Die Pflegekinder Eli und Morgan leben fern ihrer Heimat, ohne Freund:innen und ohne Bezug zu ihren Wurzeln. Auf einem Dachboden entdecken sie das Tor zu dem geheimnisvollen Land Askí und treffen auf den Otter Ochek, der verzweifelt um das Überleben seines Dorfes kämpft. Die Abenteuer-Saga verknüpft komplexe Themen wie die Zerstörung der Umwelt mit der individuellen Suche nach der eigenen Identität in einer fremden Kultur.

Die Lesung findet auf Englisch mit einer deutschen Übersetzung im Zwischenraum statt.

Biografische Notiz:
David A. Robertson ist Beststeller-Autor von rund 25 Büchern, vor allem von Kinderbüchern und gewann etliche Auszeichnungen in Kanada. Seine Bücher gehören zu den wenigen Kinderbüchern von Native American/ First Nations Autor:innen, die ins Deutsche übersetzt wurden. Er gehört selbst zur Norway House Cree Nation. Homepage: Home | David A. Robertson (darobertson.ca)

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The Barren Grounds. The Misewa Saga, Book One

Morgan and Eli, two Indigenous children forced away from their families and communities, are brought together in a foster home in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They each feel disconnected, from their culture and each other, and struggle to fit in at school and at their new home — until they find a secret place, walled off in an unfinished attic bedroom. A portal opens to another reality, Askí, bringing them onto frozen, barren grounds, where they meet Ochek (Fisher). The only hunter supporting his starving community, Misewa, Ochek welcomes the human children, teaching them traditional ways to survive. But as the need for food becomes desperate, they embark on a dangerous mission. Accompanied by Arik, a sassy Squirrel they catch stealing from the trapline, they try to save Misewa before the icy grip of winter freezes everything — including them.

The reading will be in English with a German translation in the room Zwischenraum.

Biographical Note:
DAVID A. ROBERTSON (he, him) was the 2021 recipient of the Writers’ Union of Canada Freedom to Read Award as well as the Globe and Mail Children’s Storyteller of the Year. He is the author of numerous books for young readers including When We Were Alone, which won the 2017 Governor General’s Literary Award and the McNally Robinson Best Book for Young People Award. The Barren Grounds, Book 1 of the middle-grade The Misewa Saga series, was shortlisted for the Ontario Library Association’s Silver Birch Award, and was a finalist for the 2020 Governor General’s Literary Award. The Stone Child, Book 2 of The Misewa Saga, won the McNally Robinson Best Book for Young People Award. David’s memoir, Black Water: Family, Legacy, and Blood Memory, was a Globe and Mail and Quill & Quire book of the year in 2020, and won the Alexander Kennedy Isbister Award for Non-Fiction and the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award at the 2020 Manitoba Book Awards. On The Trapline, illustrated by Julie Flett, won David’s second Governor General’s Literary Award, the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, and was named one of the best picture books of 2021 by the CCBC, The Horn Book, New York Public Library, Quill & Quire, and American Indians in Children’s Literature. Dave is the writer and host of the podcast Kíwew (Key-Way-Oh), winner of the 2021 RTDNA Prairie Region Award for Best Podcast. His first adult fiction novel, The Theory of Crows, was published in 2022 and won a second Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award at the 2023 Manitoba Book Awards. He is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and currently lives in Winnipeg. Homepage: Home | David A. Robertson (darobertson.ca)