Franklin's Secret Club

Paulette Bourgeois is best-known for creating Franklin the Turtle, the character who appears in picture books illustrated by Brenda Clark. The books have sold more than 50 million copies around the world and have been translated into 38 languages. An animated television series, merchandise, DVD's and full-feature movies are based on the character. She is also the author of Changes in You and Me, books about adolescence, Oma's Quilt which is also a short animated film created by the National Film Board of Canada, Big Sarah's Little Boots and more. Paulette has also written dozens of non fiction books for children including the Amazing series, the In My Neighbourhood series, The Sun, and The Moon. She has been a columnist for Homemaker's Magazine, written for Canadian Living, Chatelaine and Today's Parent and she provided the concept and initial research for,"The Bee Talker" which aired on CBC TV's The Nature of Things. Her most recent book, You, Me and my O.T., a picture book for the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists. Many of her books have been award-winners. In 2003, she became a Member of the Order of Canada and in 2007, she received an Honourary Doctor of Laws from her alma mater, The University of Western Ontario. She earned a BSc. in Occupational Therapy at UWO, attended Carleton University for a one-year graduate program in journalism, and in 2009 she graduated with a MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. Her thesis, a screenplay has been optioned by a Vancouver production company. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on July 20, 1951. She has two adult children, Natalie and Gordon and lives in Toronto, Canada and El Coco, Costa Rica.

Brenda Clark teaches anthropology at Camosun College. She has had the pleasure and privilege of working on archaeological sites from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia and north to the Central Arctic over a 30-year career as a bioarchaeologist. Her current interests lie in forensic anthropology and in raising public awareness about archaeology. Clark lives in Victoria, British Columbia.