Wendy Morton was born in South Bend, Indiana in 1970. She moved to Canada in 1970 and now lives in Sooke. She has worked as an insurance investigator for more than twenty years. As the coordinator of the Mocambopo reading series in Victoria, Morton became an influential figure in the landscape of B.C. poetry, releasing her second collection of poetry, Undercover (Ekstasis 2003), as a follow-up to Private Eye. As the founder of "Random Acts of Poetry," she has instigated unusual poetry promotion campaigns with Westjet Airlines, Daimler-Chrysler, Prairie Naturals Vitamins, Fairmont Hotels, Fujifil and AbeBooks.

Morton is host of Planet Earth Poetry in Victoria, a weekly poetry venue now in it's 13th year. She believes that poetry is the shortest distance between two hearts.

In 2018 she received the Federation of British Columbia Writers' 2018 Honourary Ambassador Award. The FBCW Honourary Ambassador Award, launched in 2015, is given in recognition of a person whose work and achievements in the community bring attention to the value of writers and writing.

"We are delighted that Wendy has accepted this award from the Federation and look forward to many more years of partnering with her on behalf of writers and especially young writers,"; said Ann Graham Walker, president of the FBCW, in announcing the award.

"Wendy was chosen this year in part because of her work as creator of the Elder Project - an initiative that brings indigenous students together with their elders to capture cultural narratives and empower the students to write poems and publish them in a chapbook.";

BOOKS:

What Were Their Dreams? Valleys of Hope and Pain: Canada's History (2009)

Gumshoe (Black Moss Press, 2007)

Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast (Emdash Books, 2006)

Shadowcatcher (Ekstasis Editions, 2005)

Undercover (Ekstasis Editions, 2003) $19.95 1-894800-21-4

Private Eye (Ekstasis Editions, 2001)

[BCBW 2009] "Poetry"