JanMarkley

Jan Markley is the author of Dead Frog on the Porch and Dead Bird through the Cat Door which are comedic mystery adventures for middle grade readers. Jan previously worked as a print and broadcast journalist. She has a Master of Arts degree in Cultural Anthropology (University of Calgary 2002) and did her research at the Piikani First Nation in southern Alberta. Jan is actively involved in the writers' community through the Writers Guild of Alberta, Young Alberta Books Society, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and the Creative Nonfiction Collective Society. Jan has presented at numerous schools, book clubs, and at the Calgary Board of Education Young Writers' Conference and the Foothills Young Writers Conference.

Fiction:
Dead Frog on the Porch (2009) Gumboot Books _ shortlisted for the Golden Eagle Children's Choice Book Award (2011/12).

Dead Bird through the Cat Door (Fall 2010) Gumboot Books _ shortlisted for the inaugural John Spray Mystery Award (2011).

Creative Nonfiction:

–Relieving the Itch” Black Dog Review: A Canadian Literary Journal Issue #3, March 2019. (Excerpt from memoir work-in-progress Too Jaded to Be Bitter: The Memoir of a Burnt-Out Bureaucrat).

"'What do I know from Kosher?' Lessons Learned from a Cross Cultural Writers' Group" West Word Magazine _ Writers Guild of Alberta, September-October 2008. (p. 10-12)

–No Sweaty Enlightenment for Me” Facts and Arguments section Globe and Mail, November 5th, 2007 (p. L10).

Academic:
Thesis: –Walking in the Footsteps of our Ancestors”: Present Day Representation of Peigan/Blackfoot Cultural Identity. Master of Arts Social Sciences, Cultural Anthropology. University of Calgary 2002.

Shortlisted for the Golden Eagle Children's Choice Book Award (2011/12).

Shortlisted for the inaugural John Spray Mystery Award (2011).

Expert Panel Member for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts granting programs (Spring 2023).
Panel Member for the City of Calgary’s Public Art Selection Committee. Served as a ‘Calgarian at Large.’ (January – March 2021).
Manuscript Reviewer for the Alexander Writers’ Centre Society. Provided substantive feedback on manuscripts in a variety of genres (ongoing since July 2021).
Jury member for the 2021 Saskatchewan Book Awards: Children’s Literature Award Category (adjudicated in 2022).
Jury member for the 2020 Saskatchewan Book Awards: Regina Category (adjudicated in 2021).
Jury member for the Manitoba Book Awards: McNally Robinson Book for Young People: Younger Category, English 2019 (adjudicated in 2020).
Presented at the Calgary Young Writer's Conference since 2011 (and virtually in 2020), and at the annual Foothills Young Author's Conference six times.
Twenty-six years with the federal public service. Most of my career was spent managing and adjudicating grants and contributions programs for various communities of interest (including Indigenous communities and the arts and heritage sectors) at Manager/Senior Officer levels.

Young Alberta Books Society

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators

Creative Nonfiction Collective Society.

• Autobiography / Biography / Memoir
• Blogging
• Children's Literature
• Comedy / Humour
• Creative Nonfiction
• Juvenile Literature
• Middle Grade Literature
• Technical Writing
• Travel Writing
• Young Adult Literature

• Developmental Editing
• Editing
• Freelance Writing
• Ghostwriting
• Lectures / Public Speaking
• Manuscript Reading / Consultation
• Mentoring
• Readings - Adult
• Readings - Youth
• Substantive / Structural Editing
• Workshops - Adult
• Workshops - Youth