Thomas King

Thomas King is a Canadian-American author of Cherokee and Greek descent, widely considered one of the most important Indigenous writers in North America. He won the Governor General's Literary Award for English-language fiction in 2014 for The Back of the Turtle, a novel about a scientist who returns to his ancestral homeland to atone for his role in an environmental catastrophe. King is known for his ability to blend dark humour, satire, and serious political commentary in his fiction. His previous novels include Medicine River (1990), Green Grass, Running Water (1993), and Truth and Bright Water (1999). His non-fiction work The Inconvenient Indian (2012) is considered an essential work on the relationship between Indigenous peoples and North American governments and culture. King has also been a beloved CBC Radio performer through his Dead Dog Café Comedy Hour. He has taught Native Studies and English at several Canadian universities, including the University of Guelph, and was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2004.