Welwyn Wilton Katz Biography

Born in London, Ontario, she received a B.Sc. in mathematics (1969) from the University of Western Ontario and a Diploma in Education (1970) from Althouse Teachers College. She taught mathematics at South Secondary School, London, for seven years, turning to full-time writing in 1977.

Katz's first published novel for children, The prophecy of Tau Ridoo (1982), was her entrance into fantasy, a genre she would continue to develop in original ways, combining with the supernatural elements real-life issues such as moral choices, the effects of divorce on children, and male-female relationships. Both Witchery Hill (1984) and Sun god, moon witch (1986) are set in England and blend the fantasy of pagan magic with realistic adolescent dilemmas. False face (1987), set in Katz's hometown, is a story of a daughter of divorced parents who finds a dangerous set of Native False Face masks. It won the International Children's Fiction Award (1987) and the Max and Greta Ebel Memorial Award for Children's Writing (1988). The third magic (1988), a time fantasy using Arthurian material, won a Governor General's Award in 1988.

Whalesinger (1990), set on the California coast, explores adolescent emotions surrounding death and sexuality, as well as the thoughts of a mother whale with a sick calf. Come like shadows (1993), set in Stratford, Ontario, and in Scotland, aligns past with present, Scotland with Canada, as real witches from the past enter a production of Shakespeare's Macbeth that emphasizes Quebec, as well as Scottish, nationalism. Time ghost (1994), another time-shift story, is set in the future (and our present) through the agency of the ‘timeless’ location of the North Pole. In Out of the dark (1995), winner of a Ruth Schwartz Children's Book Award in 1996, a boy's fascination with Vikings helps him adjust to the death of his mother. With each book, Katz has enriched her style, further complicated her structure, and delved more deeply into character.

Some controversy has attached to Katz's works—over her appropriation of voice and revelation of Native ceremonies in False face, her evil and unpleasant mother figures, and her sometimes violent expressions of the darkness in the human psyche. She is, however, a talented writer whose books have value for young adults in not avoiding reality even while entering fantasy worlds. She won the Vicky Metcalf Award in 1994 for her body of work for young adults.

Marianne Micros