Deborah Ellis

Deborah Ellis is the internationally acclaimed author of more than twenty books for children, including the Breadwinner trilogy; The Heaven Shop; Lunch With Lenin; Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees; and Our Stories, Our Songs: African Children Talk About AIDS. She has won many national and international awards for her books, including the Governor General’s Award, the Vicky Metcalf Award, Sweden’s Peter Pan Prize, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, and the Children’s Africana Book Award Honor Book for Older Readers.

Deborah knew she wanted to be a writer at the age of 11 or 12. Growing up in Paris, Ontario, she loved reading about big cities like New York. In high school, Deborah joined the Peace Movement, playing anti-Nuclear War movies at her school. Since then Deborah has become a peace activist, humanitarian and philanthropist, donating almost all of the royalties from her books to communities in need in Asia and Africa. Heavily involved with Women for Women in Afghanistan, Deborah has helped build women’s centers and schools, giving children education and finding work for women.

In 2006, Deborah was named to the Order of Ontario. She now lives in Simcoe, Ontario.

Bullying is not inevitable. It doesn’t have to be a normal part of childhood. The more we talk with each other, share our stories, and listen—particularly to those whose voices aren’t often heard—the closer we move toward a just society.
 – Deborah Ellis