Audible Indigenous Writers' Circle
Audible Indigenous Writers' Circle
The Audible Indigenous Writers’ Circle is a six-month mentorship and workshop program for emerging First Nations, Inuit and Métis writers in Canada looking to elevate their stories.
The 2023 program will launch this summer. Applications have now closed.
The 2023 program will launch this summer. Applications have now closed.
Learn More About
Learn More About
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Meet the Mentors
Meet the Mentors
Richard Van Camp
Richard Van Camp is a proud Tłı̨chǫ Dene writer from Fort Smith, NWT. He is an internationally renowned storyteller and best-selling author. His novel, The Lesser Blessed, is now a feature film with First Generation Films. He has written 25 books in just about every genre and you can visit him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and at richardvancamp.com.
January Rogers
January is a multi-award winning Mohawk/Tuscarora poet, media producer, performance and sound artist. She lives on her home territory of Six Nations of the Grand River where she operates Ojistoh Publishing and Productions. She has seven published poetry titles and is currently developing a comedy web series titled NDNs on the Airwaves.
Reneltta Arluk
Reneltta Arluk is a writer and actor of Inuvialuit, Dene and Cree descent, originally from the Northwest Territories. Being raised in a nomadic environment gave her the skills and imagination to become the writer and storyteller she is. As Banff Centre's former Director of Indigenous Arts, Reneltta has helped numerous Indigenous artists discover their voices and turn their ideas into reality.
Jessica Johns
Jessica Johns is a nehiyaw aunty with English-Irish ancestry and a member of Sucker Creek First Nation in Treaty 8 territory in Northern Alberta. She is an interdisciplinary artist and award-winning writer whose debut novel, Bad Cree, was released in January 2023. She serves on the editorial board for GUTS – an anti-colonial feminist magazine and the advisory board for the Indigenous Brilliance reading series.
Joshua Whitehead
Joshua Whitehead (he / him) is a Two-Spirit, Oji-nêhiyaw member of Peguis First Nation (Treaty 1). He is currently a Ph.D. candidate, lecturer, and Killam scholar at the University of Calgary where he studies Indigenous literatures and cultures with a focus on gender and sexuality. His dissertation, tentatively titled ''Feral Fatalisms'', is a hybrid narrative of theory, essay, and non-fiction that interrogates the role of ''ferality'' inherent within Indigenous ways of being (with a strong focus on nêhiyawewin).
Explore Joshua’s works
Alicia Elliott
Alicia Elliott is a Mohawk writer and editor living in Brantford, Ontario. She has written for The Globe and Mail, CBC, Hazlitt and many others. She’s had numerous essays nominated for National Magazine Awards, winning Gold in 2017 and an honourable mention in 2020. Her short fiction was selected for Best American Short Stories 2018 (by Roxane Gay), Best Canadian Stories 2018, and Journey Prize Stories 30. Alicia was chosen by Tanya Talaga as the 2018 recipient of the RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award. Her first book,
A Mind Spread Out On The Ground, was a national bestseller in Canada. It was also nominated for the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction, and won the Forest of Reading Evergreen Award.
Explore Alicia’s works
Explore Alicia’s works
Warren Cariou
Warren Cariou was born in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan into a family of Métis and European heritage. Though he has lived away from Meadow Lake for many years, his art and academic work maintains a focus on the cultural and environmental questions that have preoccupied the people of his homeland. His books, films, photography and scholarly research explore themes of community, environment, orality and belonging in the Canadian west, with particular focus on the relationships between Indigenous stories and the land.
Brandi Morin
Brandi Morin is an award-winning Cree/Iroquois/French multimedia journalist from Treaty 6 territory in Alberta. For the last 10 years Brandi has specialized in sharing Indigenous stories. She is known for her clear-eyed and empathetic reporting on Indigenous oppression in North America. Brandi’s debut memoir, Our Voice of Fire: A Memoir of a Warrior Rising became a national bestseller within days of its August 2, 2022 release.
About the Indigenous Writers' Circle
About the Indigenous Writers' Circle
Audible has embarked on a mission to elevate the voices of Indigenous peoples in Canada, in an effort to enhance equity and support reconciliation.
The Writers’ Circle will support the next wave of emerging Indigenous writers, by leveraging Audible’s resources and creative community connections to provide mentorship and learning opportunities that will help program participants tell their own stories.
Emerging writers in the program will be paired up with Indigenous mentors who will coach and guide participants through the creative process, and help them identify and pursue opportunities in line with their goals as writers.
Participants will also benefit from immersive workshops where they will learn from some of the industry’s leading creators, publishers, content managers, writers and marketers.
Audible will provide additional support to the participants throughout the program, including guidance on how participants can promote their work. At the end of the program, depending on what stage each writer has progressed their creative work and how they choose to share their writing, participants may explore opportunities with Audible.
Each selected emerging writer is eligible for a $1,500 CAD bursary to support their participation in the program, and there is no cost to participate in the Writers’ Circle.
