Wikipedia

Michelle Good

Michelle Good is a Cree writer, poet, and lawyer from Canada, most noted for her debut novel Five Little Indians.[1] She is a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan.[2] Good has an MFA and a law degree from the University of British Columbia and, as a lawyer, advocated for residential-school survivors.[3][4]

Michelle Good
OccupationAuthor, poet, lawyer
NationalityCree, Canadian
Alma materUniversity of British Columbia
GenreFiction, Poetry, Essay
Notable worksFive Little Indians, Defying Gravity, "Truth Telling: Seven Conversations about Indigenous Life in Canada"
Notable awardsHarperCollins/UBC Best New Fiction Prize, 2020
Website
www.michellegood.ca

Early life and education

edit

Good is a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation.[5][6] She was impacted by the 60s scoop and spent time in the foster care system.[7] Her great-grandmother participated in the 1885 uprising at Frog Lake and her Great Grandmother's uncle was Big Bear.[5] Good graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative writing in 2014.[6] The first draft of her debut novel, Five Little Indians, was her graduate thesis project.[6] She began to practice law in her 40's, sharing the histories of residential schools in courtrooms. [8] Good received an Honorary Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, from Simon Fraser University on October 7, 2022.[9][10]

Career

edit

Five Little Indians is a story about five British Columbia residential-school survivors.[11] Although the novel itself is fiction, some of the episodes were based on real experiences of her mother and grandmother, who were both survivors of Canada's residential school system.[1] The book was set to be adapted as a 2021 limited television series by producer Martin Katz.[12][13][needs update]

Truth Telling is the second book written by Good, it is a collection of essays on historical and modern experiences of indigenous in Canada. It covers wide variety of topics from life of indigenous people to modern social institution in Canada. Published on May 30, 2023, and finalist for the Balsillie Prize for Public Policy.[14]

Awards and Nominations

edit

Five Little Indians literary awards

edit
Year Award Result Ref.
2020 Governor General's Awards English-language fiction Won [15][16]
HarperCollins/UBC Best New Fiction Prize — Won [17]
Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize — Shortlisted [18]
Scotiabank Giller Prize — Longlisted [19][20]
2021 Amazon.ca First Novel Award — Won [21]
Amnesty International Book Club Reader's Choice Selection [22]
BC and Yukon Book Prize Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize Shortlisted [23]
Jim Deva Prize Shortlisted [24]
City of Vancouver Book Award — Won [25]
Forest of Reading Evergreen Award — Won [26]
Indigenous Voices Award Published Prose in English: Fiction Shortlisted [27]
Kobo Emerging Writer Prize Fiction Won [28][29]
2022 Canada Reads Written Book Won [30]

Biblio

edit
  • Five Little Indians (2020)
  • Truth Telling: Seven Conversations about Indigenous Life in Canada (2023)

Poetry

edit
  • Defying Gravity published in The Best Canadian Poetry 2016. Published on Oct 1, 2016 by Tightrope Books. Guest editor Helen Humphreys, editor Molly Peacock, and series editor Anita Lahy.[31][32]
  • The Best of the Best Canadian Poetry, A Tenth Anniversary Edition.[33] Published on November 1, 2017 by Tightrope Books. Editors Anita Lahey and Molly Peacock.[34]

Essays

edit
  • A Tradition Of Violence published in Keetsahnak: Our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Sisters. Published in 2018 by University of Alberta Press. Editors Kim Anderson, Maria Campbell, and Christi Belcourt.[35][32]
  • Best Canadian Essay 2023. Published in December 13, 2022 by Bilblioasis. Editor Mireille Silcoff.[32][36]

