Julie Flett studied fine arts at Concordia University in Montreal and Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver. She won the Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Literature for her work on When We Were Alone and On the Trapline , both by David Robertson, and her book Birdsong won the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award. She is the three-time recipient of the Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Award for Owls See Clearly at Night: A Michif Alphabet , Dolphin SOS and My Heart Fills With Happiness . Julie is Cree and Métis and lives in Cochrane, Alberta.