Kelly Cooper

1963-

Born on 8 December 1963, Kelly Hope Cooper was raised in Senlac, Saskatchewan until age thirty. She attended the University of Saskatchewan from 1981–1985 where she obtained both her Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Arts degrees. Cooper has worked as a high school English and Art teacher and once served as poet laureate for CBC Saint John. In 1993, she moved to Belleisle Creek near Sussex, New Brunswick. Cooper is the author of the short story collection Eyehill (2004) and the author of the children’s book If a Horse Had Words (2018). Cooper’s short fiction has earned her multiple recognitions: in 2001 she was the winner of The Fiddlehead’s Fiction Prize as well as the Short Grain Contest, in 2014, she won the Open Season Award from the Malahat Review for her creative nonfiction; and in 2023 she won the Alice Kitts Memorial Award for Excellence in Children's Writing for Midnight and Moon (2022).

Predominant New Brunswick Residences:

Sussex, Belleisle Creek