Moon of the Crusted Snow destined for the big screen
By Kelly Anne Smith
SUDBURY—The best-selling Moon of the Crusted Snow novel could be a motion picture smash hit with the film rights recently sold to a prominent Indigenous filmmaker.
Anishinaabe novelist Waubgeshig Rice of Wasauksing First Nation has sold a two-year film option on his post-apocalyptic novel to Jennifer Podemski’s Redcloud Studios. Rice says he is very honoured that Jennifer Podemski is interested in producing the film from Moon of the Crusted Snow.
“She’s obviously very renowned, very respected, very accomplished. And she comes at her projects from a distinctly Anishinaabe worldview and spirit. If this all happens to work out and come together, I think she would be the ideal person to make it happen in bringing the story to the screen. So, fingers crossed it all works out.”
Rice says there’s much up in the air and so much to coordinate within the two-year window.
“I’m just the fiction writer, right. I don’t have knowledge or expertise of the film world. The biggest task is securing funding at first to make it all happen. I don’t know exactly what’s involved in that. That’s when the real planning work would start happening. I’m hopeful.”
The 2018 Moon of the Crusted Snow novel is still an indie bookseller’s top-selling novel for the second year in a row. It ranks #8 in the list of Canadian-authored titles, says the digital magazine of the Canadian book trade, Quill and Quire. It is also being read in other countries around the world. When Rice first penned the Whitesky Saga, he never expected it to gain global popularity.
“It’s a really nice and humbling journey for the story and the overall saga, including the sequel (Moon of the Turning Leaves), too. My first novel, Legacy, was translated into French, and this was before Moon of the Crusted Snow came out. That was great, too, but that was contained within Canada. Moon of the Crusted Snow came out in France and Germany. That’s, like, totally mind-blowing and really rewarding, too. And very heartwarming just to know that a very specifically distinct Anishinaabe story set in a very specific part of our world is read in other parts of the world.”
In early 2027, Rice’s new novel, Early Bird, will be published.
“Early Bird will be published in early 2027 through Random House Canada. It’s a novel about a day in the life of a First Nation in our territory on the north shore of Lake Huron. The community is faced with rumours and speculation around its beloved bingo hall that it’s about to close. And this happens on the day of the big annual jackpot. It’s hopefully a more comedic take on everyday rez life. And just how a community reacts and responds to big events and how it comes together. And it remains authentically Anishinaabe all the way through. I’m really excited about it.”
Will fans have to wait for years before Waubgeshig writes the next novel in the White Sky Saga?
“I might have to, to think up something good. I would love to pursue more of the saga and hopefully come up with at least one more novel. I don’t have a good enough idea for it yet. I’m kind of letting it sit in the back of my mind to see what develops. Hopefully, when the time comes, I’ll be able to sit down and dedicate some good mental and emotional energy to the future of this fictional community and these people as they go into their speculative future. And it will be awhile though. I have Early Bird to finish up. We are in the revision process right now, my editor and I. And then once it comes out, I’ll have to do the promo cycle, too.”
The prolific author will write a non-fiction book for the publishers of Early Bird, too.
“Once I get through that second book, that non-fiction book, then hopefully something will have crystallized for me, in terms of what a part-three would look like. I’m definitely not ruling it out and I’m not leaving that story behind. I want to pursue it again someday for sure.”
Waub has also written a children’s book.
“I got a kids’ book coming out, too. That release date is to be determined and there is still a title to be determined. It will be through Swiftwater Books, which is an imprint of Tundra Books. David Robertson, the Cree author, is the new publisher of Swiftwater.”
While having a busy writing career, Rice is a second-year, full-time student in Anishinaabemowin and Program Development at Georgian College.
“I’m taking it all online. I’m in my second year. It’s a full-time program, so it’s very involved. I took it primarily to improve on my language skills. And hopefully that will benefit my storytelling, my fiction writing, my overall understanding of the world around me, too, eventually. The goal always is to eventually write something, maybe novel length, in the language. I don’t know how possible that is. I don’t know how much longer it’s going to take me to learn to do that. But I definitely want to try conveying more of our experiences in our language, that’s for sure.”
Respect and accolades for his journey as a mentor for Anishinaabe youth and others to take up writing can be seen online.
“Aw, miigwech. I’m obviously very honoured and grateful for that support and that love. I always underline that I don’t do this alone. I’ve been encouraged and nourished by my own community, by my family, by Anishinabek everywhere to keep doing this work and that’s why I do it. I think my responsibility is to keep supporting and nurturing that wider storytelling circle of Anishinabek and everyone else who is coming up and wanting to write and share stories or do whatever else no matter what age they are because we can all come into this journey and it doesn’t matter where we’re from in our region or how old we are or whatever else, right? I just like to remind people that I’m there as like a big brother, or a big cousin, or an uncle, or whatever you need me to be in terms of the storytelling journey.”