Creator's Corner: Kim Spencer

February 4, 2026

Interview by Spencer Miller

Photo of Kim Spencer From the Gitxaala Nation and living in northwest BC, Kim Spencer is an award-winning, bestselling author. Her debut novel, Weird Rules To Follow, won multiple awards, including the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, and the Jean Little First-Novel Award.

Here for a Good Time is Kim Spencer's latest novel and her first for young adults. It is also the first novel published by Swift Water Books, a new Indigenous-led imprint in the Tundra Book Group.

Like your previous books, Here for a Good Time is a work of historical fiction set in Prince Rupert. What is it about Prince Rupert that continues to inspire you?

Prince Rupert is a special place. When you step off the airplane in Ts’msyen territory, the first thing you notice is the air. It’s so different. Maybe it’s from all the rain we get—all those calming negative ions in the air. And maybe that transfers over to the people. It's plausible!

We have a rich history and culture in Ts’msyen territory. I enjoy shining a light on life on the beautiful Northwest Coast of British Columbia in ways that might not otherwise be shared.

Here for a Good Time is your first YA novel. How did you adjust to writing for an older audience?

I sometimes feel my content is better suited to an older audience, so it felt like a natural transition. Here For a Good Time was the second book I wrote. I started the Writer’s Studio graduate program at SFU in the fall of 2022. The feedback from my cohort on the first piece I wrote was so encouraging. They thought it read as an older voice, so I quickly leaned into that.

The book addressed many of the challenges and difficult decisions that come with young adulthood. What do you hope readers will take away from Morgan’s story?

The characters in Here For A Good Time flip the narrative. They’re coming from an empowered place. Mainstream society has an idea of what Indigenous people’s lives are like, and this book shares a different take. Nate, for example, is smart, well-read and competent. Skye, while troubled, is quick and funny. Morgan is deep and discerning. And most of the families in the story are financially well-off.

I also want my stories to draw readers back to the why. There’s a painful, complicated history for Indigenous people in this country, and it needs to be shared in easily digestible ways. Through storytelling, you can humanize difficult moments. Lead the reader to places they didn’t see coming. There’s often a reason or cause behind things. I would never write about painful or embarrassing moments in Indigenous peoples' lives without drawing it back to the reasons behind our suffering—the why things are the way they are. This happened, and here is how those traumas impacted us.

The characters in this book come alive; they make mistakes, feel deeply, change and grow. How do you craft characters that feel so alive?

Indigenous people are deep and dynamic. I always aim to highlight those traits. Although the characters in Here For A Good Time are fictionalized, I wrote some lived experience; the characters are blended people, a snippet here, an overheard sentence there. And of course, the characters ended up taking on a life of their own. Even when completely fictionalized, I’d start with someone in mind. Someone I didn’t personally know. It surprised me when the character became so real, even to me. I started to see their physical traits.

David A. Robertson, Swift Water Books’ Editorial Director, praised Here for a Good Time, saying it will “touch the lives of anybody who reads it.” What does it mean to you to be published under this new Indigenous-led imprint?

It’s an honour. Especially for the imprint's inaugural launch (the first book)! I love that David’s vision for children’s books is not only to tell a story but also to educate readers. And he’s talked about the imprint giving back. It’s for new and emerging Indigenous authors and illustrators. It’s breaking down barriers and making publishing more accessible for those who haven’t always had the opportunity. It’s a beautiful concept that aligns with Indigenous ways of giving and generosity.

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