David Robertson (writer)

David Alexander Robertson (born 12 January 1977) is an Indigenous Canadian author, public speaker, and two-time winner of the Governor General's Literary Award from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Robertson is a member of the Norway House Cree Nation. He has published over 25 books across a variety of genres.[1] His first novel, The Evolution of Alice, was published in 2014.[2]

For other people named David Robertson, see David Robertson (disambiguation).
David Robertson
Born (1977-01-12) January 12, 1977
Occupationauthor
Years active2014–present
Notable work

Career

Robertson's young adult and children's works are widely used in libraries and classrooms across Canada, especially his graphic novels. His works often grapple with hard and violent histories, including the residential school system in Canada. Robertson's graphic novels include the 7 Generations series, the Tales From Big Spirit series,[3] and Betty: The Helen Betty Osborne Story, which tells the true story of a young Indigenous woman who was abducted and brutally murdered by four young men in 1971.[4]

Robertson has contributed to several anthologies, including Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings From the Land of Water and Love Beyond Body, Space, and Time: An LGBT and two-spirit sci-fi anthology.[5] His work has been featured in CV2 and Prairie Fire.[6] He has written articles for the Toronto Star,[7] CBC, and Book and Periodical Council's Freedom to Read site.[8]

Robertson also works as Publishing & Communications Manager at the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre[9] and is writer and host of the Kíwew podcast.[10]

Awards and nominations

Robertson was nominated for four Manitoba Book Awards in 2015, with The Evolution of Alice winning the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Author.[11] Robertson also won the Aboriginal Circle of Educators award for Research/Curriculum development in 2015.[12] The Evolution of Alice was shortlisted for the Burt Award for First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Literature.[13]

In 2016, Robertson was nominated for the Beatrice Mosionier Award for Aboriginal Writer of the Year and the McNally Robinson Books for Young People Award.[14] That same year, The Evolution of Alice was selected as the 2016 winner for On the Same Page[15], a joint initiative between the Winnipeg Public Library and the Winnipeg Foundation that encourages all Manitobans to read and discuss the same book. Robertson's graphic novel Betty: The Helen Betty Osborne Story was included on the In the Margins Official List for Nonfiction[16] and was a finalist for the 2016 High Plains Book Award in the Creative Nonfiction category.[17]

In 2017, Robertson won the Manuela Dias Book Design and Illustration Awards/GRAPHIC NOVEL Category for Will I See?, which was illustrated by GMB Chomichuk, with cover design by Relish New Brand Experience. That same year, he won the McNally Robinson Book for Young People Awards (Younger Category) and the Governor General's Literary Award for When We Were Alone, illustrated by Julie Flett, with design by Relish New Brand Experience. When We Were Alone was also a finalist for the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award. Robertson won the 2017 Beatrice Mosionier Aboriginal Writer of the Year Award, tied with Trevor Greyeyes.[18]

In 2018, the first book in Robertson's Reckoner series won the McNally Robinson Best Book for Young People Award,[19] the Manitoba Book Awards' Michael Van Rooy Award for Genre Fiction,[20] and the Indigenous Writer of the Year Award at the 2018 High Plains Book Awards.[21]

In 2020, Black Water: Family, Legacy, and Blood Memory won the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award at the Manitoba Book Awards.

The Barren Grounds, which is the first book in Robertson's Misewa Saga, was nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award in 2021 in the Young People's Literature – Text category.[22] This text was also named one of Kirkus and Quill & Quire's best books of 2020, CBC Books' best middle-grade and young adult books of 2020, and one of Canadian Children's Book News's best books of 2020.[23] The Barren Grounds was also shortlisted for the Ontario Library Association's Silver Birch Award and was a USBBY and Texas Lone Star selection.

In 2021, Robertson won the Writers' Union of Canada Freedom to Read Award.[24] and Alexander Kennedy Isbister Award at the 2021 Manitoba Book Awards.[25] His podcast, Kíwew, also won the 2021 RTDNA Prairie Region Award for Best Podcast.[26]

His book On the Trapline, illustrated by Julie Flett, was the winner of the Governor General's Award for English-language children's illustration at the 2021 Governor General's Awards.[27]

Works

Children and young adult books
  • On the Trapline (4 May 2021)
  • When We Were Alone (2016)[28]
  • Strangers (The Reckoner Trilogy, Book 1) (2017)[29]
  • Monsters (The Reckoner Trilogy, Book 2) (2018)[30]
  • Ghosts (The Reckoner Trilogy, Book 3) (2019)[31]
  • Ispík kákí péyakoyak | When We Were Alone (2020)
  • The Barren Grounds (The Misewa Saga, Book One) (2020)[32]
  • The Great Bear (The Misewa Saga, Book Two) (2021)[33]
  • On the Trapline (2021)[34]
  • The Stone Child (The Misewa Saga, Book Three) (2022)
  • The Portal Keeper (The Misewa Saga Book Four) (2023)

