Joshua Whitehead

Last updated
Joshua Whitehead
Joshua Whitehead, 2020.jpg
Alma mater University of Winnipeg
University of Calgary
GenrePoetry
Novels
Notable works Jonny Appleseed
Notable awards Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction
Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Anthology

Joshua Whitehead is a Canadian First Nations, two-spirit poet and novelist. [1]

Contents

Life and education

An Oji-Cree member of the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba, [2] he began publishing poetry while pursuing undergraduate studies at the University of Winnipeg. [3]

Whitehead has a Bachelor of Arts in English and Master of Arts in cultural studies from the University of Winnipeg. He received his PhD in English from the University of Calgary in 2021. He is an assistant professor of English and international Indigenous studies at the University of Calgary. [4] [5]

Career

After he started graduate studies in Indigenous literature at the University of Calgary, Talonbooks published his debut poetry collection Full-Metal Indigiqueer in 2017. [2] The book initially received a Lambda Literary Award nomination for Transgender Poetry at the 30th Lambda Literary Awards in 2018, but Whitehead withdrew the book from consideration as the category was a misrepresentation of his identity as a two-spirit, not transgender, person. [6]

His debut novel, Jonny Appleseed , was published by Arsenal Pulp Press in 2018. [7] In the same year, he was a finalist for the Dayne Ogilvie Prize for Canadian LGBTQ writers, [8] and the book was longlisted for the 2018 Giller Prize [9] and shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction at the 2018 Governor General's Awards [10] and the 2019 Amazon Canada First Novel Award. [11] The book won the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction at the 31st Lambda Literary Awards. [12] Jonny Appleseed won the 2021 Canada Reads competition, championed by Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs. [13]

Love After the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction, an anthology edited by Whitehead, was named the winner of the Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Anthology at the 33rd Lambda Literary Awards in 2021. [14] Writers featured in the anthology include Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler, Darcie Little Badger, Gabriel Castilloux Calderon, Adam Garnet Jones, Mari Kurisato, Kai Minosh Pyle, David Alexander Robertson, jaye simpson and Nazbah Tom. [15]

He released an essay collection of creative nonfiction called Making Love With the Land in August 2022. [5] [16] [17]

References

  1. Patrick, Ryan B. (2017-10-13). "Why Joshua Whitehead wants to recentre Indigenous characters with his cyberpunk-infused poetry". CBC Books.
  2. 1 2 "Poet Joshua Whitehead redefines two-spirit identity in Full-Metal Indigiqueer". CBC Radio. 2017-12-15.
  3. Ponomareff, Justine (2018-04-03). "Indigiqueer storyteller Joshua Whitehead turns hope and frustration into literature". This Magazine. Archived from the original on 2025-10-02. Retrieved 2025-12-07.
  4. "Joshua Whitehead". UCalgary Profiles. Retrieved 2025-12-07.
  5. 1 2 Bethune, Brian (2022-07-25). "Joshua Whitehead takes on CanLit". Macleans.ca. Retrieved 2025-12-07.
  6. Lai, Larissa (2018-03-15). "Joshua Whitehead: Why I'm Withdrawing From My Lambda Literary Award Nomination". The Insurgent Architects' House for Creative Writing. Retrieved 2025-12-07.
  7. "6 new Canadian books to watch for in April". CBC Books. 2018-04-04.
  8. Carter, Sue (2018-05-17). "Ben Ladouceur, Trish Salah, and Joshua Whitehead named Dayne Ogilvie Prize finalists". Quill and Quire. Retrieved 2025-12-07.
  9. van Koeverden, Jane (2018-09-17). "Esi Edugyan, Patrick deWitt, Tanya Tagaq among 12 authors longlisted for 2018 Scotiabank Giller Prize". CBC Books.
  10. Dundas, Deborah (2018-10-03). "Miriam Toews, Rawi Hage in running for $25,000 Governor General's fiction prize". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2025-12-07.
  11. Dundas, Deborah (2019-04-26). "Tanya Tagaq, Ian Williams among finalists for $60,000 Amazon Canada First Novel Award". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2025-12-07.
  12. Dundas, Deborah (2019-06-04). "Canadians win three Lambda awards for LGBTQ writing". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2025-12-07.
  13. Patrick, Ryan B. (2021-03-11). "Devery Jacobs, championing Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead, wins Canada Reads 2021". CBC Books.
  14. Henderson, Jane (2021-06-01). "Lambda Literary Awards announce winners". STLtoday.com. Retrieved 2025-12-07.
  15. Qiao, Vicky (2021-06-02). "Indigenous anthology Love After The End wins Lambda Literary Award". CBC Books.
  16. Obscura, Ashley (2022-10-14). "'It Awakens Giants That Are Sleeping': An Interview with Joshua Whitehead". Hazlitt. Retrieved 2025-12-07.
  17. Lou, Jo (2022-11-23). "An Indigenous Writer Discovers New and Old Ways to Connect With the Land and With Each Other". Electric Literature. Retrieved 2025-12-07.