Anne Renaud - Author

Although books and reading have been a part of her life since early childhood, Anne Renaud didn’t actually start writing until the 1990s, when she came across a picture book by Margaret Merrifield entitled Come Sit by Me. The story was about a child in daycare whom none of the other children wanted to play with when it became known she was HIV positive.#Realizing the need for such books and, following her instinct, Anne reached out to the publisher and offered to translate the book into French. The experience and incentive also translated into Renaud’s first involvement with book publishing.#With a penchant for stories that have a Canadian and historical slant, Anne has gone on to write five non-fiction books for nine to twelve year olds on the topics of Pier 21, the Empress of Ireland, the Canadian Tulip Festival, Grosse Ile, and the Nova Scotia giantess, Anna Swan. Another outlet for her creativity is children’s picture books, which Anne first writes in English and then translates into French. This, she feels, increases her chances of publication since she can approach both English and French publishers with her work.#Along with her latest French picture book entitled La boîte à sourires, Anne’s other picture books include Mousseline vole au vent, How the Sea Came to Marissa, Missuk’s Snow Geese, Amande Lavande and Les Pierres d’Emma, which has been translated into Korean.#Anne’s readers often ask her why she writes books. She tells them it is because she likes to do creative things and finds writing to be a very creative exercise. It’s also because she can’t dance well and can’t sing well, so she tries her best at writing well. She hopes her books educate, entertain and inspire children.#Anne lives in Westmount, Quebec.