Shaelyn Johnston is an award-winning Ojibwe and Irish-Canadian writer from Vancouver, BC. She is a recipient of the Governor General’s History Award and holds a BFA and MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia.

Shaelyn was selected for both editions of Telus STORYHIVE’s Indigenous Storytellers Edition and has participated in the Whistler Film Festival’s Indigenous Filmmaker Fellowship and Screenwriters Lab; Reelworld’s Emerging 20 TV Program; and the Pacific Screenwriting Program’s Indigenous Screenwriters Lab. Her animated short film, The Healing Dance, has screened at numerous festivals across Canada & the US, and won Best Short Film at the Weengushk International Film Festival. Her second short, Anishinaabemowin, a live-action narrative, recently wrapped its festival run after playing at numerous festivals across Canada and the US including Santa Fe International Film Festival, Whistler Film Festival, and ImagineNATIVE Film Festival.

Outside of her writing and filmmaking, Shaelyn also coordinates professional development programs for Indigenous filmmakers through Capilano University’s Indigenous Digital Accelerator and is the Industry Program Manager for the Whistler Film Festival + Content Summit.