Val Ross
Encyclopedia
Valerie Jacqueline Candida "Val" Ross (17 October 1950 – 17 February 2008) was a Canadian writer and winner of the 2004 Norma Fleck Award
for Canadian children's non-fiction. She was also a journalist
for the newspaper The Globe and Mail
, and won a National Newspaper Award in 1992 for critical writing.
in 1950, to Jack and Erma Ross, and had one younger brother, Philip ("Pip"). Val attended the Institute of Child Study, a progressive primary school operated by the University of Toronto. After completing high school at Jarvis Collegiate Institute
, she considered becoming a visual artist and studied at St Martin's School of Art in London, England. Eventually she graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto
.
Before establishing her career as a freelance writer, she worked in urban planning
, tourism writing and as a broadcaster at CBC
. She traveled extensively, developing her interests in community, culture and media.
In the early 1970s she began studying Washin Ryu, a form of karate taught by Sensei Burt Konzak, attaining a brown belt. Val was also highly involved with several groups of women in the Toronto area that met frequently for recreational walks (The "Walking Women").
She wrote for Chatelaine
, Saturday Night
, and Toronto Life
, and then was hired as a staff writer and editor at Maclean's
, where she worked in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She reported on the conflict in El Salvador, and became an important voice for human rights and freedom of expression. She spent the remainder of her career at The Globe and Mail
, as a publishing reporter, as deputy editor of the Comment section, and as an arts reporter.
She wrote two children's books, 2003's The Road to There and 2006's You Can't Read This. The former, a history of cartography
, won the $10,000 Norma Fleck Award
in 2004. You Can't Read This is a history of banned literature.
Her final book, the posthumous Robertson Davies: A Portrait in Mosaic, is an oral history of Canadian writer Robertson Davies
. She continued to work on the book even after being diagnosed with brain cancer on the day after her 57th birthday in 2007.
She was married to Morton Ritts, and had three children.
She died in Toronto
on 17 February 2008 of brain cancer.
Norma Fleck Award
The Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction is a lucrative literary award founded in May 1999 by the Fleck Family Foundation and the Canadian Children's Book Centre, and presented to the year's best non-fiction book for a youth audience...
for Canadian children's non-fiction. She was also a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
for the newspaper The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
, and won a National Newspaper Award in 1992 for critical writing.
Biography
Val Ross was born in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
in 1950, to Jack and Erma Ross, and had one younger brother, Philip ("Pip"). Val attended the Institute of Child Study, a progressive primary school operated by the University of Toronto. After completing high school at Jarvis Collegiate Institute
Jarvis Collegiate Institute
Jarvis Collegiate Institute is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Jarvis is located on Jarvis Street. Founded in 1807 it is the second oldest high school in Ontario after the Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute, and the oldest high school in Toronto.-History:Jarvis Collegiate was...
, she considered becoming a visual artist and studied at St Martin's School of Art in London, England. Eventually she graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
.
Before establishing her career as a freelance writer, she worked in urban planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
, tourism writing and as a broadcaster at CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
. She traveled extensively, developing her interests in community, culture and media.
In the early 1970s she began studying Washin Ryu, a form of karate taught by Sensei Burt Konzak, attaining a brown belt. Val was also highly involved with several groups of women in the Toronto area that met frequently for recreational walks (The "Walking Women").
She wrote for Chatelaine
Chatelaine (magazine)
Chatelaine is an English-language Canadian magazine of women's lifestyles. Both Chatelaine and its French-language version, Châtelaine, are published monthly by Rogers Media, Inc., a division of Rogers Communications, Inc...
, Saturday Night
Saturday Night (magazine)
Saturday Night was a Canadian general interest magazine. It was founded in Toronto, Ontario in 1887.The publication was first established as a weekly broadsheet newspaper about public affairs and the arts, which was later expanded into a general interest magazine. The editor, Edmund E. Sheppard,...
, and Toronto Life
Toronto Life
Toronto Life is a monthly Canadian magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto Life also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including Home Decor, Stylebook, Eating & Drinking, Real Estate and Weddings. Established in 1966,...
, and then was hired as a staff writer and editor at Maclean's
Maclean's
Maclean's is a Canadian weekly news magazine, reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events.-History:Founded in 1905 by Toronto journalist/entrepreneur Lt.-Col. John Bayne Maclean, a 43-year-old trade magazine publisher who purchased an advertising agency's in-house...
, where she worked in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She reported on the conflict in El Salvador, and became an important voice for human rights and freedom of expression. She spent the remainder of her career at The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
, as a publishing reporter, as deputy editor of the Comment section, and as an arts reporter.
She wrote two children's books, 2003's The Road to There and 2006's You Can't Read This. The former, a history of cartography
Cartography
Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...
, won the $10,000 Norma Fleck Award
Norma Fleck Award
The Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction is a lucrative literary award founded in May 1999 by the Fleck Family Foundation and the Canadian Children's Book Centre, and presented to the year's best non-fiction book for a youth audience...
in 2004. You Can't Read This is a history of banned literature.
Her final book, the posthumous Robertson Davies: A Portrait in Mosaic, is an oral history of Canadian writer Robertson Davies
Robertson Davies
William Robertson Davies, CC, OOnt, FRSC, FRSL was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best-known and most popular authors, and one of its most distinguished "men of letters", a term Davies is variously said to have gladly accepted for himself...
. She continued to work on the book even after being diagnosed with brain cancer on the day after her 57th birthday in 2007.
She was married to Morton Ritts, and had three children.
She died in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
on 17 February 2008 of brain cancer.
Selected works
- 2003: The Road to There (Norma Fleck AwardNorma Fleck AwardThe Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction is a lucrative literary award founded in May 1999 by the Fleck Family Foundation and the Canadian Children's Book Centre, and presented to the year's best non-fiction book for a youth audience...
winner) - 2006: You Can't Read This
- 2008: Robertson Davies: A Portrait in Mosaic (posthumous)