A Perfect Likeness is a collection of two novellas by Richard Wagamese. These novellas tell the stories of two different First Nations men who are starving artists (a carver and a musician) just on the brink of success. They both meet knowledgeable and mysterious men who at first seem to be their benefactors, but quickly turn out to be using them as tools in more sinister plots for control. These coming-of-age stories cover many themes, such as connecting to spirit and spirituality, the importance of identity, and empowerment and legacy. The stories are highly engaging and easy to read. One of the stories deals with gambling as a main topic. | Wagamese also wrote the novel Indian Horse, which was adapted into a feature film.

224 pp., 5.5 × 8"

Richard Wagamese (Ojibwe, Wabaseemoong Independent Nations in Northwestern Ontario)

Source: Association of Book Publishers of BC - Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools (2021-2022)

Richard Wagamese (1955–2017), an Ojibway from the Wabaseemoong First Nation in northwestern Ontario, was recognized as one of Canada's foremost First Nations authors and storytellers. His debut novel, Keeper 'n Me, came out in 1994 and won the Alberta Writers Guild's Best Novel Award. In 1991, he became the first Indigenous writer to win a National Newspaper Award for column writing. He twice won the Native American Press Association Award for his journalism and received the George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature for his 2011 memoir One Story, One Song. In 2012, he was honoured with the Aboriginal Achievement Award for Media and Communications, and in 2013 he received the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize. In 2015, he won the Matt Cohen Award, a recognition given out by the Writers' Trust of Canada that honours writers who have dedicated their entire professional lives to the pursuit of writing. In total, he authored fifteen books including Indian Horse (2012), the 2013 People's Choice winner in CBC's Canada Reads competition, and his final book, a collection of Ojibway meditations, Embers (2016), received the Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award.

Richard Wagamese's profile page

Waubgeshig Rice is an author and journalist from Wasauksing First Nation on Georgian Bay. He has written three fiction titles, and his short stories and essays have been published in numerous anthologies. His most recent novel, Moon of the Crusted Snow, was published in 2018 and became a national bestseller. He graduated from Ryerson University’s journalism program in 2002 and spent the bulk of his journalism career at CBC, most recently as host of Up North, the afternoon radio program for northern Ontario. He lives in Sudbury with his wife and two sons.

Waubgeshig Rice's profile page