About

Mary C. Sheppard is the author of four novels set in Newfoundland, where she was born and raised.

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Mary retired from her position as the executive producer of CBCnews.ca in 2014. During her career as a journalist, Mary also wrote, reported and produced at Maclean's, CBC radio and the Women's Television Network. She and her news team won several national and international awards. Mid-career, she taught broadcast journalism at the Toronto Metropolitan University.

 

Mary graduated from Presentation Central High in Corner Brook. She has a Bachelor of Arts from St. Francis Xavier University and a Master of Science in Journalism from Columbia University.

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She began writing fiction while living in Europe for two years in the mid-1990s.

Mary creates fictional characters who face and overcome the challenges young women in Newfoundland outports faced as they grew into adulthood. Her many interests include reading, art, Victorian and Georgian history, Newfoundland history, the world wars, gardening, theatre, and travel, especially walking/hiking in new places.

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Her first book, Seven for a Secret, (Groundwood) won the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz award and was named a top ten book by the American Library Association. One for Sorrow (Penguin) was published in 2008 and Three for a Wedding (Penguin) in 2009. Her latest book, Where The Heart Is, was published November 2024.

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Mary lives in Toronto. She visits Newfoundland regularly to stay in touch with her family and her memories.

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She is a member of the Writers' Union of Canada and a Lifetime Member of the Jane Austen Society.