Writer
Jessica has been writing about Georgian Bay since she was a child, often lying on warm granite by the Magnetawan River in summertime then, capturing stories about the lighthouse, landscape, and her ancestors in messy cursive. Now, she writes anywhere, still in cursive sometimes but mostly with her laptop. Expressing and making meaning through writing has become a way of life.
As her writing developed, her love of water, land, and family history expanded too. In poems, plays, and fiction, she often returns to these themes.
An award-winning author, poet laureate emeritus, and experienced educator, Jessica feels grateful for opportunities to write and teach.
Jessica's teaching experiences are diverse, including elementary, secondary, and post-secondary classrooms, adult learners in community, as well as one to one mentoring. She is happiest when she teaches about creative writing, arts and literature, or peace education.
Jessica is a citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario. Her mother is a Lamondin, her family part of the Georgian Bay Métis Community from the MNO verified Métis family lines of Solomon and Berger/Beaudoin. Jessica's grandfather and great-grandfather grew up at the Gereaux Island Lighthouse, where their fathers were lighthouse keepers. Her father’s family (Outram) were settlers to the Britt, Ontario area in the early 1900s.
At two weeks old, Jessica Outram visited her grandparents on Georgian Bay and she has spent as much time there as possible ever since. She is the author of a novel for middle grade students, Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold, and of the poetry collection The Thing with Feathers. Her play Once Upon a Rocking Chair has been produced twice to sold out audiences.
Jessica is a member of the League of Canadian Poets and the Playwrights Guild of Canada. She has a Master of Arts degree in Adult Education and Community Development from University of Toronto. As co-host of The Hummingbird Podcast with Catherine Graham, Jessica explores poetry, identity, place, and creativity.
In May 2024, the Georgian Bay Concert Choir performed the world premiere of 'Windblown Group of Seven,' composed by Dorothy de Val. Lyrics by Jessica Outram.
A full-time educator for over 25 years, she currently works as Superintendent of Education.
Featured Recognition
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Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold is the winner of The Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, 2024.
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Recipient of the Gordon Johnston Award for Artistic Excellence, Trent University.
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Recipient of two Ontario Arts Council Recommender Grants.
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4th Poet Laureate of Cobourg, Ontario from 2019-2022.
Contact
Currently welcoming invitations that align with story, spirit, and place.
Please note: I’m committed to maintaining boundaries between my education role and my creative life. If you reach out, please expect a thoughtful response. Allow 5–7 business days.
This is a personal website. Views are my own, shared in a personal capacity as a writer.
A Note from Jessica
What's new by the river at home?
Update for Fall 2025:
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Thanks to an Ontario Arts Council Recommender grant, I finished the first draft of the sequel to 'Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold.' Next, on to the revision process. I'll post updates here as the process unfolds.
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One of my poems has been selected to be etched into a picnic table and displayed at Word on the Street Literary Festival in Toronto at the end of September alongside other poets from Cobourg.
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At the end of September, there is a preview screening of 'Search Out the Land' a documentary film by Len Pearl. In it, I share some stories about one of my ancestors Ezekiel Solomon and his role during the fur trade.
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In October, my first academic publication is being released. Working with three other professors from Trent University, we collaborated to write a chapter in: Mentoring to Support Teacher Candidate Development. Our chapter is called: Alongside and Together: The Role of Practicum Faculty Advisors in Mentoring Teacher Candidates.
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This fall I will be writing narrative texts for EQAO Grade 3 and 6 for the second time. I also was part of the writing committee last spring.
Press & Media
BIO: Jessica Outram is the award-winning author of Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold. She is a citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario with roots in the Georgian Bay Métis Community. She was the 4th Poet Laureate of Cobourg. She currently lives in Peterborough.
Please contact Jessica for updated author photo.