Statement of Non Discrimination
The Audible Indigenous Writers’ Circle supports equal opportunity for all persons regardless of race, sex, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, physical ability or disability.
The Writers’ Circle will support the next wave of emerging Indigenous writers, by leveraging Audible’s resources and creative community connections to provide mentorship and learning opportunities that will help program participants tell their own stories.
Emerging writers in the program will be paired up with Indigenous mentors who will coach and guide participants through the creative process, and help them identify and pursue opportunities in line with their goals as writers.
Participants will also benefit from immersive workshops where they will learn from some of the industry’s leading creators, publishers, content managers, writers and marketers.
Audible will provide additional support to the participants throughout the program, including guidance on how participants can promote their work. At the end of the program, depending on what stage each writer has progressed their creative work and how they choose to share their writing, participants may explore opportunities with Audible.
Each selected emerging writer is eligible for a $1,500 CAD bursary to support their participation in the program, and there is no cost to participate in the Writers’ Circle.
Statement of Non Discrimination
The Audible Indigenous Writers’ Circle supports equal opportunity for all persons regardless of race, sex, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, physical ability or disability.
Program Eligibility
Program Eligibility
The Audible Indigenous Writers’ Circle invites emerging writers who self-identify as First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis and meet the following criteria to apply for the six-month program.
You are a great fit for the program if you self-identify as First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis and:
- Have background knowledge, interest or training in writing. This could include self-study, mentorships, academic study or combinations of these types of training
- Are pursuing or considering pursuing a career in literary arts
-
Can provide an example of your literary work
- Examples of your work can include: works of fiction, non-fiction, biographies/autobiographies, memoirs, graphic novels, illustrated books, blogs, poetry, children’s literature, audiobooks and narrative podcasts.
- Are at least 18 years old as of January 1, 2023
- Reside in Canada (At this time, residents of Quebec are not eligible for the program due to provincial contest regulations).
Assessment process and guidelines
Applicants will be assessed by a panel of Indigenous literary artists. The panel will consider the following when reviewing each application:
- The strength of the artistic intention for the sample of work
- Potential benefits of the Writers’ Circle to the development of the applicant’s practice
We sincerely thank all applicants for their interest. Upon submission, you will receive a notification via email that your application has been received. Following review, all applicants will be contacted regarding the status of their application.
How You Can Apply
How You Can Apply
Applications for the 2023 program have now closed. Successful applicants will be contacted at the beginning of June 2023.
Questions about the application process can be emailed to audiblewriterscircle@yulupr.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
2023 Workshop Presenters
2023 Workshop Presenters
Program Alumni
Program Alumni
Angela Sterritt - 2022 Mentor
Angela Sterritt is a Vancouver-based, multi award-winning journalist, author and artist from the Gitanmaax community of the Gitxsan Nation on her dad’s side and from Bell Island Newfoundland on her maternal side. She has climbed from being a vulnerable Indigenous youth living in poverty to becoming one of Canada's top multi-platform journalists. Angela is currently an investigative reporter at CBC Vancouver and in production for a CBC original podcast called Land Back. Her forthcoming book Unbroken, is part memoir and part investigation into the murders and disappearances of Indigenous women. You can follow Angela on Twitter @AngelaSterritt.
Clayton Thomas-Muller - 2022 Mentor
Clayton Thomas-Muller is a member of the Treaty #6 based Mathias Colomb Cree Nation also known as Pukatawagan located in Northern Manitoba, Canada. He is a campaigner, award-winning film director, media producer, organizer, facilitator, public speaker and author on Indigenous rights and environmental and economic justice. His memoir,
Life in the City of Dirty Water, is a 2022 Canada Reads Finalist National Bestseller.
Jas M. Morgan - 2022 Mentor
Dr. Jas M. Morgan is an award-winning Cree, Saulteaux and Métis writer, artist and professor in the Department of English at Ryerson University. Morgan’s writing has appeared in The Walrus, Malahat Review, Room, GUTS, esse, Teen Vogue, CV2/Prairie Fire, The New Inquiry and other publications. Their research about queer and trans Indigenous art, archives, and futures has been widely published by academic journals and publishers internationally.
Tanya Talaga - 2021 mentor
Tanya Talaga is an acclaimed and award-winning Anishinaabe journalist and author of national bestsellers Seven Fallen Feathers and All Our Relations: Finding The Path Forward. Her Audible Original series, Seven Truths, features her personal story of fighting for Indigenous rights. Tanya heads up Makwa Creative Inc., a production company focused on amplifying Indigenous voices through documentary films, TV and podcasts.
Kim Wheeler - 2021 mentor
Kim Wheeler is Anishinaabe and Mohawk and lives on Treaty One Territory. She has brought positive Indigenous stories to mainstream and Indigenous media since 1993. Kim has carved out a career as a writer, publicist and audio producer across a variety of disciplines. Her audio work has been recognized by the New York Festivals, ImagineNative, Indigenous Music Awards and Prix Italia. Currently, Kim works from her treehouse media office with multiple clients in publicity, magazines, film and podcasts.
