Role Writer Name Betty Wylie | ||
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Spouse William Tennant (Bill) Wylie Books Beginnings: A Book for Widows, The write track, Life's Losses, A place on Earth, Letters to Icelanders | ||
Betty Jane Wylie, (born February 21, 1931) is a Canadian writer and playwright.
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1951 and a Master of Arts degree in 1952 from the University of Manitoba.
In her book "The Write Track" she discusses how to succeed as a freelance writer in Canada. Bettyjane Wylie was a published poet first, then a puppet playwright, then a live-stage playwright for both children and adults, then an author, and then a screenwriter for TV and film. She concentrates now on screenplays and books. Her stage plays have been produced at the Manitoba Theatre Centre, St. Lawrence Centre, National Arts Centre, Stratford Third Stage (now the Tom Patterson Theatre), Factory Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille and Theatre Direct in Toronto, and other theatres in Canada (Saskatchewan, Alberta, NW Territories, etc. as well as various fringe festivals; in New York (AMAS Repertory Theatre), Minneapolis and Waterloo, Iowa, and in New Zealand, London, England, and South Africa. She has had 36 stage plays (and musicals) produced and published about 40 books of non-fiction, biography, belles letters, poetry and cooking.
Her first TV movie (with Donald Martin) won two Geminis (for best supporting actors). She was a Bunting Fellow at Radcliffe, has been named a Woman of Distinction by the YWCA, and given an Alumni Jubilee Award by the University of Manitoba where she received an honorary doctorate (D. Litt) in May 2003.
In 2003, she was made a Member of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honor.