Over 50 and Starting A New Literary Career

50 Women Over 50

Host Sherrilynne Starkie welcomes celebrated author Dr. Norma Dunning to episode 23 of the 50 Women Over 50 podcast.

She’s a woman who’s life took a whole new turn the year she turned 50. Norma had never been to university and wanted to try it. Within a few years she’d earned a PhD. in Indigenous Peoples Education and is now a professor at the University of Alberta.

Dr. Dunning’s story collection entitled Tainna: The Unseen Ones won the 2021 Governor General’s Award for English Fiction. Her latest book, Kinauvit?: What’s Your Name?, is an examination of Canada’s Eskimo Disc System and how it impacted Norma’s family.

In this interview Dr. Dunning talks about how becoming a grandmother changed her world view and spurred her into becoming an author. She says, “I never really had that desire to publish until I had grandchildren. Things become different and your values shift. For me it became important that my grandchildren knew their history.”

About Dr. Norma Dunning:

Dr Norma Dunning is an Inuk Canadian writer and a lecturer at the University of Alberta. Her writing accolades include the 2018 Danuta Gleed Literary Ward, 2018 Writers’ Guild of Alberta’s Howard O’Hagan Award and the 2021 Governor General’s Award for English Language Fiction. She has been shortlisted for the 2018 City of Edmonton Book Award and the 2022 ReLit Award for Short Fiction.

Of Inuit descent, Dr. Dunning was born in Quebec and raised in a variety of towns as her father was a member of the Canadian military. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta, where she completed her doctoral degree with Indigenous Peoples Education at the University of Alberta in June 2019.

Resources & Contact Information:

• Dr. Norma Dunning
• Dr. Dunning’s books
• Memoire D’encrier
• University of Alberta
• Nunavut Land Claim Agreement
• Eskimo Disc System
• Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA)
• Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
• The Vikings
• Festival America
• Douglas McIntyre

About the 50 Women Over 50 Podcast:

Sherrilynne Starkie started this show as a creative project with the goal of interviewing 50 women past their 50th birthday to learn how they see the world, what lessons they’ve learned and what advice they have for us all. She’s been blogging and podcasting for 18+ years as part of a successful marketing and communications career and looks forward to learning from the women she will interview. Subscribe to 50 Women Over 50 wherever you get your podcasts and please share it with your friends. Get each weekly episode dropped into your inbox by subscribing here. If you’d like to be one of the 50 Women over 50 featured on this podcast apply by clicking here.

Elevating the voices and stories of women navigating the enriching complexities of midlife, '50 Women Over 50' is an empowering podcast that draws inspiration from the experiences of 50 incredible women.