Shalan joudry

shalan joudry is a Mi'kmaw writer, storyteller, and ecologist. She is known for her poetry collections, including the multi-award nominated Waking Ground.

Career
Joudry's first book, a collection of poems titled, Generations Re-merging, was published by Gaspereau Press in 2014. Her poetry had previously appeared in "The Nashwaak Review" and "Mi'kmaq Anthology II". In August 2018, joudry's play Elapultiek premiered with Two Planks and a Passion Theatre in Kings County, Nova Scotia at the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts. Joudry played Nat opposite Matthew Lumley's Bill. The production subsequently toured four Indigenous communities in Nova Scotia. A second tour was carried out in the fall of 2019.

joudry managed programs for species at risk and ecology for more than ten years. Joudry's artistic work often weaves in ecological and Indigenous teachings.

Her second published poetry collection, Waking Ground, was released in 2020 also by Gaspereau Press. In 2021, it was selected by the Writers' Trust of Canada as one of 25 books for the WT Amplified Voices program, which aims to amplify BIPOC voices in Canadian writing and promote works of BIPOC writers created during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, joudry's play KOQM, premiered at the King's Theatre in Annapolis Royal, starring joudry as all six characters. KOQM tells the 400-year story of Nova Scotia through the lives of L'nu (Mi'kmaw) women. It was subsequently staged by Neptune Theatre in Halifax and Ship's Company Theatre in Parrsborro. Koqm won Best New Nova Scotian Play at the 2023 Robert Merritt Awards. Joudry was named the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21's artist-in-residence for 2023.

Poetry

 * Generations Re-merging (Gaspereau Press, 2014)
 * Waking Ground (Gaspereau Press, 2020)

Plays

 * Elapultiek (We Are Looking Towards) (Pottersfield Press, 2019)
 * Mi'kmaq Stories: Past and Present (2020, co-created with Catherine Martin and Trevor Gould)
 * Koqm (2021)

Personal life
joudry is from L’sɨtkuk (Bear River First Nation). She has two children - One daughter and one son. She lives in Kespukwitk (southwest Nova Scotia) with her partner Frank Meuse.