Eden Robinson

Eden Victoria Lena Robinson (born 19 January 1968) is an Indigenous Canadian author. She is a member of the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations in British Columbia, Canada.

Personal

Robinson was born in Kitamaat, British Columbia, and is a member of the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations. Robinson pursued her academic journey, earning a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Victoria, followed by a Master of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia.

In 2003, Robinson returned to Kitamaat Village to provide care for her father, who had been battling Parkinson's Disease since 1998. However, in 2019, she faced her own health challenge with a diagnosis of Polymyalgia rheumatica.

Her sister, Carla Robinson, is a television journalist for CBC Newsworld.

Literary works

Robinson's first book, Traplines (1995), was a collection of four short stories. The young narrators recount haunting tales of their disturbing relationships with sociopaths and psychopaths. The collection won Britain's Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize for the best regional work by a Commonwealth writer. One of the stories, "Queen of the North", was also published in The Penguin Anthology of Stories by Canadian Women. Another of her short stories, "Terminal Avenue", (which was not included in Traplines) was published in the anthology of postcolonial science fiction and fantasy So Long Been Dreaming.

Her second book, Monkey Beach (2000), is a novel. It is set in Kitamaat territory and follows a teenage girl's search for answers to and understanding of her younger brother's disappearance at sea while in the retrospective, it tells a story about growing up on a Haisla reserve. The book is both a mystery and a spiritual journey, combining contemporary realism with Haisla mysticism. Monkey Beach was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Governor General's Literary Award, and received the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize.

In her third book, Blood Sports (2006), also a novel, Robinson returns to the characters and urban terrain of her novella "Contact Sports," from Traplines.

Her novel Son of a Trickster (2017) is a humorous coming of age novel and the first of a trilogy. It took Robinson eight years to write, and was originally conceived as a short story. The second book in the trilogy is Trickster Drift (2018), which follows the main character from Kitamaat to Vancouver. The third book in the trilogy, titled The Return of the Trickster, was published March 2, 2021.

Son of a Trickster was optioned for a television series, which premiered as Trickster on CBC Television in 2020.

Her epic fantasy, The Sorceress of Sky Serpents (2026) was released in September, 2026. The story follows Yuala, the daughter of the Guardian of the Eagle Clan, as she navigates life on a dangerous, post-apocalyptic planet where monsters hunt the survivors of the sorcerer's war.

Awards and honours

Robinson was awarded the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize in 2001 for Monkey Beach, and the Writers' Trust Engel/Findley Award in 2016 for her body of work. In 2017, she was named a recipient of the $50,000 Writers' Trust Fellowship.

Son of a Trickster was shortlisted for the 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize. Trickster Drift won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize at the BC Book Awards on May 11, 2019.

Son of a Trickster was selected for the 2020 edition of Canada Reads, in which it was defended by actress Kaniehtiio Horn.

She won the Indspire Award for Arts in 2024.