** Unfortunately Brandon Mitchell has had to cancel his appearance at MCAF ** Brandon Mitchell is Mi’gmaq from Listuguj First Nations in Quebec and currently resides in the unceded Wolastoqiyik territory of Fredericton, New Brunswick. He is a husband to Natasha Martin and father to Brayden and Bryce Mitchell. He carries a Diploma in Animation and Design from the New Brunswick Community College of Miramichi and holds a master’s degree in Education from the University of New Brunswick. He is the founder of Birch Bark Comics and creator of the Sacred Circles comic series, which explored his Mi’kmaq heritage through a contemporary lens. He has authored six stories for Indigenous Story Studio: Lost Innocence, Drawing Hope, River Run, Making it Right, Emily's Choice and Tomorrow’s Hope. He was approached to by the University of Alabama to script and illustrated Jean-Paul's Daring Adventure: Stories from Old Mobile. He was also a contributing author of Migwite'tmeg: We Remember It for This Place: 150 years retold which recounts the events leading up to the infamous salmon raids that took place in Listuguj in the summer of 1981 by Highwater Press. Brandon is also the creator and author of a new young readers series Giju’s Gift published by Highwater Press. In it, a Mi’kmaw girl battles an ancient giant and forms an unexpected friendship with a mythical creature, this is the first volume of an ongoing series of graphic novels inspired by traditional stories. In addition, Brandon’s love of storytelling as expanded into animation. He has directed 4 animated shorts for the Ni’gweg Collective since 2021. These stories are rooted in his community of Listuguj and reaffirm the importance of community, culture, language and the power our stories hold. @writerbrandonmitchell