Author Talk – Ghosts, Grief, and Growing Up: YA Storytelling with Cherie Dimaline

Step into the atmospheric and deeply moving world of storytelling with acclaimed Métis author Cherie Dimaline as we discuss her captivating body of work and her haunting Young Adult novel, Funeral Songs for Dying Girls. Set in a cemetery shed where sixteen-year-old Winifred lives with her dad, the book follows a teen whose attempt to save her father’s job leads to a fake ghost rumor—and accidentally summons a very real, opinionated spirit named Phil. Through this eerie yet heartwarming story, Dimaline crafts a haunting masterpiece about grief, survival, identity, and unexpected connections across the boundary of life and death.

Beyond her graveyard-set YA novel, we will explore Dimaline’s expansive literary career—from the groundbreaking dystopian survival narrative of The Marrow Thieves and its sequel Hunting by Stars, to the dark, magic-infused folklore of her adult novels like Empire of Wild and VenCo.

About the Author: Cherie Dimaline is an internationally bestselling author. Her book The Marrow Thieves was named by TIME magazine, one of the Best YA Books of All Time and won the Governor General’s Award and the Kirkus Prize. Her novel Empire of Wild was an instant Canadian bestseller and is being adapted into a full opera for the Canadian Opera Company. Hunting By Stars was a 2022 American Indian Library Association Honor Book and her novel VenCo debuted at #1 on Canadian bestseller lists. Other titles include Funeral Songs for Dying Girls (AILA Honor Book, AURA Award winner, CRIME WRITERS Best Book, Bram Stoker Finalist) and Into the Bright Open (2024 Governor General’s Award Finalist).

Cherie lives in her Georgian Bay Métis Community and has written and produced for MARVEL, FX, HBO, Disney, and is currently adapting two major projects for AMC.

Brought to you in partnership with the Library Speakers Consortium.
Sponsored by a generous donation from the Pennington First Aid Squad.