The University of British Columbia
UBC - A Place of Mind
The University of British Columbia
School of Creative Writing
Faculty of Arts
School of Creative Writing
Faculty of Arts
  • Undergraduate
    • Creative Writing Programs
    • Courses
    • Opportunities
    • Advising
    • Funding
  • Graduate
    • Prospective Students
    • MFA Program Options
    • Admissions
    • Optional Summer Residency
    • Courses
    • Opportunities
    • Funding
  • Continuing Education
    • How to Write a Novel
    • Writing the Romantic Comedy
    • Writing for Video Games
  • People
  • Our Work
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
    • Communications Support
  • About
    • Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
    • Alumni
    • Indigenous Engagement
    • Prize for Best New Fiction
    • Job Opportunities
    • Donate
    • Contact Us
Home / Graduate Showcase / Dawn Amber Tonks, MFA 2025

Dawn Amber Tonks, MFA 2025

Dawn Amber Tonks

The School of Creative Writing is pleased to congratulate Dawn Amber Tonks, MFA. Dawn Amber’s thesis is a screenplay entitled The International Auntie Pageant.

Dawn Amber Tonks is a member of the St’uxwtéws band of the Secwepmec Nation from the interior of British Columbia. She has just completed her Master of Fine Arts with UBC. Dawn has published a poem Weykt in Canadian Lit magazine. For her thesis she wrote a feature length screen play, titled The International Auntie Pageant. For which she has had to learn a lot about beauty pageants, as well as how to spell “pageant”. She writes in most genres and largely focuses on Indigenous life in Canada.

The International Auntie Pageant is a feature length screenplay. When Rhonda Williams finds out her niece Faith has nominated her and her friends to compete in a beauty pageant she is flabbergasted. What business do four mid-aged Indigenous women have being beauty contestants? When small town women take on the big city in with big dreams of even bigger wins, magic can happen. Follow Rhonda, Tara, Kimmy and Christine as they take on Vancouver and The International Auntie Pageant.

Contact

Request more information about Dawn Amber’s thesis project using our Grad Showcase Contact Form.

School of Creative Writing
Faculty of Arts
1234 Street
Vancouver, BC Canada V0V 0V0
   
Contact Us
We acknowledge that the UBC Vancouver campus is situated on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam).
The University of British Columbia
  • Emergency Procedures |
  • Terms of Use |
  • Copyright |
  • Accessibility