Born in La Corne, Quebec (Abitibi-Témiscamingue district), Champetier became a full-time writer after working in electrochemistry. Champetier's first published work, Le chemin des fleurs, appeared in Quebec science-fiction and fantasy magazine Solaris in 1981. After publishing many stories in various magazines and collections, some of which would be translated to English, Champetier first youth novel, La mer au fond du monde, was published in 1990.
La taupe et le dragon, Champetier's first adult science-fiction novel, was published in 1991. This would be translated into English and published in the United States in 1999 by Tor Books as "The Dragon's Eye". Champetier has also been published in France, such as a collection of stories through Orion, and his fantasy novel Les sources de la magie was published by Bragelonne in 2005.
Champetier also grew in status among the community of Quebec science-fiction and fantasy writers. In 1983, Champetier helped organise the Boréal Congress, an annual Quebec science-fiction conference and would serve on the conference's board of directors in 1984, and again from 1989 to 1999, becoming vice-president from 1994 to 1999.
AtSolaris magazine, Champetier became a member of the editorial committee, becoming literary director from 1990 to 1994, co-ordinator from 1992 to 1996 during which the magazine won three Prix Aurora Awards. In 1995, Champetier worked with Yves Meynard on the anthology Escales sur Solaris for the magazine's anniversary.
Champetier's works, primarily represented by the novels La mémoire du lac, La peau blanche and L'aile du papillon, were often compared to the style of Stephen King by various editors.
Champetier's 1997 novel La peau blanche was adapted into a 2004 film by Daniel Roby which was released in English as White Skin.
Champetier died after a struggle with cancer, aged 57, on 30 May 2015,[2] living in Saint-Séverin-de-Proulxville and was the managing editor of Solaris.
1990: Ce que Hercule est allé faire chez Augias, et pourquoi il n'y est pas restéinL'Année de la science-fiction et du fantastique Québécois 1989 (Le Passeur)
1993: reprinted in Yellow Submarine 102
1997: reprinted in Cœur de fer (Orion)
1990: Cœur de fer (Solaris93)
1995: reprinted in Escales sur Solaris (Vents d'Ouest)
1997: reprinted in Cœur de fer (Orion)
1996: English version in Tesseract Q (Tesseracts Books)
1990: À fleur de peau (Fusion/Nouvelle Génération 6)
1998: reprinted in N'Gak & Cie
1992: Anciennes cicatrices (imagine... 59)
1997: reprinted in Panorama de la littérature québécoise (Guérin)
1992: Luckenbach, les mathématiques, et autres dangers de Montréal (Solaris 100)
1992: Petite pesteinPar chemins inventés (Québec/Amérique, Clip 10)
1993: Dieu, 1, 0inL'Année de la science-fiction et du fantastique Québécois 1990 (Le Passeur)
1994: Esclaves du sable (in Décollages, imagine...)
1994: Visite au comptoir dénébolieninSourires (L'A Venir)
1997: reprinted in Cœur de fer (Orion)
1996: Icabod Icabod CraneinLa Maison douleur (Vents d'Ouest, Ado 2)
1997: Badelaire l'assassininConcerto pour six voix (Médiaspaul, Jeunesse-pop 121)
1998: À la main (Solaris 125)
1998: Les Amis de la Forêt (extrait), in Roberval fantastique (Ashem fictions)
