Meet the Author: David A. Robertson

Meet the Author

David A. Robertson

David A. Robertson is an award-winning author, graphic novelist and talented public speaker. Most notably, he is the 2021 recipient of the Writers’ Union of Canada Freedom to Read Award.

He is the author of numerous books for young readers including When We Were Alone, which won the 2017 Governor General’s Literary Award, the McNally Robinson Best Book for Young People Award, and was a finalist for the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award.

His acclaimed YA series, The Reckoner, has won the McNally Robinson Best Book for Young People Award, the Michael Van Rooy Award for Genre Fiction, and the Indigenous Writer of the Year Award at the High Plains Book Awards.

The Barren Grounds, the first book in the middlegrade The Misewa Saga series, received a starred review from Kirkus, was a Kirkus and Quill & Quire best middle-grade book of 2020, was a USBBY and Texas Lone Star selection, was shortlisted for the Ontario Library Association’s Silver Birch Award, and is a finalist for the 2020 Governor General’s Literary Award.

He is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and currently lives in Winnipeg. To learn more about him, check out his website: darobertson.ca.

TingL: How has our new socially-distanced reality impacted what you do as an author/ speaker?

It actually hasn’t impacted me too much. I obviously have not travelled, but I would say that I’ve done almost more events than I would have otherwise because people, festivals, schools, have really embraced virtual presentations. When this is all over, I think virtual presentations will not go away. In fact, I think we’ve all wondered why we didn’t do more of them in the first place.

What issues (social/societal/global) are influencing what you write?

What has always influenced me is the need to educate about Indigenous people through literature, in particular the youth. I didn’t have books like the ones I’m writing when I was a kid, and it had a negative impact on me and my classmates. It shaped how I saw myself, and how my classmates saw Indigenous people. So, whether it’s difficult stories of trauma, or stories of culture and community, this is what drives me. The thing that I’ve thought about more recently is land stewardship and the environment, and that’s why I wove that theme into The Barren Grounds.

What current projects would you like to highlight?

I have a bunch on the go. I have the first and second sequels to The Barren Grounds coming out this year and next, I have a new picture book coming out next year, I have two other

Angela Thompson

projects that are not titled yet for adults, and two more graphic novels coming out over the next two years. So, it’s a busy slate.

What is the most challenging aspect of the writing process in your mind?

I don’t know. I don’t really think about individual aspects of the writing process. I approach it holistically, and from there break it down into elements that contribute to the bigger picture. I think, for me, it’s to always keep things fresh, unique, and challenge myself to always improve.

Any final words? Shout-outs? Thoughts to ponder?

Right now the main thing everybody should be pondering is: what’s my role in reconciliation? Everybody has a role. It starts with reading and learning. z