Suzanne Martel

On July 29, 2012, Martel died surrounded by her family in Ste-Adèle.

Amazed by the universe of the novels of Rudyard Kipling (The Jungle Book), the Chouinard sisters invented an imaginary country, the Gotal, home to those they call "People in the wall". As children and teenagers, they wrote the adventures of these forty fictional characters they get to know as well as their own family. They were so attached to their writing that, when they reached twelve years old, their mother reportedly forbade them to write more than eight hours a day. Later, when they reached adulthood, they selected, in turn, a Montcorbier clan member and wrote of his adventures. This would become the most voluminous saga of the literary history of Quebec. Prior to the death of Monique Corriveau in 1976, the two sisters had written one for the other fifteen novels on their respective heroes. This saga remains largely unpublished to date.

In 1971, she founded the weekly children's publication Safari in the newspaper Montréal-Matin. She was an editor until 1974 when the newspaper was sold to La Presse.

Martel's first book was published in 1963, Quatre Montréalais en l'an 3000, a young-adult science fiction novel (published in English as The City Under Ground, 1964). She received the prize of the Canadian Association of French-language publishers. This classic children's book – which is said to be the first science fiction novel in Quebec – is still being studied in some schools. (It is known best as Surréal 3000, the title introduced for a revised edition in 1966, published in English as The City Underground, 1982.)

She worked as a journalist for Le Soleil in 1945, then as a freelancer in 1946.

Suzanne Chouinard was the daughter of Francis Xavier Chouinard, clerk of Quebec City between 1927 and 1961 and Lady Couillard, who resided at rue de Bernières in Quebec City until 1963. Her younger sister Monique became well known in Quebec as Monique Corriveau, the author of more than twenty novels for teenagers.

Suzanne Chouinard Martel (October 8, 1924 – July 29, 2012) was a French Canadian journalist, novelist and children's writer.