Wanda John-Kehewin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wanda John-Kehewin is a Cree-Métis (Kehewin Cree Nation) author and poet.
John-Kehewin grew up on the Kehewin reserve in Alberta, but did not grow up speaking Cree.[1] She lived with her mother, a Métis woman who struggled with alcoholism, for parts of her childhood.[2][3] John-Kehewin began writing poetry at age six, as a way to express he feelings.[4] She became aware of the lack of literature centering First Nations voices at a young age, after seeing the lack of representation in the books in her reserve's library.[3] At age 19, John-Kehewin became pregnant. She left her reserve and traveled to Vancouver.[2]
She attended Douglas College, where she studied criminology, and she also studied Sociology and Aboriginal Studies at Langara College.[5] She earned her Master of Fine Arts at University of British Columbia.[1] In 2011, she completed The Writer's Studio, a creative writing program at Simon Fraser University.[6]
Career
John-Kehewin has worked for the Canadian Ministry of Children and Families.[2]
John-Kehewin released her first graphic novel, Visions of the Crow, in 2023, with illustrations by Nicole Marie Burton.[2][3] The story features a Cree-Métis teenager who tries to figure out his relationship to a crow and a new girl at his school, while also dealing with his mother's alcoholism and life away from his Alberta reserve. It is the first in a planned trilogy.
Her first young adult novel, Hopeless in Hope, was published by Highwater Press in September 2023.[3][7] It won the 2024 Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize[8] and was included among the 41 titles selected for the 2024 USBBY Outstanding International Books List.[9]
Personal life
Books
Poetry
- In the Dog House (2013), Talonbooks[11][12]
- Seven Sacred Truths (2018), Talonbooks[11][13]
- Spells, Wishes, and the Talking Dead ᒪᒪᐦᑖᐃᐧᓯᐃᐧᐣ ᐸᑯᓭᔨᒧᐤ ᓂᑭᐦᒋ ᐋᓂᐢᑯᑖᐹᐣ mamahtâwisiwin, pakosêyimow, nikihci-âniskotâpân (2023)[1][14]
- Nominated: League of Canadian Poets 2023 Raymond Souster Award[15]
Graphic novels
Novels
- Hopeless in Hope (2023), HighWater Press[3]
- 2024 Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize[8]
- 2024 USBBY Outstanding International Books List[9]
- Shortlist: 2024 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards; Middle Reader category[18]
- Nominated: 2025 Northern Lights Award, Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Awards[19]
- Nominated: 2025 Red Maple Award, Forest of Reading[20]