David A. Robertson, two-time Governor General's Literary Award-winning writer, will present the 2025 Kreisel Lecture, speaking on the topic Writing as Social Activism.

When you purchase a ticket, you will have an opportunity to submit a question for a Q & A with David A. Robertson that will conclude the lecture portion of the event.

Following the lecture, there will be a reception with light refreshments and a book signing. Audreys Books will be on site with copies of Robertson's books and past Kreisel Lectures for sale.

Writing as Social Activism

Writing stories imagines future readers, and in so doing imagines a future influence by those stories.
- Margaret Atwood

The road to reconciliation is paved with Story. The phrase "Truth & Reconciliation" means the two are inextricably linked. While the definition and understanding of what reconciliation means and what it entails are up for discussion — at its most basic, albeit still complex form, it is the act of building community — truth means what really happened, and what is still happening, on Turtle Island. For too long, our stories, as Indigenous peoples, have been told by others. Only recently, within the last fifteen years, we have been able to reclaim our truth and share it with others through Story. This storytelling resurgence has created a revolutionary change that has ripped apart the fabric of what we thought this country was, and has stitched together a new understanding of Canada. Every form of writing — from blog posts to novels — is distinct, but shares the goal of knowledge transfer. Story ought, as well, to motivate the reader to utilize the knowledge they have been gifted with to take meaningful action so that we can do better than has been done in the past. This is the work of social change: understanding what has been so we can clearly understand what can be.

David A. Robertson is a two-time Governor General's Literary Award winner and has won the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and the Writer's Union of Canada Freedom to Read Award. He has received several other accolades for his work as a writer for children and adults, podcaster, public speaker, and social advocate. He was honoured with a Doctor of Letters by the University of Manitoba in 2023 for outstanding contributions to the arts and distinguished achievements. Robertson's memoir All the Little Monsters: How I Learned to Live with Anxiety was published in 2025 by Harper Collins. He is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and lives in Winnipeg. For more information about his work, visit his website.