When former publisher John Calabro was planning the Inspire! book fair, the idea of having a space for indigenous writing was always part of the plan.

“I really wanted to reflect the whole book landscape in Canada,” he says. “And you can’t reflect the whole landscape without including indigenous writing and putting a spotlight on indigenous authors.”

The timing, it would seem, couldn’t be better. Indigenous writers have been increasingly in the Canadian literary spotlight: Joseph Boyden won the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize for Through Black Spruce; Thomas King is up for a 2014 Governor General’s award for fiction for The Back of the Turtle; Edmund Metatawabin’s memoir Up Ghost River has become an important account of residential school abuse, while Richard Wagamese recently appeared at the International Festival of Authors to present his latest book,Medicine Walk. Read More