Heather Margaret Robertson (March 19, 1942 – March 19, 2014) was a Canadian journalist, novelist and non-fiction writer. She published her first book, Reservations are for Indians, in 1970, and her latest book, Walking into Wilderness, in 2010. She was a founding member of the Writers' Union of Canada and the Professional Writers Association of Canada,[1] and launched the Robertson v Thomson Corp class action suit regarding freelancers' retention of electronic rights to their work.[2]
Robertson began her journalism career at the Winnipeg Free Press then moved to the Winnipeg Tribune. In the late 1960s, she received a grant to study native people; this research provided much of the material for her first book, Reservations are for Indians, published in 1970.[3]
Robertson published four books in the 1970s, including Grass Roots, which profiles four modern prairie towns and the difficulties faced by farmers in Western Canada,[4] Salt of the Earth and A Terrible Beauty: The Art of Canada at War. In 1981 she chronicled the life of the Winnipeg bank robber Ken Leishman in The Flying Bandit.[3]
In the 1980s, Robertson turned to fiction based on real-life characters, and won the Books In Canada Best First Novel Award for Willie, A Romance, based on the life of former Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. Two more novels followed: Lily: A Rhapsody in Red and Igor: A Novel of Intrigue.[3]
Throughout her writing career, Robertson was a prolific freelancer for the CBC and national magazines such as Maclean's, Chatelaine, Saturday Night, Canadian Forum and Equinox.[3]