Cherie Dimaline

Cherie Dimaline (/ʃəˈri ˈdɪməlaɪn/) is a Métis writer and activist from the Georgian Bay Métis Nation in Canada.[1] She has said of her identification, "I would love to be recognized as a writer of Indigenous stories. I'm not a Canadian writer. This is what is now known as Canada; it means something different to and for me."[2] She has written a variety of award-winning novels and other acclaimed stories and articles. She is most noted for her 2017 young adult novel The Marrow Thieves, which explores the continued colonial exploitation of Indigenous people

Cherie Dimaline
Dimaline at the Eden Mills Writers' Festival in 2016
Born2 July 1975
GenreFiction, Young adult

Dimaline won the award for Fiction Book of the Year at the Anskohk Aboriginal Literature Festival for her first novel, Red Rooms. She has since published the short stories "Seven Gifts for Cedar", the novel The Girl Who Grew a Galaxy, and the short story collection A Gentle Habit. She is the 2019 editor of Little Bird Stories (Volume IX), published by Invisible Publishing and featuring winners of the annual Little Bird Writing Contest run by Sarah Selecky Writing School.[3]

She won the award for Fiction Book of the Year at the Anskohk Aboriginal Literature Festival for her first novel, Red Rooms.[4] She has since published the short stories "Seven Gifts for Cedar", the novel The Girl Who Grew a Galaxy,[5] and the short story collection A Gentle Habit.[6]

She was founding editor of Muskrat Magazine, was named the Emerging Artist of the Year at the Ontario Premier's Awards for Excellence in Arts in 2014, and became the first Aboriginal writer in residence for the Toronto Public Library.[6]

Her newest novel, Empire of Wild, was published in 2019.[7]

Biography

Living in Ontario, Dimaline moved from the Georgian Bay Metis Community to her current place of residence, Toronto.[8] Her childhood summers were spent back in her Metis community.[9] During the time spent back home, Dimaline learned stories from her family that she was then able to pass onto her cousins.|refs= [10][9] Cherie's father is a magician, and growing up she worked for him as a magician's assistant. From then on, Dimaline worked a variety of jobs, being employed as a curator for a museum, high-level manager for an investment company, and a director of a women's resource center.[9]

In addition to her own authorship, Dimaline has contributed to a variety of projects including the anthology Mitêwâcimowina: Indigenous Science Fiction and Speculative Storytelling published in 2016.[11] Dimaline was also a columnist and editor for Chatelaine magazine in the early 2000s, writing a variety of articles for the magazine.

Currently, Dimaline is writing and executive producing a television adaptation of The Marrow Thieves with Thunderbird Entertainment, which was announced in May 2018.[12]

Community Involvement

Dimaline has participated in numerous literary festivals, including Kingston WritersFest (2016),[13] Toronto International Festival of Authors (2016, 2018, 2019),[14] Ottawa Writers Festival (2017, 2018, 2019),[15] and Wordfest Imaginairium (2019).[16] She will also be a featured author at the Vancouver Writers Festival in 2020, as well as being the festival's inaugural Guest Curator.[17]  

Dimaline is the founder and organizer of the annual Indigenous Writers' Gathering,[18] as well as the founding editor of FNV Magazine and Muskrat Magazine, two Indigenous-focussed publications.[19]

Bibliography
  • Seven Gifts for Cedar (2010)
  • Red Rooms (2011)
  • The Girl Who Grew a Galaxy (2013)
  • A Gentle Habit (2015)
  • The Marrow Thieves (2017)
  • Empire of Wild (2019)
  • Little Bird Stories, Volume 9 (2019)

Awards

In 2014 Dimaline was named the Emerging Artist of the Year at the Ontario Premier's Awards for Excellence in the Arts.[20]

The Marrow Thieves has earned Dimaline a number of literary awards; for an extensive list see, The Marrow Thieves, Awards. It won the Governor General's Award for English-language children's literature at the 2017 Governor General's Awards and the 2017 Kirkus Prize in the young adult literature category, and it was a finalist in the CBC's 2018 Canada Reads competition and the 2018 White Pine Award. Notably, Dimaline's acceptance speech for the 2017 Governor General's Award for English Young Adult Fiction was delivered by her friend Susan Blight in Anishinaabemowin. Dimaline said about the event, "I wrote the speech and she [Blight] delivered it without translation…"[21]  This was the first time an acceptance speech for the Governor General's Award had been delivered in a language other than English or French.  

