If you weren’t able to tune in live, click here to watch the event recording.

Understanding the importance of culture and tradition comes with age, yet children are acutely aware of community and the need to belong. Bestselling author David A. Robertson has a knack for exploring these poignant, important themes in our lives. He visits the Festival with the first instalment of a new, middle grade series. The Misewa Saga follows two Indigenous children, Morgan and Eli, forced into foster care and feeling disconnected—until they find a portal to a new reality and must embark on an important mission to save their newfound community, Misewa. The novel launches in tandem with Robertson’s remarkable memoir, Black Water, which shares his story as an Indigenous son who grew up away from his culture—and how a visit to his family’s trapline heals old wounds and creates a new future. A returning favourite, Robertson captivates minds of every age with his storytelling prowess.

Check out the study guide for The Barren Grounds here.