8th Annual Kemosa Scholarship Winners!

Winners of the 8th Annual Kemosa Scholarship for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Mothers Who Write

The Writers’ Guild of Alberta and Nhung Tran-Davies are pleased to announce the winners of the 8th Annual Kemosa Scholarship for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Mothers Who Write.

First established in 2017 by Dr. Nhung Tran-Davies in partnership with Tlicho Dene author Richard Van Camp, the Kemosa Scholarship offers an opportunity for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Mothers to obtain resources to help them complete the work on their writing – whether that be a novel, a collection of stories, poems, or whatever form their writing might take.

This year, there were many amazing entries for the Kemosa Scholarship, and it was a challenge for the judges to choose the winners from among them. After much thought and careful deliberation, here are this year’s recipients:

First Place ($3000): Lareina Abbott
Second Place ($2000): Alycia Two Bears
Third Place($1000): Samantha Gibbon

A very special thank-you to the judges, Richard Van Camp, Jacqueline Guest, Jeananne K Kirwin, and Nicole Harrish, for their time, energy, and careful consideration.

For more information or media inquiries, please contact the Writers’ Guild of Alberta at mail@writersguild.ca.

Lareina Abbott

Lareina Abbott pens Métis themed speculative fiction and creative non-fiction. Her stories have a tie to the spiritual or natural world, and to ancestry. She received the Writers Guild of Alberta 2023 Howard O’Hagan award for short story, and is an alumni of the Audible Indigenous Writers Circle. She is a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta and her family names are Huppé, Desjarlais, and Cyr. She originates from a cattle ranch in northern British Columbia but currently lives and writes in Calgary/Mokinstsis on MNA District 5 and Treaty 7 territory.

She is on Instagram and Bluesky at @boneblackstories.

Alycia Two Bears

Alycia Two Bears is a member of Mistawasis Nêhiyawak First Nation. A proud mixed blooded iskwew, they call Mohkinstsis home. She is a Two Spirit Story teller, single mama to five amazing humans and Midwife in the making who coaxes babies down from the stars with poetry, medicines and songs. Her second collection of poetry, The Feast, is coming this spring 2025 from Wild Skies Press. Her first collection, “Two Spirit: Stories, Sex and the Ceremony Behind it all” was self published and available online.

“Alycia’s poems are urgent, important and satiating. Her work takes on patriarchy, ceremony, grief, motherhood and feasting in ways that are raw and expansive. The images that she weaves with her words speak of the lands she comes from and drip with texture that you can almost taste. This collection is critical and an ode to Two Spirit resurgence and all the complexities present of carrying generations of resilience in your bones and bodies.”

—Seán Carson Kinsella.

Samantha Gibbon

Samantha Erron Gibbon (she/her) is an otipemisiwak and nehiyaw iskwew from Treaty 6 territory in Alberta, Canada. She and her daughter are descendants of Peayasis Band and belong to the Otipemisiwak Métis Government. She is an award winning artist and illustrator, and between busy days working in healthcare as a resident Ob/Gyn physician and parenting, she writes poetry and short fiction.

Co-Sponsors:

This Year’s Judges

RICHARD VAN CAMP is a proud member of the Dogrib (Tlicho) Nation from Fort Smith, NWT, Canada from Fort Smith, NWT. He is a graduate of the En’owkin International School of Writing, the University of Victoria’s Creative Writing BFA Program, and the Master’s Degree in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia.

He is an internationally renowned storyteller and best-selling author. His novel, The Lesser Blessed, is now a movie with First Generation Films and premiered in September of 2012 at the Toronto International Film Festival. He is the author of four collections of short stories, Angel Wing Splash Pattern, The Moon of Letting Go, Godless but Loyal to Heaven and Night Moves, as well as two children’s books with Cree artist, George Littlechild: A Man Called Raven and What’s the Most Beautiful Thing You Know About Horses?

JACQUELINE GUEST is an international award-winning author with twenty professionally published novels. She has presented across Canada, the United States and in Africa to audiences of all ages including the American Library Association, the American Indian Library Association, University of Calgary, Manitoba Association of Teachers of English, Alberta Association of Library Technicians, MASC Conference Ottawa, University of Victoria, Cultural Diversity Institute, North Central Teachers Association, Saskatoon Reading Council Teachers Conference, the Edmonton Young Offenders Centre, plus hundreds of schools, libraries and conferences.

