Schroeder is the author of some 23 books, including fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, translations and criticism. For many years he appeared on the CBC radio show Basic Black as its "resident crookologist", presenting a segment on some of the world's most outrageous and humorous crimes and criminals.
He served a term as Chair of the Writers' Union of Canada (1976/77), at which time he took over the Union's crusade for Public Lending Right. When that program was finally achieved, in 1986, he became its founding Chair, and served as the Union's PLR representative on the Public Lending Right Commission until 2008.
Schroeder has been shortlisted for a Governor-General's Award (Nonfiction: Shaking It Rough) in 1977, the Sealbooks First Novel Award (1984), an Arthur Ellis Award for Best Nonfiction (1997), The Stephen Leacock Award for Humor (1997) and the Malahat Review Novella competition (1998). He has won the OLA's Red Maple Award for Young Adult Nonfiction twice (2005; 2007), has received several National Magazine Awards, and won the Canadian Association of Journalists' "Best Investigative Journalism" award in 1990. He is a member of the New Democratic Party and describes himself as a "non-observant Mennonite".[1]
He is married to Sharon Brown; the couple have two daughters.[2]
