DRAW ME A SUN

Félix Girard

Having grown up in a family of painters, I started drawing at a very young age and never stopped. At the age of eighteen, I had the opportunity to spend a full year in Europe practicing my art, thanks to an agreement with a Quebec patron. After this year in Europe, I pursued studies in architecture in order to discover a new field and to acquire a university education focused on the creative process. I set out to work entirely on my own as a painter and illustrator. In recent years, I have held dozens of exhibitions in various venues in Quebec, Ontario, and Europe. I have taken part in numerous artistic events, including the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition (2016), Puces Pop Montréal (2017), and more. I have also had the opportunity to work as an illustrator on several large-scale projects as an advertising campaign for Jay Peak Vermont in 2017 (TV spot, banners, and posters created from my illustrations). I also have about ten published titles as an illustrator with various publishing houses in Quebec, Ontario, and Europe.

Mireille Levert

A graduate in Fine Arts from UQAM, Mireille Levert works in children’s literature. First recognized for her tender and whimsical illustrations in the Jérémie et Mme Ming series, she went on to write and illustrate her own texts. She has twice won the Governor General’s Award of Canada for her illustrations. With Quand j’écris avec mon cœur, she chose a new path, embracing poetry for both her writing and her illustrations. For her, from then on, every day became a poem, received through her eyes, ears, and heart. The picture book was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award of Canada and for the TD Award. Her second poetry picture book, Un jour je bercerai la terre, celebrates the fragile beauty of the planet. She enjoys sharing with children, both young and older, the joy of creating through words and images.

Paul Roux

Author and illustrator of more than 210 books, Paul Roux has been writing and drawing all his life. He collaborates regularly with Quebec and Canadian publishers. Highly active and passionate, he has played a major role in the development of comic art, both in the Outaouais region and across Quebec. Since the creation of the only bachelor’s degree in comics in Canada, which he helped establish, he has been teaching at the Université du Québec en Outaouais. He also founded and directed the Rendez-vous international de la BD de Gatineau for 10 years. Recipient of numerous awards and grants, he received the prestigious Joe Shuster Award in 2012 for Les toiles mystérieuses, recognized as the best children’s comic book of the year in Canada. In 2018 and 2019, his novel Gladiateurs virtuels won back-to-back the Prix littéraire jeunesse Le Droit and the Prix Tamarac, awarded by the Ontario Library Association. Tireless, Paul Roux loves taking on challenges and exploring new genres. With equal pleasure, he continually shifts between the novel, comics, picture books, and the graphic novel.

Anne Villeneuve

For the past thirty years, Anne Villeneuve has written and illustrated for children and adults. Her books have won her many awards, including the Governor General’s Award and the Prix Québec-Wallonie-Bruxelles. She has created several children’s albums, book covers, magazine illustrations and murals. In 2017, she published Une longue canicule, her first comic strip. Since then, she has been exploring the world of 9th art with great joy and curiosity ; in 2023, she published Cap Égalité, a children’s comic strip produced in collaboration with the Conseil du statut de la femme to mark the organization’s 50th anniversary.

Nahid Kazemi

Nahid Kazemi is an award-winning illustrator, author, and visual artist with 20 years of experience in publication. She has published over 70 children’s books in Canada, the US, Europe, the UK, China, and Iran. Her work is inspired by her personal life, Persian stories, classics like 1001 Nights, and Rumi’s poetry. She has received the Governor General’s Literary Award in Canada and has been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. She combines personal and cultural themes in her stories, creating a bridge among nations.
Some of her publications include Shahrzad & the Angry King; Over the Rooftops, Under the Moon; Teddy, Let’s Go!; The Sour Cherry Tree; Zia’s Story; The Old Woman; Just Bea; and I’m Glad that You Are Happy.

Marie Lafrance

Marie Lafrance has spent her whole life drawing pictures, at first to keep from biting her nails, then for magazines, newspapers, posters, billboards, board games and the likes. She also illustrated tons of educational books, and eventually segued into picture books.
She studied Graphic Arts and Etching, worked as a printmaker and eventually started illustrating, a career which is not really a career as much as a lifestyle, so she basically lives in her studio, cooking up characters.

Josée Bisaillon

Josée Bisaillon est une illustratrice et autrice originaire de St-Hyacinthe, au Québec.
Depuis 2005, elle a illustré plus de 50 albums jeunesse et son travail est reconnu et primé
autant sur la scène nationale qu’internationale.
Son style se distingue par l’utilisation d’une technique mixte intégrant une multitude de
médiums, dont le collage, le dessin, la gouache et le montage numérique.
Son travail l’amène aussi à donner des conférences et ateliers, autant pour les enfants que pour
les adultes, partageant ainsi sa passion pour l’illustration et la littérature jeunesse.

Christine Sioui Wawanoloath

Of Abenaki and Wendat heritage, Christine Sioui Wawanoloath was born in 1952 in Wendake, her father’s community. When he passed away a few weeks after her birth, her mother returned to her own family in Odanak with her three children. Sioui Wawanoloath spent her childhood there, in a family of artisans where creativity and the arts were ever-present. Later, she attended the renowned Manitou College, the first Indigenous college in Quebec, where she studied art, photography, and history, continuing these studies in Montreal.
For four decades, she has dedicated herself to illustration with remarkable consistency, creating images for various publications, Indigenous events, and campaigns of all kinds. As a visual artist, she has taken part in numerous exhibitions. She is also the author of children’s tales and plays. Her publications include Natanis (Le Loup de Gouttière, 2005), L’ours et la femme venus des étoiles (Cornac, 2009), Nanibôssad ôtloka / La lune raconte / Moon’s Tales (Éditions Hannenorak, 2011), and Noki (Éditions Hannenorak, 2017). Her story Le clan des oiseaux was adapted for the stage by the Orchestre symphonique de Québec as part of Quebec City’s 400th anniversary celebrations.
Deeply inspired by Wendat and Abenaki legends, but also by the broader mythological heritage of humanity, her works carry both light and magic.