Hi! Thanks for checking in. This is where you will find out everything you likely never wanted to know about me. :D

So, here goes...

I'm a writer, nature + music lover, pilot, baker, cook, and art creator. I’ve always been adventurous, with a curiosity and imagination more aligned with children’s. In my thirties, I transitioned from aviation to working with kids, which inspired me to write for middle-grade and teen readers. I’ve published a memoir piece and several fantasy flash fiction stories. In 2024, I won a Word Award for Iggy’s Voyage: THE UNLIKELY HERO—a milestone after years of honing my craft through writing classes and mentorship from editors and writers like Marjorie Deluca, Deborah Schnitzer, Amanda Le Rougetel, Tiffany Yates Martin, and Marcy Kennedy.

I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with my family on an urban acreage where I write and secretly photograph my neighbours—deer, not humans. I’m a member of two writing guilds, a local writing group, and the national speculative fiction group, Realm Makers.  As I complete the editing of book two, The Crown of Thorns, I regularly post short stories and novel updates on my blog at anibirch.substack.com, and I'm active on Instagram @anibirchwrites. 

I started writing seriously during the pandemic at our off-grid cabin on a crystal-clear lake in northwestern Ontario. It's my favourite place, and it inspires many of my stories.

I started writing seriously during the pandemic at our off-grid cabin on a crystal-clear lake in northwestern Ontario. It’s my favourite place, and it inspires many of my stories. When I returned to Winnipeg, we decided to move from our busy neighbourhood to our current urban acreage, and I started taking writing classes at our local bookstore.

I’ve always loved a challenge. I created Iggy for my daughter, who has never been a fan of fantasy. For years, her favourites were the graphic novels of Raina Telgemeier and Dana Simpson—books she read over and over. Since I’m not an artist, I challenged myself to write a fantasy novel for middle-grade girls who think they don’t like fantasy.

Iggy was born for readers who crave heartfelt, character-driven stories with emotional stakes, mythical creatures, and themes of lost and found family. There’s plenty of adventure, but my greatest hope is that anyone who befriends this spunky, noodle-armed hero will want to revisit her story again and again. Iggy is the unconventional hero these readers have been waiting for.

While weighing the pros and cons of traditional versus self-publishing, I signed with Resource Publications of Wipf and Stock Publishers in Oregon in the Spring of 2025 for the trilogy. I want Iggy in libraries and small bookstores around the world, and a traditional publisher can make that possible. 

If you fall in love with Iggy and can’t wait for more, you won’t have to. Book two, The Crown of Bitter Root, arrives in Spring 2026, and the trilogy concludes with The Thread of Light in Fall 2026.

For promotional marketing or inquiries, please email anibirchwrites@gmail.com.