In addition to her in-depth knowledge on writing novels, Jacqueline has over twenty-five years of experience presenting in classrooms, libraries and at conferences. She has been the Creator-in-Residence for CANSCAIP plus Writer in Residence for the Marigold Library System, the International Spanish Academy, St. Clare School, St Rose of Lima School, and Glenmeadows Spanish School in Calgary. She has mentored many writers offering advice and direction in their chosen career. Her novels have been nominated for or won numerous awards in Canada and the United States, including the AILA Middle School Award, Moonbeam Award, Red Maple, Silver Birch, Red Cedar, Golden Eagle, CCBC Our Choice, and more. Her curriculum-based school presentations, which tie in with her novels, have even reluctant students reading.

Jacqueline is the proud recipient of the Indspire Award for the Arts. In 2017, Jacqueline was awarded the Order of Canada for her work in the literary arts.

History of the Kemosa Scholarship

The Kemosa Scholarship for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Mothers Who Write was launched in 2017 by Nhung Tran-Davies to help aspiring writers focus on their creativity and find time to write, and to help give voice to Indigenous mothers who write. The Kemosa Scholarship awards 3-5 prizes annually.

Nhung Tran-Davies:

As a Vietnamese immigrant to Canada, I am fascinated by the stories of this land and its people. In 2017, after speaking with renowned author Richard Van Camp and learning more about the struggles of Indigenous women, I was moved to found the Kemosa Scholarship for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Mothers Who Write.

As a writer and mother of three young children, I know how difficult it is to find time to write. Financial constraints can make this time even more difficult. Fortunately, I also work as a physician and therefore, I felt that I, in some way, could help my fellow aspiring writers focus on her creativity, to help give voice to Indigenous mothers who write.

In its first year, my intention was to award $1000 scholarship to an emerging Indigenous writer, but because of the high calibre of the submissions, I, in the end, awarded scholarship funds to four emerging writers.

2024 Winners

First Place ($3000): Shelley Willier
Second Place ($2000): Rhonda Gladue
Third Place($1000): Paige Cardinal
Honourable Mention ($500): Diana Power

2023 Winners

First Place ($3000): Falon Fayant – Shadow of the Moon

Second Place ($2000): Josephine Small – Eagles Songs R Me

Third Place ($1000): Brittany Whitford – A Day at A Time

6th Annual Kemosa Scholarship Winners Announced

2022 Winners

First Place ($3000): Lareina Abbott – Pchit – Little One
Second Place ($2000): Amber Boyd – Spirit Bead
Third Place($1000): Apryl Gladue –the assertion of truth in our bones (and other poems)
Honourable Mention ($500): Sandra Lamouche – ᐊᐸᑯᓯᐢ Apakosis
Honourable Mention ($500): Shirley Cire – Sleigh Ride (and other poems)

READ MORE ABOUT LAST YEAR’S WINNERS

2021 Winners

First Place ($3000): Sierra Roberts
Second Place ($2000): Teresa Jane Wouters
Third Place($1000): Holly Gerlach
Honourable Mention: Melissa Caillou

2020 Winners

- First Place ($3000): Shelley Willier
- Second Place ($2000): Trish Noelle McOrmond
- Third Place ($1000): Teresa Callihoo
- Honourable Mention: Felice Gladue
- Honourable Mention: Katie-Jo Rabbit
- Honourable Mention: Alycia Two Bears
- Honourable Mention: Amber Weasel Head

2019 Winners

First Place ($3000): Falon Christine
Second Place ($1500): Amber D. Boyd
Third Place ($1000): Shelley Wiart
Honourable Mention ($300): Angela Hall
Honourable Mention ($300): Kali Stewart

2018 Winners

First Place ( $1000) – Rhonda Gladue
2nd Place ($500)- Catherine Lafferty – Yellowknife
3rd Place ($250) – Brittany Johnson – Beaumont
Honourable Mention – Paige Cardinal – Edmonton