Novels and other literature

Graphic novels
  • Stone (7 Generations series, Book 1) (2010)
  • Scars (7 Generations series, Book 2) (2010)
  • Ends/Begins (7 Generations series, Book 3) (2010)
  • The Pact (7 Generations series, Book 4) (2011)
  • 7 Generations: A Plains Cree Saga (Collected 7 Generations series) (2012)[38]
  • Sugar Falls (2012)[39]
  • The Poet: Pauline Johnson (2014)
  • The Rebel: Gabriel Dumont (2014)
  • The Scout: Tommy Prince (2014)
  • The Land of Os: John Ramsay (2014)
  • The Peacemaker: Thanadelthur (2014)
  • The Ballad of Nancy April: Shawnadithit (2014)
  • Betty: The Helen Betty Osborne Story (2015)
  • The Chief: Mistahimaskwa (2016)
  • Will I See? (2016)
  • Breakdown (The Reckoner Rises, Volume 1) (2020)[40]
  • Version Control (The Reckoner Rises, Volume 2) (forthcoming 2022)[41]

Anthology contributions
  • Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings From the Land of Water (2011)[42]
  • Love Beyond Body, Space, and Time: An LGBT and two-spirit sci-fi anthology (2016)
  • This Place: 150 Years Retold (2019)[43]
  • Love After the End: Two-Spirit Utopias & Dystopias (2019)
  • Take Us to a Better Place: Stories (2019)[44]
  • Moonshot: the Indigenous Comics Collection (Vols. 1, 2, and 3) (2020)
  • Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids (2021)[45]

References
  1. "Winnipeg writer David A. Robertson shares his favourite comics while touring Maxx Collectibles". CBC Books. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  2. "Dark look at rez life a must-read for Manitobans". www.winnipegfreepress.com. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  3. "Local writer, artist team up on native history graphic novel". www.winnipegfreepress.com. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  4. Puxley, Chinta. "New graphic novel on infamous Manitoba murder from 1971". Global News. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  5. "New Release Spotlight: Love Beyond Body, Space, and Time (An LGBT and Two-Spirit Sci-Fi Anthology)". LGBTQ Reads. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  6. "Electric City". Prairie Fire. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  7. "David A. Robertson: 'My grandmother's sister had a name. It was Maggie'". thestar.com. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  8. ""Not Recommended": What It's Like When a School Board Rejects Your Work". Freedom to Read. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  9. "Complete Staff Listing | Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre". mfnerc.org. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  10. "Kīwew". 18 June 2020. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  11. "The Manitoba Book Awards | Manitoba Writers' Guild". www.mbwriter.mb.ca. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  12. "Awards Information – Aboriginal Circle of Educators". www.aboriginalcircleofeducators.ca. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  13. "Thomas takes top Manitoba book prize". www.winnipegfreepress.com. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  14. "Manitoba Writer's Guild". www.mbwriter.mb.ca. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  15. News. "October 14, 2015 : News Releases – City of Winnipeg". winnipeg.ca. Retrieved 7 November 2016. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  16. "2016 In the Margins Official LIst – NonFiction | Library Services for Youth in Custody". youthlibraries.org. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
  17. "HIGHPLAINSBOOKAWARDS.ORG". www.highplainsbookawards.org. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  18. "Debut novel a breakthrough, wins top award". www.winnipegfreepress.com. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  19. "The Manitoba Book Awards 2018 winners – McNally Robinson Booksellers". www.mcnallyrobinson.com. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  20. LeGal, Janine (25 June 2018). "Jun 2018: Novel brings home genre fiction prize". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  21. Kartz, Ellen. "High Plains Book Awards – 2018 Winners". Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  22. "Winnipegger's book drawing from Cree sky lore nominated for Governor General's Award". CBC News. 16 May 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  23. "The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson". Penguin Random House Canada. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  24. "David A. Robertson wins the 2021 Freedom to Read Award | CBC Books". CBC. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  25. Ben Sigurdson (20 May 2021). "Bergen wins book of the year a fourth time". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  26. "RTDNA Canada Announces 2021 Prairie Region Award Winners – RTDNA Canada". Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  27. "Inuk author Norma Dunning wins $25K Governor General's fiction prize" Archived 17 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Coast Reporter, 17 November 2021.
  28. "When We Were Alone". CBC Books. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  29. "Strangers: The Reckoner, Book 1". Quill and Quire. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  30. "Monsters". CBC Books. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  31. "Ghosts". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  32. "The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson". Penguin Random House Canada. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  33. "The Great Bear by David A. Robertson". Penguin Random House Canada. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  34. "On the Trapline by David A. Robertson; illustrated by Julie Flett". Penguin Random House Canada. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  35. Kelly, Joanne (23 November 2014). "REVIEW: The Evolution of Alice rooted in reserve life, but message universal". CBC News. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  36. "Black Water – David A. Robertson – Hardcover". HarperCollins Canada. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  37. "Black Water – David A. Robertson – Hardcover". HarperCollins Canada.
  38. "7 Generations". CBC Books. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  39. "Sugar Falls". CBC Books. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  40. "Breakdown". Portage & Main Press. 13 December 2019. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  41. Robertson, David A. (26 April 2022). Version Control. Scott B. Henderson, Donovan Yaciuk. ASIN 1553799674.
  42. Cariou, Warren; Sinclair, Niigaanwewidam James (2011). Manitowapow: Aboriginal writings from the land of water. Winnipeg, Manitoba: HighWater Press. ISBN 978-1-55379-307-6. OCLC 769258320.
  43. 25 January, CBC Books ·. "12 Canadian comics to look out for in spring 2019 | CBC Books". CBC. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  44. "Take us to a Better Place: Stories". RWJF. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  45. "Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids". HarperCollins. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
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