News and Stories

Library Hosts Award-Winning Investigative Journalist and National Bestselling Author in Free Event in Honour of MMIWG

Award-winning investigative journalist and national bestselling author, Angela Sterritt, joins us for a free virtual author talk in honour of Red Dress Day and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Angela Sterritt, award-winning investigative journalist and national bestselling author of Unbroken, is joining Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL) on Tuesday, April 30 from 5:30 – 7:30pm for a virtual talk about her book that is part memoir and part investigation into the murders and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls. Sterritt’s book became an instant national bestseller and is nominated for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust award for best non-fiction book in Canada.

Having Angela with us days ahead of Red Dress Day on May 5 is a powerful tribute to the many Indigenous women and girls who have been victims of a system that has failed them,” says VIRL Librarian, Dalia Levy. “I believe it is important for everyone to hear Angela’s personal stories and the stories she has reported on.”

Angela Sterritt is an award-winning investigative journalist and national bestselling author from the Wilp Wiik’aax (we-GAK) of the Gitanmaax (GIT-in-max) community within the Gitxsan (GICK-san) Nation on her dad’s side and from Bell Island Newfoundland on her maternal side. Sterritt worked as a television, radio, and digital journalist at CBC for more than a decade. She hosted the award-winning CBC original podcast Land Back. She lives on the territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh, Vancouver, Canada.

Participants should note that the talk will address issues of trauma, systemic racism, and other themes that could be traumatizing or triggering for some viewers. KUU-US First Nations and Indigenous Crisis Line is available 24/7 Toll Free @ 1-800-588-8717 across BC. This event is free, and all are welcome to attend. RSVP here to receive the zoom link prior to the vent.

Can’t make it to the live event on April 30? A recording will be made available in early May 2024. Visit virl.bc.ca/angela-sterritt or our Facebook page for more information.

#####

Media Contact
Natasha Bartlett, Divisional Manager, Marketing & Communications
250.327.3114
nbartlett@virl.bc.ca

ABOUT ANGELA STERRITT

Angela Sterritt is an award-winning investigative journalist and national bestselling author from the Wilp Wiik’aax (we-GAK) of the Gitanmaax (GIT-in-max) community within the Gitxsan (GICK-san) Nation on her dad’s side and from Bell Island Newfoundland on her maternal side. Sterritt worked as a television, radio, and digital journalist at CBC for more than a decade. She hosted the award-winning CBC original podcast Land Back. She lives on the territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh, Vancouver, Canada.

ABOUT UNBROKEN

Part memoir and part investigation into the murders and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls, Unbroken became an instant national bestseller in May of 2023 and won the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust award for best non-fiction book in Canada. Growing up, Sterritt was steeped in the stories of her ancestors: grandparents who carried bentwood boxes of berries, hunted and trapped, and later fought for rights and title to that land. But as a vulnerable young woman, kicked out of the family home and living on the street, Sterritt inhabited places that, today, are infamous for being communities where women have gone missing or been murdered: Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, and, later on, Northern BC’s Highway of Tears. Sterritt faced darkness: she experienced violence from partners and strangers and saw friends and community members die or go missing. But she navigated the street, group homes, and SROs to finally find her place in journalism and academic excellence at university, relying entirely on her own strength, resilience, and creativity along with the support of her ancestors and community to find her way.