Irene Watts
Irene Watts (1931-2023) was born in Germany, and at the age of seven, she escaped the Nazis by taking the Kindertransport to England. In 1968 Irene, with her husband and four children emigrated to Canada. By 1969 she had joined the Citadel on Wheels and Wings, becoming Artistic Director the following year. Out of necessity, Irene began writing and adapting stories into plays for the company to perform to young audiences throughout Alberta and the Northwest territories. Thus began her writing career. She went on to write a trilogy of novels based on the experiences of children who were rescued by the Kindertransport. The first of these, Goodbye Marianne, has been adapted into a play. Irene wrote well into her nineties, her historical novels for young adults, have been published in multiple languages and have received many prestigious awards and honours. Irene was a pioneer in Canadian Children’s Theatre and an inspiration to many future writers.
