Imagination – Writing for Different Formats

Writing takes many forms, each with their own challenges. Comic book writer and illustrator Boum, memoir writer and illustrator Rachel Deutsch, and epic poem writer Mary Thaler will discuss the ins and outs of writing for their respective medium, from delights to challenges without forgetting the inevitable surprises that come from putting pen to paper.

The Authors

Credit: Prune Paycha

Boum was born in Montreal in 1985. She holds a college diploma and a bachelor’s degree in Traditional Animation and her animated shorts travel all over the world. Since 2011, however, she has been devoting herself to comics. She is the author of Boumeries (Glénat Québec) and A Small Revolution (Soaring Penguin Press), among others. The original French version of her latest book, The Jellyfish (Pow Pow), has won several awards and nominations, including the Bédéis Causa―Grand Prix Québec BD 2023 and the Prix des libraires du Québec―Bande dessinée québécoise 2024. She has a husband, two daughters, two cats, and a very long to-do list.

Credit: Marie-Eve_Rompre

Rachel Deutsch’s writing, cartoons, and illustrations have appeared in publications including The New Yorker, PRISM, The Pinch, McSweeney’s, Mother Tongue, Mutha Magazine and in ParentData, the popular newsletter by Emily Oster, the author of Expecting Better. Deutsch is known for bringing honesty and humour to tough parenting moments. Her first book, The Mother: A Graphic Memoir will come in 2025 with Douglas and McIntyre.

Credit: Lindsay Müller

Mary Thaler lives in Quebec City. Formerly an oceanographic researcher, she now works as a scientific editor, translator, writer, and zine-maker. She is author and illustrator of numerous comic zines tackling subjects such as housing precarity in the Canadian Arctic, writing craft, and the fictional adventures of mutant lab animals. As well as being active in the indie comic scene, Mary has written many short stories appearing magazines such as Orca Literary, Prairie Fire, and The New Quarterly. Her verse novella, Ulfhildr was published by Untimely Books in Autumn 2023. You can find her work online at marythaler.wordpress.com

Moderator: Linda Morra

With the contribution of Pow Pow Press and Douglas & McIntyre.