Conor
Kerr
Conor Kerr is a Métis/Ukrainian writer living in Edmonton. A member of the Métis Nation of Alberta, he is descended from the Lac Ste. Anne Metis and the Papaschase Cree Nation. In 2022 he was named one of CBC’s Writers to Watch. He is the author of the poetry collections An Explosion of Feathers and Old Gods, as well as the novel Avenue of Champions, which was shortlisted for the Amazon Canada First Novel Award, longlisted for the 2022 Giller Prize, and won the 2022 ReLIT award. Prairie Edge is longlisted for the 2024 Giller Prize. Kerr is an assistant professor at the University of Alberta where he teaches creative writing.
Videos
Prairie Edge by Conor Kerr
Award History
Jury Citation
“At the heart of Prairie Edge is a resonant act of defiance that encapsulates the history, landscape, and vision of the Métis people. Kerr writes out of a deep sympathy for the Great Plains and its people, expanding the map of a prairie city to take in the tent settlements, the rehab centre, and the terrain of the vanished bison. Kerr’s main characters — two young people whose lives have been shaped by dislocation and violence — are achingly real. With a masterful grasp of pace and story, Kerr traces their extraordinary friendship, illuminating the costs of loyalty and the risks and rewards of engaging with the past. Prairie Edge is eloquent, humane, and far-seeing. An essential Canadian story.”—2024 Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize jury (Saeed Teebi, Joan Thomas, and Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike)
