picture books and comic books. She continued to write stories throughout high school, including the first draft of The Prairie Dogs. The novel was inspired by stray dogs Goertzen had known and by the imaginary adventures of her favourite childhood toys, led by a stuffed poodle named Pooch. As a grown up, however, she turned away from her dream of becoming an author and instead pursued a career in television, achieving a BFA in Film and Video from the University of Regina. After a decade of TV jobs, from computer graphics artist to producer of a children’s program, Goertzen was overwhelmed by a desire to be surrounded by books rather than TV screens. While working on a homework assignment for her Library Technician course, she grabbed a piece of scrap paper and discovered it was a page from an old draft of The Prairie Dogs. She dug up the manuscript, read it, and decided to return to writing and illustrating. She now spends her days, at work and at home, surrounded by books. Those books include The Prairie Dogs series.