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HighWater Press is pleased to invite you to the release of A Blanket of Butterflies, Volume 1 in The Spirit of Denendeh series

About the event

Join us for a virtual panel and hear from author Richard Van Camp, illustrator Scott B. Henderson, and colourist Donovan Yaciuk.

Hosted by CBC Radio's Loren McGinnis

This free event will be streamed live via Zoom

Thursday, October 27, 2022

at 5:00PM PT/8:00PM ET

REGISTER HERE

About the book

No one knows how a suit of samurai armour ended up in the Fort Smith museum. When a mysterious stranger turns up to claim it, Sonny, a young Tłı̨chǫ Dene boy, is eager to help.

Shinobu has travelled to Fort Smith, NWT, to reclaim his grandfather’s samurai sword and armour. But when he discovers that the sword was lost in a poker game, he must confront the man known as Benny the Bank. Along the way, Shinobu must rely on unlikely heroes—Sonny, his grandmother, and a visitor from the spirit world. Together, they face Benny and his men, including the giant they call Flinch.

Will Shinobu be able to regain the lost sword and, with it, his family’s honour? Can Sonny and his grandmother help Shinobu while keeping the peace in their community?

Now in full colour, this new edition includes additional background information and cultural context. Learn about the real-life inspiration behind the story and the intersections between Indigenous and Japanese Canadian experiences during the Second World War.

About the host

Loren McGinnis is the host of The Trailbreaker on CBC North Radio One in the Northwest Territories, Western Nunavut and Northern Alberta. The show goes out Monday to Friday, bright (or dark) and early, depending on the season. Loren joined the team at CBC North as a reporter in 2007 and started hosting the morning show in April, 2013.

Living and working in the North has changed everything for Loren. There is an ideal upheld by Northern First Nations: to be strong like two people - to be rooted in traditional culture, values and practice and to be adept in modern society. Wrestling with that ideal is at the heart of The Trailbreaker and at the heart of Loren's work. The program is a daily reflection of the challenges and successes of a territory striving to have the strength of two.

Outside of work, Loren is an amateur comedian, a camp fire storyteller and a happily inept fisherman.

About the panelists

Richard Van Camp (he/him/his) is a proud member of the Tlicho Nation from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. He is the author of more than 25 books including The Lesser Blessed (also a feature film), the Eisner Award–nominated graphic novel A Blanket of Butterflies (with Scott B. Henderson), and Three Feathers (also a feature film). He is a contributor to the groundbreaking graphic novel anthology This Place: 150 Years Retold. Richard is also the author of five collections of short stories, including Night Moves, and six baby books, including the award-winning Little You (with Julie Flett).

Scott B. Henderson (he/him/his) is author/artist of the sci-fi/fantasy comic The Chronicles of Era and has illustrated select titles in the Tales From Big Spirit series, as well as the A Girl Called Echo, The Reckoner Rises, and 7 Generations series. He is also the artist for AIYLA Honour Book Fire Starters, Eisner Award–nominee A Blanket of Butterflies, and select stories in This Place: 150 Years Retold. In 2016, he was the recipient of the C4 Central Canada Comic Con Storyteller Award. Find Scott on social media with @ouroboros09.

Since 1998, Donovan Yaciuk (he/him/his) has done colouring work on books published by Marvel, DC, Dark Horse comics, and HighWater Press including the A Girl Called Echo and The Reckoner Rises series, as well as select stories in This Place: 150 Years Retold. Donovan holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) from the University of Manitoba and began his career as a part of the legendary, now-defunct Digital Chameleon colouring studio. He lives in Winnipeg, MB Canada, with his wife and two daughters.