Joshua Whitehead is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

two spirit ''Two-spirit'' (also known as ''two spirit'' or occasionally ''twospirited'', or abbreviated as ''2S'' or ''2E'', especially in Canada) is a umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people who fulfill a trad ...

poet and novelist. An

Oji-Cree The Anisininew or Oji-Cree are a First Nation in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, residing in a band extending from the Missinaibi River region in Northeastern Ontario at the east to Lake Winnipeg at the west. The Oji-Cree pe ...

member of the Peguis First Nation in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

,"Poet Joshua Whitehead redefines two-spirit identity in Full-Metal Indigiqueer"
'' Unreserved'', December 17, 2017. he began publishing poetry while pursuing undergraduate studies at the University of Winnipeg."Indigiqueer storyteller Joshua Whitehead turns hope and frustration into literature"
'' This Magazine'', April 3, 2018. After he started graduate studies in indigenous literature at the

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

, Talonbooks published his debut poetry collection ''Full-Metal

Indigiqueer ''Two-spirit'' (also known as ''two spirit'' or occasionally ''twospirited'', or abbreviated as ''2S'' or ''2E'', especially in Canada) is a umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people who fulfill a trad ...

'' in 2017. The book initially received a

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...

nomination for Transgender Poetry at the 30th Lambda Literary Awards in 2018, although Whitehead withdrew the book from consideration as the category was a misrepresentation of his identity as a

two-spirit ''Two-spirit'' (also known as ''two spirit'' or occasionally ''twospirited'', or abbreviated as ''2S'' or ''2E'', especially in Canada) is a umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people who fulfill a trad ...

, not transgender, person. His

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, '' Jonny Appleseed'', was published by Arsenal Pulp Press in 2018. In the same year, he was named a finalist for the Dayne Ogilvie Prize for Canadian LGBTQ writers, and the book was named as a longlisted nominee for the 2018

Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried c ...

and a shortlisted finalist for the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction at the 2018 Governor General's Awards and the 2019 Amazon.ca First Novel Award. The book won the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction at the

31st Lambda Literary Awards The 31st Lambda Literary Awards were held on June 3, 2019, to honour works of LGBT literature published in 2018. The list of nominees was released on March 7.Ryan Porter"Vivek Shraya, Joshua Whitehead among Canadian finalists for Lambda Literary A ...

. ''Jonny Appleseed'' won the 2021

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Fre ...

competition, championed by Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs. ''Love After the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and

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. 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.Vicky Qiao
"Indigenous anthology Love After The End wins Lambda Literary Award"
CBC Books, June 2, 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitehead, Joshua 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian poets Canadian male novelists Canadian male poets First Nations novelists First Nations poets Cree-language writers Lambda Literary Award winners LGBTQ First Nations people Canadian LGBTQ novelists Canadian LGBTQ poets Two-spirit people University of Winnipeg alumni University of Calgary alumni Poets from Manitoba Writers from Winnipeg Living people Queer novelists 21st-century First Nations writers Oji-Cree people 1989 births Academic staff of the University of Calgary 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Queer poets Novelists from Manitoba