writers

René Schmidt

René Schmidt is a retired teacher and writer living in Trenton. He is a graduate of York University’s Creative Writing program, a presenter with the Author’s Booking Service and a member of the Writer’s Union of Canada. René often serves as reader/judge for the yearly post-card and short fiction Writer’s Union contests.

Photo of René Schmidt

René has been writing for students since 1982. His first published book, Canadian Disasters (Scholastic 1985), was reprinted several times, earned good reviews and a Reader’s Choice award and eventually sold 57,000 copies. More updated versions appeared; Disaster! in 1999, Canadian Disasters, 2006 and Canadian Disasters 43 True Stories in 2013. All have good reviews with educators and librarians.

Cover of Canadian Disasters by René Schmidt

René’s first fiction novel, Leaving Fletchville, was nominated for the Red Maple Book Award in 2010 and his grade 7 & 8 readers all over Ontario voted his book second place overall at the Ontario Library Association Festival of Trees in 2010. Leaving Fletchville was also a nomination for the Violet Downey award of the I.O.D.E. for 2010.

Cover of Leaving Fletchville by René Schmidt

René does visits to schools and libraries to speak about Canadian Disasters or writing. Rene writes maddeningly s l o w l y because he so often re-writes everything many times. He is continuing to work on a variety of manuscripts for adults and young adult readers. He has also written feature magazine articles for Canadian Living Magazine.

Contact and More Information

Visit reneschmidt.ca

Published Books

Canadian Disasters 43 True Stories, Scholastic, Canada 2013
Leaving Fletchville, Orca Book Publishers 2008
Canadian Disasters, Scholastic Canada, 2006, (42 Stories)
Disaster!, Scholastic Canada Ltd. 1999, 2000 (36 stories)
Canadian Disasters, Scholastic Canada 1985 (28 stories)

Published Articles

Less is More – A Family Holiday to Remember Canadian Living Magazine. August 2003
Disorganized Sports Family section article Canadian Living Magazine
Various articles in THE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY – Official Bulletin of design and Technology Teachers of Ontario,
My First Summer Existere Magazine, of Vanier College, York University, 1979
Contributing Writer, Hill Spirits III 2017
Contributing Writer, “That’s Just The Way We Were” History of Brighton