Meet the Authors

Ryan, Isolde

Ryan became a member of the South Simcoe Arts Council, and has regularly participated in many group art exhibits since. Isolde is also part of The Wordsmiths, the SSAC writer’s group, and she is working on her first novel. Since joining the group, she has published several short stories and can be found in the Focus 50 + Newspaper, and on http://www.commuterlit.com. 

You can find Isolde online via http://www.isolderyan.wordpress.com, isolderyan62@gmail.com and FB, Instagram @isolderyan and on Twitter @Isoldesryan.

Read some of Isolde’s work in the Archives.

Ernyes, Joyce

Ernyes is a local author and member of the SSAC writers group the Wordsmiths. She credits her many years as a flight attendant for providing much of the material for her humorous stories. Her first published book Letters from Sugar is a delightfully funny compilation of “correspondence” from the recently adopted family cat to her previous owners.

Read some of Joyce’s work in the Archives

Dinnick, Michelle

Dinnick is an award-winning author and poet. Her work has appeared in the Globe and Mail. The Voice of the Farmer, Focus 50 Plus, Total Sports Magazine, The Briar Crier, and Arts Talk.

Michelle is a contributing author to The Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Spirit of Canada (2017), a quarter-finalist in the 2017 ScreenCraft Short Screenplay contest, and an associate producer on the films Turnover and In the Death Room.

She has a B.Sc. from U of T and is a professional member of the Canadian Authors Assc., as well as Wordsmiths.

You can find her online at http://www.michelledinnick.com. @MichelleDinnick as well as on Facebook and Instagram.

Castellano, Frank

Castellano was born in Palermo, Sicily and came to Canada at the age of four. At sixteen, he quit school to seek his fame and fortune in the music industry. Frank joined the Wordsmiths in 2019 and has published a book of poetry titled Light Through a Clear Dark Sky. Frank donates a portion of the sales to ORSA (Ontario Rett Syndrome Association). www.rett.ca Frank can be reached at frankcastellano@rogers.com

Read some of Frank’s work in the Archives

Hoondert, Diane

Hoondert enjoyed a full career in elementary education as a classroom teacher, most of that with Peel District School Board. She honed her writing skills in the pursuit of higher education, acquiring a B.A. at York University, followed by an M.Ed. in “Curriculum Design and Implementation” at the University of Toronto (O.I.S.E.) One of her favourite courses was a Creative Writing Course which piqued her interest in writing not only academic papers, but poetry and prose just for the beauty of self-expression. Diane continues to write on a regular basis through journals, letter writing, reviews in the public domain, short stories and by publishing her own greeting cards.

Read some of Diane’s works in the Archives

Rose-Carnegie, Angie

Rose-Carnegie, a member of Wordsmiths, has been writing short stories and poetry since elementary school. She had planned to attend University for journalism; instead, she became a Certified General Accountant. Her poetry and short stories have won awards in the SSAC writing contest. She has had poetry and financial articles appear in national magazines. Two of her plays were part of the play readings at South Simcoe Theatre, and one, “The 12 Days of Christmas”, was used as a fundraiser for Alzheimer’s at the Alliston Library in 2020.

Read some of Angie’s work in the Archives

Burnett, Patricia

Burnett has been writing for almost 20 years and has been published in Briar Crier. She writes short stories and poems, mostly based on experiences and memories from her past. It has been her way to leave a written legacy for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Read some of Patricia’s work in the Archives

Price, Trevor (R.I.P.)

Price enlisted in the British services as a teenager during WW2 and has recorded his memories of that era in a book titled Bell Bottomed Trousers. His stories will appear on Short’s Shorts from time to time. Sadly Trevor passed away in May of 2022 a few days short of his 100th birthday, but his stories live on.

Read some of Trevor’s work in the Archives

Crompton, Mike (R.I.P.)

Crompton was born in the UK, served in the Royal Air Force and immigrated to Canada in 1965. He worked in the aerospace industry, and taught electronics at Humber College. He enjoyed writing, gardening, cycling, model ship and aircraft building. Mike had several stories published in the Focus 50 + newspaper. He also published “The Little Book of Children’s Stories” v. 1-3, which can be borrowed from the Alliston public library.

Mike was a prolific writer and founding member of Wordsmiths Alliston. He is dearly missed.

Read some of his works in the Archives

Madill, Mike

Madill’s poetry has been published in literary journals across Canada, including in The Antigonish Review, The Dalhousie Review, Event, The Fiddlehead, The New Quarterly, Vallum and The Windsor Review. He was shortlisted for Freefall’s 2019-20 Poetry Contest, and an Honourable Mention in the inaugural 2021 Don Gutteridge Poetry Award Contest earned him publication of his debut, full-length collection, The Better Part of Some Time.

When not writing, Mike pursues freelance editing, and has also taken turns as a social worker, computer analyst and home contractor. He holds a B.A. in Psychology from York University, and is a member of the League of Canadian Poets.

O’Meara, Robert

O’Meara is a retired Professor of Media Studies from Humber College, Toronto, where he taught film history, film production and screenwriting. He was also involved in International Media Development projects in East Africa, Malaysia and the Middle East.

Recently, Robert joined the Wordsmiths group at the Alliston Library where he is rekindling his interest in writing.