Transatlantic is elated to share that Joseph Kakwinokanasum’s MY INDIAN SUMMER (Tidewater Press) has been chosen as the Selected Title in the Young Adult/Adult Category for the 2023-2024 First Nation Communities READ Program!
Chosen by a jury of librarians from First Nation Public libraries across Ontario, these titles represent the very best of Indigenous literature. The selected titles will be recognized online during First Nation Public Library Week on October 5, 2023 at 11 am EST.
This year, the First Nation Communities READ program celebrates 20 years of showcasing Indigenous literature for the library community and beyond. The Ontario Library Service is delighted to continue to host such an inspiring and successful program in this anniversary year. The two selected title authors will be the recipients of the PMC Indigenous Literature Award generously sponsored by our partners of 10 years, the Periodical Marketers of Canada. The selected authors will receive a $5000 cash prize.
To read more about the program, follow the link: https://fncr.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/2023.2024FNCRSelectedTitlePressRelease.pdf
MY INDIAN SUMMER is a novel about survival, reconciliation, and identity set during the summer of 1979. For Hunter Frank, the summer begins with his mother returning home only to collect the last two months’ welfare cheques, leaving her three mixed-race children to fend for themselves. The siblings get involved in an adventure involving a trio of elders and the stash of cash in a purple Crown Royal bag hidden in Frank’s mattress.
Joseph Kakwinokanasum is a member of the James Smith Cree Nation. Of Cree and Austrian descent, Joseph grew up in the Peace region of northern BC, one of seven children raised by a single mother. In 2022, he was selected by Darrel J. McLeod as one of the Writers Trust of Canada’s “Rising Stars.” He now lives and writes in BC’s Lower Mainland. Loosely based on his own childhood, My Indian Summer is his first novel.
Joseph is represented by Carolyn Forde.
Congratulations Joseph!