Journal

edit
  • Gatherings Volume VII: The En'owkin Journal of First North American Peoples. Published in 1996 by Theytus Books. Editors Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm and Jeannette Armstrong[32]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Angelica Haggert, "'The story I was intended to write': Michelle Good on forthcoming novel 'Five Little Indians'". Canadian Geographic, February 20, 2020.
  2. ^ "Michelle Good's Five Little Indians is a fictional look at the real Canadian legacy of residential schools". The Next Chapter, May 8, 2020.
  3. ^ "Five Little Indians follows young lives forced into residential school". vancouversun. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  4. ^ "CP24 | Entertainment News - Toronto arts & entertainment | Celeb Gossip". www.cp24.com. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  5. ^ a b Laskaris, Adam (1 June 2021). "Kamloops-area author wins prestigious awards for debut novel". Kamloops This Week. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Drudi, Cassandra (1 June 2021). "GG Winners Circle: Michelle Good (English-language fiction)". Quill and Quire. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  7. ^ Van Koeverden, Jane (March 14, 2022). "Michelle Good on her novel Five Little Indians, and the question that guides her writing". Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  8. ^ Van Koeverden, Jane (March 14, 2022). "Michelle Good on her novel Five Little Indians, and the question that guides her writing". Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  9. ^ "Michelle Good - Biography". Michelle Good the Writer. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  10. ^ "SFU 2022 Honorary Degree Recipients". www.sfu.ca. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  11. ^ "Michelle Good's "Five Little Indians" a fictional exploration of life after residential school". thestar.com. 2020-04-16. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  12. ^ Vicky, Qiao (June 2001). "Michelle Good's Five Little Indians to be adapted into limited TV series".
  13. ^ Vlessing, Etan (2021-06-08). "David Cronenberg Producer Martin Katz to Adapt 'Five Little Indians' Indigenous Trauma Novel (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  14. ^ "Truth Telling - Michelle Good - Hardcover". HarperCollins Canada. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  15. ^ "Past GGBooks winners and finalists". Governor General's Literary Awards. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  16. ^ "Requête rejetée / Request Rejected". www.ctvnews.ca. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
  17. ^ "Success Story with Michelle Good". 14 September 2020.
  18. ^ "Thomas King, Gil Adamson among finalists for $50K Writers' Trust Fiction Prize". Toronto Star. 2020-10-06. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  19. ^ Truax, Emma. "2020 Finalists". Scotiabank Giller Prize. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  20. ^ Dundas, Deborah (2020-09-08). "Thomas King, Emma Donoghue make the 2020 Giller longlist in a year marked by firsts". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  21. ^ Vicky Qiao, "Five Little Indians by Michelle Good wins $60K Amazon First Novel Award". CBC Books, May 28, 2021.
  22. ^ "Five Little Indians". Amnesty International Book Club. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  23. ^ "Winners & Finalists". BC and Yukon Book Prizes. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  24. ^ "Winners & Finalists". BC and Yukon Book Prizes. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  25. ^ "City of Vancouver Book Award". City of Vancouver. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  26. ^ Qiao, Vicky (2021-10-21). "Five Little Indians by Michelle Good wins Forest of Reading Evergreen Award for best title for adults". CBC Books. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  27. ^ Drudi, Cassandra (2021-05-03). "Finalists announced for 2021 Indigenous Voices Awards". Quill and Quire. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  28. ^ Dundas, Deborah (2021-06-22). "Michelle Good wins Kobo Emerging Writer fiction prize — making it three wins for the three noms she got on that big day in May". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  29. ^ "2021 Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize Winners Announced". Kobo Blog. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  30. ^ "Meet the Canada Reads 2022 contenders". CBC Books, January 26, 2022.
  31. ^ Humphreys, Helen (2016). The Best Canadian Poetry in English 2016. Tightrope Books. ISBN 978-1988040103.
  32. ^ a b c d "Michelle Good - Published Works". Michelle Good the Writer. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
  33. ^ Brady, Sean. "Surviving after leaving the residential schools". Kamloops This Week. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  34. ^ Lahey, Anita; Peacock, Molly (2017). The Best of the Best Canadian Poetry in English: The Tenth Anniversary Edition. Tightrope Books. ISBN 978-1988040349.
  35. ^ "Pacific Rim Review of Books". www.prrb.ca. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  36. ^ "Best Canadian Essays 2023". Biblioasis. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
Retrieved from "https://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Michelle_Good&oldid=1256858298"