Award winning author Jen Ferguson visits Blair

Jen Ferguson Guest Speaker

Photo: Jen Ferguson speaks to Blazers in the media center about her journey becoming an author and activist.

Jen Ferguson speaks to Blazers in the media center about her journey becoming an author and activist. Photo courtesy of Project LIT.

With her bright salmon-colored glasses, playful ice cream-shaped earrings, and warm smile, Canadian author and activist Jen Ferguson had no problem captivating the attention of Blair students gathered in the media center on early Monday morning. Ferguson, who recently released her novel “A Constellation of Minor Bears,” began her talk by sharing her journey as both an author and an activist, diving into the personal experiences that have shaped her writing.

Ferguson's writing is highly influenced by her ancestral ties to the Métis Nation, one of Canada's three recognized Indigenous groups, primarily composed of descendants of Cree women and European settlers. Yet, she spent her childhood completely unaware of this heritage. It wasn't until her grandmother's death in middle school that the truth came out. Her grandmother, who had married a Caucasian man, had distanced the family from their indigenous roots, fearing for the safety of her children. This late realization about her heritage sparked an internal struggle for Ferguson, one that continues to fuel her writing and activism today. “It turned my world around,” she says, explaining her difficulty in reconciling with this sudden shift in her self-understanding.

This personal journey is reflected in the protagonist of “A Constellation of Minor Bears,” Molly—a queer, outdoors-loving Métis girl, much like Ferguson herself. Molly goes through an emotional turmoil after her brother sustains a traumatic brain injury, causing a dramatic shift in his personality. Ferguson explained how, when shaping Molly’s journey, she drew from her own experiences of coming to terms with life’s unpredictability, namely uncovering her Métis heritage.

As an activist at heart, Ferguson doesn’t hesitate to write about controversial or difficult topics. In “A Constellation of Minor Bears,” she critiques the aspects of the body positivity movement that she finds problematic. In her earlier book “Those Pink Mountain Nights,” she tackles the painful and urgent issue of missing and endangered native women. In her debut novel “The Summer of Bitter and Sweet,” she confronts the impacts of racism, sexism, and violence against women. These themes connecting her fiction to real societal issues make her novels thought-provoking and deeply moving.

After speaking about her heritage and the motivation behind her writing and activism, Ferguson opened the floor for a question-and-answer session. “I don’t like talking at people. I like talking with people,” she said, encouraging students to ask questions. 

Responding to a query about the inspiration behind her characters, she explained that the reason she often writes about “messy teenagers who don’t have it all figured out,” is because growing up, she always felt flawed. “I was so aware of my flaws. My clothes didn’t fit me, and I couldn’t get straight A’s no matter how hard I tried,” she admitted. Many students appreciated her raw honesty and vulnerability.

As the discussion shifted to her journey as a writer, Ferguson shared stories that were particularly relatable to her high school audience. She revealed that she fell in love with writing during high school and often spent hours in her basement writing stories. Like most writers, however, she hated her early writing. “I wrote about four novels in high school, and they were all absolute trash,” she said with a laugh. “I wrote a whole book about going tree planting in northern Canada. I still don't know how to plant a tree.” 

When posed with a question about her experience with writer’s block, Ferguson offered a slightly different take: “I don't believe in writer's block. I believe that your life can be too busy for you to be able to do the things that require you to be a creative person.” She explained how life’s distractions had slowed her progress on her first book, which took four years to complete. However, when she feels overwhelmed, a short walk or time spent playing with her new puppy usually helps clear her mind.

Before wrapping up the event, Ferguson gave students a sneak peek into her next project, which she playfully referred to as “Book Four 2.0.” Unlike “A Constellation of Minor Bears,” the protagonist of her next novel will travel to France in search of her father, navigating through an unfamiliar territory, both physically and emotionally.

Ferguson’s works can be found on her website and book retailers like Amazon.