She dedicated her book Fractures (2002) to both her eleventh grade teacher and her English professor at Dalhousie. Other noted works of Wilson's include Lorinda's Diary and Thirteen Never Changes (1991).

It was also shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book in the Canada–Caribbean Region. It won the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award and the City of Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction that same year, and went on to be listed as one of 'The 75 best children's books of the last 25 years' by the American Library Association in 1994. Wilson also authored The Leaving, a collection of short stories that won first prize in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Literary Competition for Adult Short Story in 1991. It became the largest-ever foreign rights sale for Penguin Canada, and was eventually adapted into an animated series in Japan titled Kon'nichiwa Anne: Before Green Gables. These include the prequel Before Green Gables, a celebratory centennial release to the Anne of Green Gables series. She recounted that writing during the six-year interval was a challenge, describing how she was 'getting pretty discouraged' by the fifth year. She published her first book, The Best/Worst Christmas Present Ever, in 1984 at the age of 56.

Wilson delved into writing full time starting in 1978. She became a fitness instructor at the Peterborough County Board of Education and Young Women’s Association in Peterborough, working in that capacity until 1987. After stints at the Toronto Public Library and Acadia University nursing school, Wilson went back to teaching in 1968. There, she was responsible for filing, editing, and art work. She was subsequently employed by the Institute of Child Study at the University of Toronto from 1953 until 1957. Wilson's first job was as a teacher of English and art at Halifax Ladies’ College for one year starting in 1951. She obtained a Diploma of Education in 1953, as well as a certificate in physical education. She then undertook postgraduate studies at the University of Toronto from 1949 to 1951. Wilson studied philosophy and psychology at Dalhousie University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1949.

Her father, Maynard Brown Archibald, was a judge her mother was Helen MacGregor Archibald. Wilson was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on May 2, 1927.

Duff the Giant Killer by Budge Wilson