Denver, Colo., Nov. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The American Indian College Fund (College Fund) is hosting a free, online book and author event for the public featuring Indigenous author Amanda Peters (Mi’kmaq) on Tuesday, November 18 from 1-2 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. Peters will discuss her book, The Berry Pickers, with College Fund President, Cheryl Crazy Bull. The event is designed to introduce the public to outstanding Indigenous authors.
The Berry Pickers is Peters’ debut novel that follows a Mi’kmaq family living in Canada that is torn apart after the disappearance of its youngest member, a little girl named Ruthie. Peters’ own father was a berry picker and his stories of his days working in Maine inspired her to write the novel detailing the trauma resulting from a family being separated from a child.
Peters is a writer of Mi’kmaq and settler ancestry. Her bestselling debut novel, The Berry Pickers, won the Barnes and Nobel Discover Prize, the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, the Crime Writers of Canada Best First Novel Award, and the Dartmouth Book Award, in addition to numerous other prize nominations. Her short story collection, Waiting for the Long Night Moon, was released in August 2024 and was shortlisted for the Alistair McLeod short fiction prize. Peters has a certificate in creative writing from the University of Toronto, and she is a graduate of the Master of Fine Arts program at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is a member of Glooscap First Nation and lives in the Annapolis Valley with her fur babies.
To attend the free virtual event, please register at collegefund.org/virtualbookclub.
About the American Indian College Fund — The American Indian College Fund has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native higher education for 35 years. The College Fund believes “Education is the answer” and provided $20.5 million in scholarships and other direct student support for access to a higher education that is steeped in Native culture and values to American Indian students in 2023-24. Since its founding in 1989 the College Fund has provided more than $349 million in scholarships, programs, community, and tribal college support. The College Fund also supports a variety of programs at the nation’s 34 accredited tribal colleges and universities, which are located on or near Indian reservations, ensuring students have the tools to graduate and succeed in their careers. The College Fund consistently receives top ratings from independent charity evaluators. It earned a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, a Gold Seal of Transparency from Guidestar, and the “Best in America Seal of Excellence” from the Independent Charities of America. The College Fund was also named as one of the nation’s top 100 charities to the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit www.collegefund.org.
Journalists—The American Indian College Fund does not use the acronym AICF. On second reference, please use the College Fund.
- Amanda Peters
- Book Club Series: The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters