About Wanda

Wanda Taylor is an award winning author, educator, journalist, filmmaker, and highly sought after public speaker. She has written ten books of fiction and non-fiction across children’s, middle grade, YA, and adult markets. She is a former Television Producer and has also written content for film, radio, documentary, and for the stage. As an independent filmmaker, one theme through much of Wanda’s work involves unearthing the lost and hidden stories of Blacks and People of Color. Her acclaimed documentary, “Still Here: A Journey to Triumph” challenged a group of Black teens to retrace the path of their ancestors from Africa, to enslavement in the southern US, to settlement in Canada. Their documented experiences were nothing short of remarkable!

That important history and documentary was recently brought back to audiences across streaming platforms such as TENK (Docs from the Vault) and also re-aired on Eastlink Television as part of their Films That Teach series. Wanda has worked for many years in unscripted television on such shows as Canada’s Got Talent; The Next Star; and MasterChef Canada. She has also held numerous positions on feature films, like Poor Boys Game, Across the Line, and Black Cop, in roles that included Casting, Assistant Director, Producer, and Post Production crew. She has also worked as crew for various unscripted web series’.

“I started out in front of the camera and quickly realized that my passion truly lied on the other side.” Wanda Taylor

As a screenwriter, Wanda has created content for both film and television. As a journalist and magazine features writer, her work appears in numerous publications; including Quill & Quire, The Globe and Mail, and Black2Business Magazine, to name a few. Her essays, poems, and short stories have been anthologized across Canada, the US, and the UK. Wanda is also a freelance book editor, and as a professional Sensitivity Reader, she also provides contracted manuscript reviews to top North American publishers and award winning authors; ensuring accurate portrayals of

diversity and representation in forthcoming literature.

Wanda’s recent two-book deal with HarperCollins Canada resulted in the release of her middle grade novel, The Grover School Pledge, June 2023. It is currently listed as the Best Book in Children’s Literature by Kobo Books. The second novel in that deal will be released Spring 2024. Wanda’s upcoming MG nonfiction, Brothers in the Sky (Nimbus Publishing) is the story of Blacks in aviation and is set for release March, 2024 during the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Wanda’s previous nonfiction book, Birchtown and The Black Loyalists, (Nimbus Publishing, 2014)

continues to be listed as one of the Top Black History Month Books for Young Readers.

Wanda has written, directed, and produced several plays for the stage. She serves as Stage Manager for various productions with Alumnae Theatre; including its recent production of String of Pearls by Michele Lowe. A 2018 production of The Reversal of Peter Dawson, written and directed by Wanda, was subsequently adapted into a novel and is currently being shopped as a televisions series. Wanda is VP of The Creative Non-Fiction Collective. And besides mentoring emerging writers, Wanda is also a college professor. She teaches courses in Journalism, Story Writing for Media, Screenwriting, Doc Filmmaking, and Intro to Communications. She also serves as a part time Faculty/Mentor in the University of Kings College’s MFA Writing and Publishing Residency Program.

Wanda has won many awards for her body of work, including a communications award from the Canadian Association of Journalists, and the prestigious

Women of Excellence Award for Arts and Culture.