Doris Hillis was born at Epsom in Surrey, England. She was educated in England and came to Canada in 1955 where she taught schools in Langenburg and Winnipeg. Doris completed an M.A. at the University of Manitoba, and went on to lecture at the University of British Columbia while continuing studies in literature. In 1960, the family acquired a grain farm near Macklin, Saskatchewan, where Doris spent most of her writing career, and where she and her husband, William, raised their only child, Sandy. In 1967 Doris became involved in Adult Education through the Kerrobert Unit Board, and later was appointed a Trustee of Prairie West Community College for two terms (1975-1981).
Doris began writing in 1977, her primary interest being poetry, although she also produces drama, short stories, non-fiction articles, profiles, children’s literature and book reviews. Her work has been published in literary magazines and broadcast on CBC, and she has received rewards and grants from the Saskatchewan Writers Guild and the Saskatchewan Arts Board. In her major nonfiction works, Voices and Visions (1985) and Plainspeaking (1988), Doris interviews a number of significant Saskatchewan writers, including: Edna Alford, Elizabeth Allen, Lorna Crozier (Uher), Robert Currie, Mick Burrs, Gary Hyland, Lois Simmie, Terrence Heath , John Hicks , Patrick Lane, Ken Mitchell , Brenda Riches , Glen Sorestad , Gertrude Story, Anne Szumagalski , Guy Vanderhaege, Byrna Barclay , Elizabeth Brewster , Sharon Butala , Maria Campbell , David Carpenter, Rex Deverell, Joan Givner , Barbara Sapergia, Andrew Suknaski and Geoffrey Ursell.
Doris has also hosted a number of readings and workshops for elementary, high school, and adult groups and she was a central figure of Macklin’s Literary Club. She is a member of the Saskatchewan Writer’s Guild, the Saskatchewan Playwright’s Centre, the Writer’s Union of Canada, and the League of Canadian Poets.
Doris has also had an interest in puppetry. She was a member of numerous puppetry associations worldwide, including UNIMA and the Ontario Puppetry Association. In an effort to promote the dramatic arts in her home town, Doris established the Macklin Puppeteers, a group of Macklin children who performed for about six years in Macklin, Provost, and the Saskatoon Public Library “Christopher Robin Room”. She passed away on July 26th, 2020.