Wanda John-Kehewin


Wanda John-Kehewin is a Cree-Métis author and poet.

Early life and education

John-Kehewin grew up on the Kehewin reserve in Alberta, but did not grow up speaking the Cree language. She lived with her mother, a Métis woman who struggled with alcoholism, for parts of her childhood. John-Kehewin began writing poetry at age six, as a way to express he feelings. 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. At age 19, John-Kehewin became pregnant. She left her reserve and traveled to Vancouver.
She attended Douglas College, where she studied criminology, and she also studied Sociology and Aboriginal Studies at Langara College. She earned her Master of Fine Arts at University of British Columbia. In 2011 she completed The Writer's Studio, a creative writing program at Simon Fraser University.

Career

John-Kehewin has worked for the Canadian Ministry of Children and Families.
John-Kehewin released her first graphic novel, Visions of the Crow, in 2023, with illustrations by Nicole Marie Burton. 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. It won the 2024 Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize and was included among the 41 titles selected for the 2024 USBBY Outstanding International Books List.

Personal life

John-Kehewin currently lives in Vancouver. She has five children.

Books

Poetry

In the Dog House, TalonbooksSeven Sacred Truths, TalonbooksSpells, Wishes, and the Talking Dead ᒪᒪᐦᑖᐃᐧᓯᐃᐧᐣ ᐸᑯᓭᔨᒧᐤ ᓂᑭᐦᒋ ᐋᓂᐢᑯᑖᐹᐣ mamahtâwisiwin, pakosêyimow, nikihci-âniskotâpân

Graphic novels

  • ''Visions of the Crow: Volume 1 Dreams''

Novels

Hopeless in Hope, HighWater Press

Awards

  • World Poetry Empowered Poet Award 2018, for In the Dog House
  • Finalist for the Indigenous Voices Awards 2019, Published Poetry in English, for ''Seven Sacred Truths''