Empire of Wild is Dimaline's newest novel and Indigo has named it their #1 Best Book of 2019.[22]

Reception

The Marrow Thieves has been widely acclaimed for its portrayal of Indigenous colonization and ecological devastation.[23] The book has been lauded for its ability to crossover from YA fiction to adult fiction,[24] especially as it was defended by Jully Black as a finalist in the 2018 Canada Reads competition.[25] Dimaline's novels have also been discussed in academia, notably by Niranjana Iyer[26] and Petra Fachinger.[27]

References
  1. "Cherie Dimaline: 'My community is where my stories come from and it's also where my responsibilities lie'". The Globe and Mail, June 30, 2017.
  2. University, Department of Communications and Public Affairs, Western (2018-11-15). "Western News - Dimaline refuses to settle for soundbites". Western News. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  3. "Good things come in small packages with the short stories of Little Bird Writing Contest". The Globe and Mail. 30 July 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  4. "Anskohk Aboriginal Literature Festival and Book Awards - Lifetime Achievement Award presented to Basil Johnston and Book Award Winners Announced". Canada NewsWire, October 20, 2007.
  5. "A FANTASY OF INDIGENOUS EXPERIENCE: CHERIE DIMALINE'S THE GIRL WHO GREW A GALAXY". Toronto Review of Books, October 30, 2013.
  6. "Q & A with North York library's writer-in-residence Cherie Dimaline". InsideToronto.com, June 8, 2015.
  7. Sue Carter, "Author's foray into adult fiction rooted in magical Métis childhood". Toronto Star, September 12, 2019.
  8. "Cherie Dimaline". Toronto International Festival of Authors. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  9. "How The Marrow Thieves' author Cherie Dimaline's stint as a magician's assistant helped her write about a werewolf". thestar.com. 2019-09-12. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  10. Alexandra Alter (2020-08-14). "'We've Already Survived an Apocalypse': Indigenous Writers Are Changing Sci-Fi". The New York Times. p. C1. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  11. "The Marrow Thieves author Cherie Dimaline remains true to her role as a Métis "storykeeper" amid international acclaim". Quill and Quire. 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  12. Balser, Erin (21 February 2019). "Cherie Dimaline to executive produce, write first season of The Marrow Thieves TV adaptation". CBC.
  13. "Cherie Dimaline". Kingston WritersFest. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  14. "Cherie Dimaline". Toronto International Festival of Authors. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  15. "Cherie Dimaline - Ottawa International Writers Festival". writersfestival.org. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  16. "Cherie Dimaline". Wordfest. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  17. "Cherie Dimaline | Vancouver Writers Fest". Vancouver Writers Festival. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  18. User, Super. "CHERIE DIMALINE". kegedonce.com. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  19. Kurek, Dominik (2015-06-08). "Q & A with North York library's writer-in-residence Cherie Dimaline". Toronto.com. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  20. User, Super. "CHERIE DIMALINE". kegedonce.com. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  21. Robb, Peter. "Ottawa International Writers Festival: The story goes on for Cherie Dimaline – ARTSFILE". Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  22. "Home". Home. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  23. Justice, Daniel (2018). Why Indigenous Literatures Matter. Wilfrid Laurier University Press. p. 284. ISBN 9781771121767.
  24. "The Marrow Thieves author Cherie Dimaline remains true to her role as a Métis "storykeeper" amid international acclaim". Quill and Quire. 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
  25. "Why Jully Black thinks The Marrow Thieves should win Canada Reads". CBC. 7 February 2018.
  26. Iyer, Niranjana (2019). "The Importance of Dreams: Cherie Dimalines Dystopic Novel, The Marrow Thieves, is a Reconciliation Wake-up Call". Herizons. 32: 29–33 – via Gale Onefile.
  27. Fachinger, Petra (2018). "Writing 'Home': The Healing Power of Métis Storytelling in Cherie Dimaline's Red Rooms and The Girl Who Grew a Galaxy". Studies in Canadian Literature. 43: 146–167 – via Erudit.
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