USask MFA in writing graduate lands three-book deal

By Chris Putnam

A recent graduate of the University of Saskatchewan (USask) Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program is seeing her dream of being a fantasy novelist become reality.

Tonia Laird (MFA’20), who lives in Saskatoon, has signed a three-book deal with Simon & Schuster Canada for a new supernatural dystopian young adult series titled The Kin Trilogy. The debut book in the series will launch in fall 2026 as one of the first titles from Simon & Schuster’s new children’s publishing program.

“I think mostly I was just really shocked by (the news), but very excited too, because I was just moving out of working in video games and trying to get established as a novelist, and it seemed like perfect timing,” said Laird, who has previously written for video game companies such as BioWare and Thought Pennies.

The first, currently untitled, book in Laird’s new trilogy will follow a young Métis woman on a journey to find answers about her mysterious past. Accompanied by a black dog that only she can see, she travels through a future dystopian version of Saskatchewan in which everything is run by corporations.

The story draws on Laird’s own experiences with reconnecting with her Métis heritage over the past two decades.

“It's been a very slow process, but I think it's been the right one,” she said. “Being able to connect with other storytellers was my first big step into Métis culture and now I'm more active in the (Gabriel Dumont) Local #11.”

The Kin Trilogy will be steeped in both Métis and settler folklore. Setting the first book in Saskatchewan was also important to Laird, who is originally from the area of Davidson, Sask.

“There's a feeling about Saskatchewan. It's funny, because a lot of people find it really desolate if they're not from here—they find it empty and boring. But if you're from here, there's a connection with the land and the people. I've lived all over Canada and I haven't felt it anywhere else but here. And that could just be because I grew up here, but there’s just something that feels like home," she said.

Laird’s first novel, Seventhblade, debuted in June from ECW Press. The story of a warrior’s quest to avenge the murder of her son, Seventhblade was originally written as Laird’s MFA thesis at USask.

“It has been received really well, which is great to hear. I’ve had a lot of really good reviews for it,” Laird said.

The author’s new book deal also grew out of her time at USask. Laird’s mentor in the MFA in Writing Program was Canadian author Katherena Vermette, who now works as a senior editor at Simon & Schuster Canada. Vermette invited Laird to pitch Simon & Schuster some book ideas and chose The Kin Trilogy for publication.

Along with Vermette’s mentorship, interactions with fellow writers in the MFA program were some of the most important learning experiences on Laird’s path to becoming a novelist.

“Working with your peers, doing all the workshopping that we did, and learning how to take criticism and give criticism correctly—that is immensely helpful,” she said. “Just being able to look at your writing through a critical lens and trying to see where other opinions are coming from—I learned a lot of that through workshopping in school.”

The MFA in Writing Program is offered through the Department of English in the College of Arts and Science.

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