First Nations Book Fair: more and more beautiful models for young people

A few hours from the 13th^e First Nations Book Fair, general director Louis-Karl Picard Sioui notes an increase in the number of authors to whom young indigenous people can identify and relate.

This is particularly the case of the young Innu author Moira-Uashteskun Bacon, who published her first children’s novel, Fly away, Mikuna fiction that addresses the sexual identity of an indigenous teenager, just a year ago. Aged in her mid-twenties and originally from Mashteuiatsh, in Lac-Saint-Jean, the writer will give a writing workshop for young people and their parents at the Chrystine-Brouillet Library on November 17.

“Whether you’re homosexual, heterosexual, whatever, I think it’s an important book. I put myself in the shoes of young indigenous men or women and consider that [Moira-Uashteskun Bacon] is a very beautiful model for them,” mentions Louis-Karl Picard-Sioui.

A great take from English Canada

Among the other names to remember in the lineup of guests at the First Nations Book Fair, we find Eden Robinson. A member of the Haisla and Heiltsuk Nations in British Columbia, she is the author behind the trilogy The Trickster (Son of a Trickster, Trickster Drift, Return of the Trickster). The television adaptation of the first of these three fantastic novels, broadcast by CBC in 2020, was critically acclaimed and garnered a number of nominations at the Canadian Screen Awards the following year.

After a scheduling conflict in 2023, Louis-Karl Picard-Sioui is delighted to finally be able to count on the presence of this prolific novelist at the event this year.

“We are extremely happy to have him with us. She is not very well known in the French-speaking world, but she is a star in the rest of Canada,” he mentions. “There is great interest in Quebec for the fantasy genre, so we can’t wait to introduce it.”

Eden Robinson will participate in a conference on contemporary indigenous fiction on November 15, as well as a literary cabaret and a meeting with her readers on November 16.

Around thirty indigenous authors will participate in the 13^e First Nations Book Fair, November 14 to 17. The activities will mainly take place at the Maison de laliterature, the Morrin Center and the Multi de Méduse room. For the complete program, visit www.kwahiatonhk.com.