Lisa

Bird-Wilson

Award Winning Novelist

Poet & Short Story Writer

Travels from: Saskatoon, SK

“Bird-Wilson’s writing is at times poetic and ever compelling. We are fortunate to have her and Ruby among us.” — The Washington Post

Lisa Bird-Wilson is a Saskatchewan Métis and Cree writer whose work appears in literary magazines, newspapers, and anthologies across Canada. Her most recent book, Probably Ruby (2021), is published internationally and was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award, Amazon First Novel Award, and won two Saskatchewan Book Awards including Book of the Year.

Her collection of short stories, Just Pretending (Coteau Books 2013), won four Saskatchewan Book Awards, including 2014 Book of the Year, was shortlisted for the Danuta Gleed Award, and was the 2019 One Book, One Province selection.

Bird-Wilson’s debut poetry collection, The Red Files (Nightwood Editions 2016), is inspired by family and archival sources and reflects on the legacy of the residential school system and the fragmentation of families and histories.

Lisa Bird-Wilson is the past prose editor for Grain magazine as well as a founding member and chair of the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Writers Circle Inc (SAWCI)/ Ânskohk Indigenous Literature Festival. Lisa lives in Saskatoon and is the CEO of the Gabriel Dumont Institute, Canada’s first Métis post-secondary education and cultural institute.

Lisa's Featured Titles

Ethical Remembering

In this presentation Lisa Bird-Wilson talks about the transformative process of engaging with and remembering her Indigenous ancestors, the colonial violence of the Indian residential schools and the child welfare system, and what this means for her writing and for reconciliation.

You Are Not Alone

Between the 1960s and the early 1990s, tens of thousands of Indigenous children in Canada were systemically taken from their families and placed in the child welfare system to be fostered and adopted across Canada, the US, and parts of Europe. Indigenous children were adopted into white homes and isolated in white enclaves, growing up with the impression of being “the only one”—isolated and alone. In this presentation, Lisa Bird-Wilson discusses the myths behind Indigenous adoption, including the perception that Native children were unwanted or that their Native parents were unwilling or unable to care for them. Using her award-winning fiction book, Probably Ruby, she will explore the various aspects of trans-racial adoption.

The Métis are Visiting

Visiting is a Métis cultural tradition. Visiting and storytelling form a part of Indigenous sharing and learning—between one another, between Elders and youth, and amongst family and friends. Structured as an informal Métis visit around the kitchen table, this presentation works well with smaller groups for an intimate conversation and visit the Métis way.

2022 AFNA Shortlist: Five Questions for Lisa Bird-Wilson

JLF Lit Fest

“Engaging …. Ruby never disappoints with her big heart and outrageous sense of humor—and her resilient search for her own history.” — The New York Times Book Review

“Probably Ruby is a work of incredible depth and breadth …. The novel unfolds in a non-linear narrative that Bird-Wilson masterfully weaves together with elegiac prose. It is populated with revelatory passages that are at once beautiful and raw, and demand for you to sit with them a little while …. Her writing is never didactic, always engrossing, and the protagonist is a complex, unforgettable character who will stay with you long after the last page has been turned. Probably Ruby is a timely and important novel every Canadian should read.” — Toronto Star

“Moving …. Each chapter is vivid and contains a satisfying resolution …. Readers will be carried along by Ruby’s vitality and perseverance. This is well worth a look.” — Publishers Weekly

Lisa Bird-Wilson’s Upcoming Events

“The official reports of my father’s death don’t tell his whole story” | The Globe & Mail — Essay by Lisa Bird-Wilkson

“I found my ancestors in the 1901 census. It was a tangible reminder of colonialism’s impact” | The Globe & Mail — Essay by Lisa Bird-Wilkson

“Ethical remembering” | The Globe & Mail — Essay by Lisa Bird-Wilkson

Honors, Awards & Recognition

Finalist 2022 Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction
Finalist 2022 Amazon Canada First Novel Award
CEO of the Gabriel Dumont Institute
Winner of the Saskatchewan Book of the Year Award
Winner of the Saskatchewan Book Prize

Media clips

Here & Now (listen) | ‘Probably Ruby’ explores the legacy of forced Indigenous adoption and residential schools in Canada

CBC | ‘Kinship is one of the most important things’: Lisa Bird-Wilson’s Probably Ruby is about the power of heritage

World Literature Today | The “Irresistible Pull” toward Indigenous Identity in Probably Ruby: A Conversation with Lisa Bird-Wilson

The Washington Post | ‘Probably Ruby’ offers an authentic portrait of transracial adoption

The New York Times | Howling Cries of Abandonment and Reunion

Media Kit

By clicking the link below you will be directed to a Google Docs Folder
where you can download author photos and cover images.

Bird-Wilson

Ethical Remembering

You Are Not Alone

The Métis are Visiting

Honors, Awards & Recognition

Media clips

Media Kit

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