Ann Walmsley

Ann Walmsley is an acclaimed Canadian journalist and author whose powerful debut memoir, The Prison Book Club, examines the restorative power of literature within the penal system. Born in Picton, Ontario, she earned a degree in English literature from Trinity College at the University of Toronto. She went on to build a highly distinguished career as a magazine journalist, contributing feature articles and book reviews to prominent publications like Maclean's and The Globe and Mail Report on Business Magazine. Her investigative writing earned her four prestigious National Magazine Awards. Walmsley catapulted into literary prominence with her 2015 book, The Prison Book Club. Inspired by her own need to reclaim a sense of personal security after surviving a traumatic physical assault in London, the narrative chronicles eighteen months she spent participating in book clubs inside men's medium-security prisons in Ontario. The critically adored work swept major literary accolades, winning the 2016 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction and securing longlist spots for both the RBC Taylor Prize and the BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction.