The 2017 edition of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival is right around the corner, and Pow Pow Press will be debuting a couple of new titles during the event – including the first volume of Sophie Bédard’s Almost Summer.

Sophie Bédard was only nineteen years old when she first started Almost Summer as a webcomic. The series has been nominated twice for a Joe Shuster Award, as well as a Bédélys award and a Bédéis Causa. Sophie’s astute writing eschews traditional drama in favour of a slightly more contemplative take on the teen comedy genre, aiming for something entertaining yet a little more realistic than your average young adult fiction.

Our second book debuting at TCAF this year is Gary, King of the Pick-Up Artists by Alexandre Simard and Luc Bossé – a tightly-written romcom set in Montréal in which the titular character proves he’s anything but the “king of the pick-up artists”. Both Alexandre and Luc, as well as Sophie Bédard, will be present to sign their respective books.

Michel Hellman (Mile End and Nunavik), Francis Desharnais (Art Wars) as well as Cathon and Alexandre Fontaine Rousseau (Vampire Cousins) will also be at the Toronto Public Library during the weekend. If not, you can probably catch Catherine and Alexandre at Sneaky Dee’s – where they will be eating mexican food as part of their “Scott Pilgrim Reality Tour”.

Here’s the complete schedule, including appearances by Meags Fitzgerald (Longs cheveux roux) and François Vigneault (Titan).

Saturday

9AM to 10AM : Cathon + Alex FR + Francis + Sophie
10AM to 11AM : Cathon + Alex FR + Francis + Sophie
11AM to NOON : Meags + Sophie
NOON to 1PM : Meags + François
1PM to 2PM : Meags + François
2PM to 3PM : Alex S + Luc + François
3PM to 4PM : Alex S + Luc + Michel
4PM to 5PM : Alex S + Luc + Michel

Sunday

10AM to 11AM : Alex S + Luc + Michel
11AM to NOON : Alex S + Luc + Michel
NOON to 1PM : François + Michel
1PM to 2PM : François + Sophie
2PM to 3PM : Cathon + Alex FR + Francis + Sophie
3PM to 4PM : Cathon + Alex FR + Francis + Meags
4PM to 5PM : Cathon + Alex FR + Francis + Meags