David A. Robertson (he/him/his) is a two-time winner of the Governor General's Literary Award, and recipient of the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and the Writer's Union of Canada Freedom to Read Award. Among many other accolades for his work as a writer for children and adults, in 2026 David was nominated for the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award. He has also received recognition for podcasting, public speaking, and social advocacy, including being honoured with a Doctor of Letters by the University of Manitoba in 2023 and a Doctor of Laws by the University of Lethbridge in 2025 for his outstanding contributions to the arts and society. David is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and lives in Winnipeg.GMB Chomichuk is an award-winning writer and illustrator whose work has appeared in film, television, books, comics and graphic novels. His most recent work with HighWater Press, Will I See?, was a collaboration with writer David A. Robertson and singer/songwriter Iskwē. He writes and/or illustrates occult suspense stories like Midnight City, science fiction works like Red Earth, or inspirational all-ages adventure stories like Cassie and Tonk. He is the host of Super Pulp Science a podcast about how genre gets made. His newest full length graphic novel Apocrypha: The Legend of Babymetal was featured on The Hollywood Reporter, The Nerdist, and Billboard Magazine.iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ (she/her/hers) is, among many other things, an artist–a creator and communicator of music and of movement, of pictures, poetry, and prose. She has performed hundreds of shows in Canada and around the world, including at Ottawa’s Parliament Hill, in New York City at the Met and in Central Park, for the King and Queen of Sweden, at Reeperbahn in Germany, and at Border Crossing’s Origins Festival in England. Her name, iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ (pronounced iss-kway), is short for waseskwan iskwew, which means “blue sky woman.” iskwē is Cree Métis from Treaty 1 Territory, and was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She is an urban Indigenous Two-Spirit woman from the Red River Valley, the birthplace of the Métis Nation.Erin Leslie is a 25-year-old digital artist who has spent her life drawing and finding inspiration for her work in the world around her. She aspires to design video games that feature stories about women of colour, LGBT and gender minorities, and other stories too often left untold in an industry that has been long overdue for a refreshing dose of diversity.
