Joël Champetier became a full-time writer after working in electrochemistry. His 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, he published his first youth novel, La mer au fond du monde, in 1990.
La taupe et le dragon, his 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. He 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.
Joël Champetier also grew in status among the community of Quebec science-fiction and fantasy writers. In 1983, he helped organise the Boréal Congress, an annual Quebec science-fiction conference. He would serve on the conference's board of directors in 1984, and again from 1989 to 1999, becoming Vice-President from 1994 to 1999.
In 1987, he became a literary critic in the publication L'année de la science-fiction et du fantastique québécois (Quebec Science Fiction and Fantasy Annual).
At Solaris magazine, he 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 Aurora Awards. In 1995, he worked with Yves Meynard on the anthology Escales sur Solaris for the magazine's anniversary.
In 1996, he was honoured at the Salon du livre de l'Abitibi-Témiscaminque, for which he had been previously in charge of programming in 1991.
His 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.
His 1997 novel La peau blanche was adapted into a 2004 film by Daniel Roby which was released in English as White Skin.
He is presently based in Saint-Séverin de Proulxville, Quebec and is the current managing editor of Solaris.
1990: La Mer au fond du monde (Paulines, Jeunesse-pop 71) ISBN 2890394816
1991: La Requête de Barrad (Paulines, Jeunesse-pop 73) ISBN 2890395014
1991: La Prisonnière de Barrad (Paulines, Jeunesse-pop 76) ISBN 2890395170
1993: Le Jour-de-trop (Paulines, Jeunesse-pop 85) ISBN 2890395863
1993: Le Voyage de la sylvanelle (Paulines, Jeunesse-pop 88) ISBN 2894202024
1994: Le Secret des sylvaneaux (Paulines, Jeunesse-pop 93) ISBN 2894202237
1995: Le Prince Japier (Paulines, Jeunesse-pop 98) ISBN 2894202830
Adult novels
1991: La Taupe et le Dragon (Québec/Amérique, Littérature d'Amérique) ISBN 289037548X
1999: reissue (Alire, Romans 025) ISBN 2922145263
1999: English version: The Dragon's Eye (Tor) ISBN 0312868820
1994: La Mémoire du lac (Québec/Amérique, Sextant 3)
2001: reissue (Alire, Romans 043) ISBN 2922145492
1995: Escales sur Solaris (anthology, with Yves Meynard, Vents d'Ouest)
1997: La Peau blanche (Alire, Romans 006) ISBN 2922145050
2002: reissued in large size (Alire, GF 2)
1999: L'Aile du papillon (Alire, Romans 028) ISBN 2922145247
2002: Les Sources de la magie (Alire, Romans 054)
2005: reissue (Bragelonne) (France)
2006 (scheduled): Le Voleur des steppes (Alire)
2006? (scheduled): L'Éblouissement (Alire)
Collections
1997: C?ur de fer(collection, Orion, Science-fiction) (France)
Articles
1981: Le chemin des fleurs (Solaris 41)
1983: Reparution dans Aurores Boréales 1 (Le Préambule)
1982: Le nettoyage de la Compté (Pour ta belle gueule d'ahuri 5)
1988: Reparution dans Épitaphe 4
1983: Bébé, Stan' et moi (Solaris 50)
1984: Elle a soif (imagine... 21)
1985: Poisson-soluble (Solaris 59)
1985: Reparution dans Aurores Boréales 2 (Le Préambule)
1987: Version anglaise : in Tesseracts 2 (Press Porcépic)
1994: Reparution dans Northern Stars (Tor)
1987: Retour sur Colonie (Solaris 75, written with Élisabeth Vonarburg)
1987: Les vents du temps (Samizdat 8)
1990: Version anglaise : in Tesseracts 3 (Press Porcépic)
1988: Survie sur Mars in L'Année de la science-fiction et du fantastique Québécois 1987 (Le Passeur)
1993: reprinted in Yellow Submarine 104
1997: reprinted in C?ur de fer (Orion)
1988: Salut Gilles! (Solaris 79)
1989: En petites coupures (Færie 5)
1989: Le jour-de-trop (Solaris 87)
1989: Karyotype 47, XX, +21 in Sous des soleils étrangers (Les Publications Ianus)
1997: Reparution dans C?ur de fer (Orion)
1990: Ce que Hercule est allé faire chez Augias, et pourquoi il n'y est pas resté in L'Année de la science-fiction et du fantastique Québécois 1989 (Le Passeur)
1993: reprinted in Yellow Submarine 102
1997: reprinted in C?ur de fer (Orion)
1990: C?ur de fer (Solaris 93)
1995: reprinted in Escales sur Solaris (Vents d'Ouest)
1997: reprinted in C?ur 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 peste in Par chemins inventés (Québec/Amérique, Clip 10)
1993: Dieu, 1, 0 in L'Année de la science-fiction et du fantastique Québécois 1990 (Le Passeur)
1994: Esclaves du sable (in Décollages, imagine...)
1994: Visite au comptoir dénébolien in Sourires (L'A Venir)
1997: reprinted in C?ur de fer (Orion)
1996: Icabod Icabod Crane in La Maison douleur (Vents d'Ouest, Ado 2)
1997: Badelaire l'assassin in Concerto 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)
1995: Grand Prix de la science-fiction et du fantastique québécois (Grand Prize for Quebec Science Fiction and Fantasy), for La mémoire du lac, Le secret des sylvaneaux, Visite au comptoir dénébolien and Esclave du sable
He was also a finalist in 1984 and 1985 in a screenplay contest by Radio-Québec(today known as Télé-Québec), at Prix Québec/Wallonie-Bruxelles in 1992, and also at Prix Brive/Montréal in 1993 (for Le jour-de-trop).
