About the Author

Barbara Nickel grew up in Saskatchewan and attended Goshen College in Indiana, where she studied music (violin) and English literature. She received an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia, where she also taught. Barbara writes for adults and young people. Her poetry for adults has been published in many anthologies and magazines, including The Walrus, Poetry Ireland Review, and Best Canadian Poetry 2021, and is featured on BC’s Poetry in Transit 2021/22. One of her poetry collections, The Gladys Elegies, received the Pat Lowther Award for the best book of poetry by a woman in Canada. Her children’s titles include Hannah Waters and the Daughter of Johann Sebastian Bach, which won a B.C. and Yukon Book Prize and was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award, as well as a picture book, A Boy Asked the Wind, which was a finalist for the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award. She is the editor of the cellist Ian Hampton’s memoir in music, Jan in 35 Pieces, which was shortlisted for the 2019 RBC Taylor Prize. Her third poetry collection, Essential Tremor, was released by Caitlin Press in April, 2021. A children’s novel, Dear Peter, Dear Ulla, has been shortlisted for the 2022 B.C. and Yukon Book Prizes, as well as the Manitoba Young Readers Choice Awards 2023 Northern Lights Award. Barbara lives in Yarrow, British Columbia with her husband and two sons.