NORTH BATTLEFORD — A talented North Battleford writer and former editor of the Battlefords Regional News-Optimist has been selected in CBC Saskatchewan’s Future 40, recognizing 10 young people from Saskatchewan under the age of 40 who are making a positive difference in their communities.
Miguel Fenrich is described as an author, journalist and multi-disciplinary storyteller.
The 23-year-old is originally from North Battleford and is currently based in Saskatoon.
Fenrich said he is delighted with the honour.
“I think as artists, we spend a lot of time really engaged with our craft, right? And with our practice. So I’m overjoyed really,” he said.
Fenrich has written two books — Blue: A Novel and What Lies in the Valley.
Much of his writing focuses on the theme of justice.
“I would say my journey as an artist started with the Gerald Stanley trial,” Fenrich said. “As a queer biracial person who grew up in a very settler-aligned space, that trial really highlighted to me the ongoing effects and harms of colonialism. It really made me want to find a way in which I could sort of enlighten, sort of engage into these pieces of activism.”
He said his storytelling aims to inspire empathy, kindness, grace and education within a Canadian context.
“I found that avenue for activism through storytelling,” Fenrich said.
He was also influenced by the murder of George Floyd in the United States in 2020.
“I was so frustrated with what I felt was going so wrongly in society,” Fenrich said.
Fenrich is currently working on a new book titled 273 Days.
“273 Days will essentially be a novel about a young, queer man from Western Canada who is diagnosed with a terminal illness,” Fenrich said.
“He drives across Canada in the course of his last nine months, or 273 days, to sort of understand what it means to be Canadian, and a minority, and a young person at a really difficult time to be Canadian. Whether that be threats from foreign governments, whether that means this ongoing process of colonialism and reconciliation. We are all questioning what it means to be Canadian within the state of Canada.”
