Fiona Smyth Interviewed by RM Vaughan, Plus Live Performance and Comic Jam
Readers, writers, and artists celebrate the debut of Fiona Smyth’s first graphic novel for young readers, The Never Weres (Annick Press), as art critic for the Globe and Mail, RM Vaughan joins author and illustrator Fiona Smyth for a conversation about her vivid career. Audience members of all ages are invited to grab Sharpies and doodle a panel for the event’s collective drawings/comics jam and watch as narrators bring a chapter of The Never Weres to life against a changing backdrop of the book’s illustrations.
Sunday, March 13
The Gladstone Hotel Ballroom
1214 Queen Street West
Doors open at 2 pm; Event starts at 2:30 pm
Admission is $5 or Free with book purchase
I have been watching, collecting, writing about, and loving Fiona's work for 20 years. “The Never Weres” is the latest installment in a long, beautifully strange career.
– R.M. Vaughan, the Globe and Mail art critic
THE NEVER WERES:
Cartoonist Fiona Smyth shares the story about three teens who become humanity’s only hope for survival in this science fiction, fantasy graphic novel.
Late in the next century, the human race is on the verge of extinction. A mysterious virus has resulted in no births in almost a generation. Despite the impending doom, three urban teenagers try to live their lives with hope.
Mia strives to preserve humanity’s compassion through her art and her volunteer work with the “oldies.” Tech-savvy Xian spends her time tinkering with the robots she’s sure will inherit the earth. Jesse, the son of geneticists, is convinced the future lies with cloning, but society is reeling from the grotesque failures of previous attempts. When the friends stumble upon the 60-year-old mystery of a missing girl, it leads them to the world’s only successful clone—and the key to saving our species.
As graphic novels continue to increase in popularity, this story uses the form to its best advantage in depicting a dystopian future as visually detailed as it is emotionally rich. Fiona Smyth’s energetic, hip illustration style will appeal to kids while the gripping narrative will keep them breathless to the very last page. For more information about the book, visit www.theneverweres.blogspot.com.
FIONA SMYTH is a Toronto-based artist and illustrator whose work has been published across North America. Her art has been shown in galleries and appears in such unlikely places as nightclubs and health food stores. The Never Weres is her first graphic novel for young readers. For more information about Fiona, visit her website www.fionasmyth.com and check out weekly drawings Cheez at www.artpost-cheez.blogspot.com.
RM VAUGHAN is a Toronto-based writer and video artist originally from New Brunswick. He is the author of eight books and a contributor to over 50 anthologies. His videos and short films play in galleries and festivals across Canada and around the world. Vaughan comments on art and culture for a wide variety of publications and writes a weekly visual arts column for The Globe and Mail. Visit www.rmvaughan.ca for more information.
This Is Not A Reading Series (TINARS) offers a ground-breaking theatrical dimension to the appreciation of fine writing. Employing music, comedy, psychodrama, dance, multimedia performance, lectures, dialogue—everything but reading—TINARS investigates the creative process behind literary works.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Publisher Contact: Brigitte Waisberg, Marketing Manager at Annick Press, brigittew@annickpress.com, 416-221-4802, ext. 17
This Is Not A Reading Series Contact: Anna Withrow, awithrow@rogers.com, 416.805.2174
