Aviation adventures are featured in eight of Shirlee Smith Matheson's 21 published books (14 nonfiction for adult readers and seven young adult novels) as well as short stories and stage plays. She is an alumnus of The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and has instructed writing courses/workshops and presentations for schools, organizations and special events. She holds memberships in The Writers Guild of Alberta, CANSCAIP, and YABS, as well as several aviation museums and related organizations. Awards include The 99s Canadian Award in Aviation; Athabasca University Distinguished Alumni; Emerald Award Finalist (environmental writing), Alberta and BC nonfiction prizes, and Can. Children's Book Centre fiction awards. Shirlee was employed for a number of years at The Hangar Flight Museum (Aero Space Museum) and recently completed a projects as Historian for Calgary International Airport Authority. This Was Our Valley, the ongoing saga of hydro-electric dams on the Peace River, was published in 2019 by Frontenac House Ltd., of Calgary.