Jamesie Fournier is an Inuk writer raised in Denendeh and based in Thebacha/Fort Smith, NT. He is best known for his horror fiction, including his debut book The Other Ones, published in 2022 with Inhabit Media, which includes two stories: “The Net” and “Before Dawn.”
Fournier has been a fan of the horror genre since his youth. “I grew up as a kid loving comic books and horror movies. When I started writing, these were the kind of tales that I was drawn to,” he explains. “Those horror narratives can show you what you're really proud of, what you hold dear, what is home to you, the values of family and tradition. When you have these kinds of forces that are aligned against you or put it all at risk, and then it shows what you have to lose.” [1] Fournier’s work draws on a broad range of literary influences, including Margaret Lawrence, Louise Erdrich and Richard Van Camp, and he has long been interested in how Inuit storytelling can be translated into different literary forms.
“I enjoy being able to explore my culture,” he says, “being able to explore what Inuit storytelling can be. Inuit storytelling is able to express the kind of darkness and stark reality that there is out there in life.” These themes run through Fournier’s work, whether the darkness expressed comes in the form of monstrous creatures inspired by Inuit legends (as in The Other Ones), or in the form of internal struggle (as in his 2023 poetry collection, Elements). Fournier channels horror as a powerful metaphor for experiences of grief, trauma, betrayal and disconnection, just as he underscores the cautionary nature of many Inuit legends—and the ability that storytelling has to illuminate threats, pass on cultural knowledge and make sense of our fears.
Fournier also often works with illustrators to bring his work to life; he worked with his brother Zebede Evaluardjuk-Fournier to illustrate multiple stories, including two for the Inuit Art Quarterly, he worked with Yurak to illustrate his 2022 short story The Hunters, and he collaborated with Erica Jacque to create artworks for Elements. Fournier has also been expanding his approach to storytelling beyond the page: undertaking script writing, production assistance and voice acting with Taqqut Productions; developing his collage practice; collaborating with artists on the Inuit artist incubator project for Nocturne 2023; and participating in the Audible Indigenous Writers’ Circle with mentor Reneltta Arluk. On working in film and other media, he says, “it's been a lot of fun. I realized that my writing lends itself very well to that because I'm a very visual writer, and I'm always describing scenes and whatnot, and that's exactly what script writing is.”
Also a short story writer, Fournier’s work has been published in the
Inuit Art Quarterly, Red Rising magazine,
Kaakuluk magazine,
Northern Public Affairs and the anthologies
Coming Home: Stories from the Northwest Territories and
Ndè Sı̀ı̀ Wet’aɂà: Northern Indigenous Voices on Land, Life & Art. He was guest author at the 2018 & 2020 Northwords Writers Festivals and a runner up for 2018 Sally Manning Award for Indigenous Creative Non-Fiction. [2] In 2023,
The Other Ones was awarded Silver in the Horror genre at the Independent Publishers Book Awards. [3]
This Profile was made possible through support from RBC Emerging Artists.