Chelsea Vowel - 2021 mentor
Chelsea Vowel is Métis from manitow-sâkahikan (Lac Ste. Anne) Alberta, residing in amiskwacîwâskihikan (Edmonton). Mother to six girls, she has a BEd, an LLB, and a MA, and is a Cree language instructor at the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta. Chelsea is a public intellectual, writer, and educator whose work intersects language, gender, Métis self-determination, and resurgence. Author of Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis & Inuit Issues in Canada, she and her co-host Molly Swain produce the Indigenous feminist sci-fi podcast Métis in Space, and co-founded the Métis in Space Land Trust.
Dr. Norma Dunning - 2021 mentor
Dr. Norma Dunning is an Inuk writer, professor and grandmother. Her second collection of short stories Tainna (the unseen ones) released in April 2021. Her first collection of short stories Annie Muktuk and Other Stories received several awards and her poetry collection Eskimo Pie: a Poetics of Inuit Identity has been shortlisted for an Indigenous Voices Award. Norma received a City of Edmonton citation for her creative writing workshops with local Indigenous youth in 2019. She lives in Edmonton, AB.
Martin John - 2021 participant
Martin is a Dene writer from the Tl’azt’en Nation living on the West Coast of Canada. His writing focuses on character driven genre fiction including horror, crime and science fiction. Martin is currently working on his debut novel - a Canadian gothic vampire tale alongside two graphic novels, Foreign Matter and The Last Great Fight and is establishing himself as a unique voice within the comic scene.
Scott Olsen - 2021 participant
Scott’s family is Cree from Saddle Lake reserve. His writed fiction, creative non-fiction and biography which explores the Indigenous identity and the idea of the assimilated Indian. He is currently enrolled in the University of Alberta Masters in Secondary Education and highschool Social Studies.
Jules Delorme - 2021 participant
Jules was raised on Akwesasne by a blood father who often disappeared and left him to take care of himself. He was told his father was in prison or on the run from the police again. He only later found out that there was a whole other family. When he was twelve he moved to Toronto with his mother and step father where he never stopped being overwhelmed by city life. Now, as an old man, at an age he never expected to reach, he is trying to find a way to love human beings as much as he does animals, and writing about it.
Samantha Krilow - 2021 participant
Samantha is a Métis woman based in Surrey, British Columbia. She is currently a full time student at Kwantlen Polytechnic University pursuing a degree in Creative with the goal of becoming an author of Indigenous literature. Through her writing, Samantha seeks to develop a stronger connection to her Indigenous heritage.
Faith Turner - 2021 participant
Faith Turner is a member of Moose Cree First Nation. She enjoys writing poetry and children’s stories. Currently pursuing her first YA novel titled With Our Moccasins We Ran. Faith is working towards a special initiative to prepare and share land-based coping kits with the message to remember to Take Care of the Light. This message can also be found in her writing.
Corri Daniels - 2021 participant
Corri is a Plains Cree sixties scoop survivor from George Gordon First Nation in Treaty 4 territory north of Regina Saskatchewan but was born and raised by non-Indigenous parents in Calgary, Alberta. Corri writes fiction and poetry for her own healing and for her two daughters. She lives with her husband Peter and runs a fishing lodge in Northern Ontario.
Jaymie Campbell - 2021 participant
Jaymie is Anishnaabe from Curve Lake First Nation in Ontario and currently resides in British Columbia. She is an Indigenous designer, writer and artist who strives to incorporate traditional artistry and techniques with contemporary style. She draws inspiration from her Anishnaabe roots, the land and her family.
Sharon Marshall - 2021 participant
Métis/Cree from Treaty Six Territory (Edmonton) and a mother of two young adults, Sharon Marshall is the Founder and Lead Executive Officer of Cree8iv Collaboration Inc dba DEVA Training & Staffing Solutions in Lantzville, British Columbia. Sharon combines her 30+ years in administration with her training and facilitation expertise to empower Indigenous women. Sharon is also a speaker, writer, and artist and currently resides on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, on the traditional and ancestral territory of the Snuneymuxw and Snaw-naw-as First Nations of the Coast Salish People. In her spare time, she loves hanging out with family and friends. She is an avid reader and stays fit by hiking and strength training. She craves more time spent in nature and reminds herself not to take things so seriously —that laughter is the best medicine.
Kerissa Dickie - 2021 participant
Kerissa Dickie was raised in the community of the Fort Nelson First Nation. She won the national Our Story Indigenous Fiction Writing Challenge with the story Wildflowers, inspired by her time helping her community to create a book of survivors’ stories. She is currently writing her memoir, Nahtay, and a Rez murder mystery brewing in her head.
The Audible Indigenous Writers’ Circle team is grateful to live and work on the ancestral lands of the still living, still sovereign Munsee Lunaape (lu-naa–pau) peoples, communities and nation. We recognize the many and diverse Indigenous peoples who call this region home — past, present, and future.