Jen Ferguson
Jen Ferguson | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | novelist, professor |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | Canadian, Métis |
| Alma mater | University of South Dakota |
| Genre | Young adult |
| Years active | 2021–present |
| Notable works | The Summer of Bitter and Sweet |
| Notable awards | Governor's General Award, Stonewall Honor, 2022 Cybils Award |
| Website | |
| www | |
Jen Ferguson is a Michif/Métis Canadian writer, activist, and academic of young adult fiction.[1] She is best known for her Governor General's Award-winning and William C. Morris Award-nominated debut novel The Summer of Bitter and Sweet.[2]
Personal life
[edit]Ferguson is of Michif/Métis and Canadian settler heritage and identifies as queer.[1][3]
She considers herself an army brat and grew up moving around in Canada, spending a few years in Calgary, and then moving to Lloydminster, which she says was the first place where she witnessed anti-indigenous violence.[4]
The first book she remembers reading is Caroline B. Cooney’s The Face on The Milk Carton.[5]
Ferguson has a PhD in English and Creative Writing from the University of South Dakota.[1][6] She teaches fiction writing at Coe College.[6][7]
Career
[edit]The Summer of Bitter and Sweet
[edit]Her debut novel, The Summer of Bitter and Sweet, was published by Heartdrum in 2022.
The Summer of Bitter and Sweet won the Governor General's Award[2] and received starred reviews from Booklist,[8] BookPage,[5] Kirkus Reviews,[1] and School Library Journal.[9] It was also a finalist for the 2023 William C. Morris Award,[10] as well as a Stonewall Honor Book in Children’s and Young Adult Literature in 2023,[11] and the 2022 Cybils’ Award for Young Adult Literature.[12]
Those Pink Mountain Nights
[edit]Her second novel, Those Pink Mountain Nights, is a sequel to her debut and was published by Heartdrum in 2023.[3] It is about an indigenous teen working her first job at an Alberta pizza shop and coming of age.[4] It explores the topic of missing and murdered indigenous women, mental health, and sexuality.[4]
It was inspired by her experience working in a pizza shop in the Canadian prairie when she was 16, a screenplay about a pizza shop she wrote in her early 20s, and the "ongoing human rights crisis happening in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico".[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "The Summer of Bitter and Sweet". Kirkus Reviews. March 2, 2022. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
- ^ a b "Sheila Heti wins $25K Governor General's Literary Award for fiction". CBC. November 16, 2022. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
- ^ a b Bardwell, Neely (2023-07-24). "Q&A with Michif/Métis writer, Jen Ferguson, on her soon to be released young adult novel". Native News Online. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
- ^ a b c "Why writing fiction for young people inspires Jen Ferguson to keep hope alive". CBC. December 22, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Q&A: Jen Ferguson, Author of 'Those Pink Mountain Nights'". The Nerd Daily. 2023-09-11. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
- ^ a b "English & Creative Writing Faculty". Coe College. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
- ^ cynthia (2023-09-13). "Author Interview: Jen Ferguson on Sophomore Books & Shaping Characters". Cynthia Leitich Smith. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
- ^ Jeanne, Fredriksen (May 1, 2022). "The Summer of Bitter and Sweet". Booklist. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
- ^ Saarinen, Tamara. "The Summer of Bitter and Sweet". School Library Journal.
- ^ SRAMIREZ (2023-01-30). "2023 Morris Award". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Retrieved 2024-01-05.
- ^ "Stonewall Book Awards List". Round Tables. 2009-09-09. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
- ^ "About the Cybils Awards". Retrieved 2024-01-05.
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