David A. Robertson (he, him, his) is the 2021 recipient of the Writers’ Union of Canada Freedom to Read Award. He is the author of numerous books for young readers including When We Were Alone, which won the 2017 Governor General's Literary Award, the McNally Robinson Best Book for Young People Award, and was a finalist for the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award. His acclaimed YA series, The Reckoner, has won the McNally Robinson Best Book for Young People Award, the Michael Van Rooy Award for Genre Fiction, and the Indigenous Writer of the Year Award at the High Plains Book Awards.
The Barren Grounds, the first book in the middle-grade The Misewa Saga series, received a starred review from Kirkus, was a Kirkus and Quill & Quire best middle-grade book of 2020, was a USBBY and Texas Lone Star selection, and is shortlisted for the Ontario Library Association’s Silver Birch Award and a 2020 Governor General’s Literary Award. His memoir, Black Water: Family, Legacy, and Blood Memory, was a Globe and Mail and Quill & Quire book of the year in 2020, and was a finalist in three categories at the 2020 Manitoba Book Awards, including the McNally Robinson Book of the Year. His second picture book, On The Trapline, illustrated by Julie Flett, has received the Illustrated Books category.
A sought-after speaker and educator, Dave was awarded the Aboriginal Circle of Educator’s Award for Research/Curriculum Development in 2015. He is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and currently lives in Winnipeg
