Casting An Authentic Voice In Angeline Boulley’s ‘Firekeeper’s Daughter’

Debut author Angeline Boulley crafts a groundbreaking YA thriller in Firekeeper’s Daughter, which follows a Native teen who must root out the corruption in her community, for fans of Angie Thomas and Tommy Orange.

In the audiobook version of Firekeeper’s Daughter, Macmillan Audio wanted to have a Native American actor to honour the perspective of the book and Boulley spoke about the importance of this: “To me, Native voices means more than a book written by a Native author. The story is told by Daunis in present tense, first person POV. The reader is inside Daunis’s head, seeing her world as it unfolds. It’s a powerful Nish kwe voice and calls for a narrator who’s also a strong Native woman.”

For the first time ever, they conducted a public casting all to gather auditions for the audiobook. Through the casting call, they found the perfect actor for the part, Isabella LaBlanc. She had never recorded an audiobook before but was motivated to audition because of the connection she felt to Angeline’s work. LaBlanc spoke about what drew her towards the role:

“As soon as I received the casting call and read the initial clipping of FIREKEEPER’S DAUGHTER, I could hear this story in the voices of the people I come from. I heard my grandmas, grandpas, aunties, uncles, brothers and cousins, all living in Angeline’s words. I could feel the rhythm of our languages, set against the seasons of my Midwestern homelands. I knew immediately that Angeline had created a world that mirrored the one I know and love .”

With LeBlanc cast as the narrator, Boulley reflected on the audition process and what it was like hearing her story come to life with an authentic voice:

“The audition process was beyond what I’d hoped for. I’m thankful Macmillan Audio felt as strongly as I did about Native voices and casting as wide a net as possible for Indigenous narrators. We posted on social media and encouraged Native communities and organizations to share the casting call. The audition samples were incredible and we had many excellent choices. The audition from Isabella LaBlanc captivated me right from the start. She sounded exactly like the Daunis I heard in my head! For me, what took Isabella’s audition to the next level was her Granny June voice — there was a familiar cadence that could’ve come from my tribal community.” 

Firekeeper Daughter releases on March 16th 2021 and if you’re looking forward to the book or audiobook, check out the excerpt below!

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