Giller Prize Spotlight: katherena vermette
September 22, 2024
katherena vermette’s novel, real ones, has been longlisted for the 2024 Giller Prize.
katherena vermette (she/her) is a Michif (Red River Métis) writer from Treaty 1 territory, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Born in Winnipeg, her Michif roots on her paternal side run deep in St. Boniface, St. Norbert and beyond. Her maternal side is Mennonite from the Altona and Rosenfeld area (Treaty 1). Her first book, North End Love Songs (Muses’ Company), won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry. Her novels The Break (House of Anansi), The Strangers and The Circle (Hamish Hamilton) were all national bestsellers and won multiple literary awards. Her work for children and young adults includes a picture book, The Girl and the Wolf (Theytus), and graphic novels, A Girl Called Echo, Vol. 1–4 (Highwater)—a special omnibus edition of the series was released in Fall 2023. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia and an honourary Doctor of Letters from the University of Manitoba. katherena lives with her kids—fur and human—in a cranky old house within skipping distance of the temperamental Red River.
What inspired you to write real ones?
It came from a lot of different, seemingly random things. One was me desperately trying to articulate my feelings and opinions on the too-many reports of race-shifting. Another was an exploration on relationships via dialogue. I really had fun with dialogue in this one. I often hear characters’ voices before I know anything else about them, and that was definitely the case for lyn and June.
What do you hope readers take away from real ones?
I never want to prescribe take-aways and morals and such. We all read so many different things from books and art, all of them valid, in their own way, I think.
Where is your favourite place to write and what is your process?
I have a sunroom on a second floor with windows on three sides. It’s surrounded by trees and barely insulated so I really feel all the weather. I write in the mornings. I like to clear out a good chunk of hours whenever I can so I can take good deep dives into projects.
Is there an activity you do to help inspire writing?
I end each day with a dog walk. Preferably at the dog park, so he can run and I don’t have to get pulled along. I plan out most things then.
What’s a book you recommend others read and why?
There is so much to read this season – Finding Otipemisiwak by Andrea Currie, She Falls, Again –Rosanna Deerchild, Scientific Marvel – Chimwemwi Undi… I am loving up a lot of poetry these days. Oh, and Waiting for the Long Night Moon by Amanda Peters. Amanda Peters is going to be a huge star!