With the Christmas shopping rush underway, NorthWords NWT launched its own version for the public on Nov. 25: a book fair at the Yellowknife Visitor Centre.
“It’s inspired by the classic Scholastic book fair, but this one’s a little more, maybe not so much focused on adults, because there’s lots of kids books as well,” said Amber Henry, vice-president of NorthWords NWT.
The event, which saw its biggest turnout for vendors yet, aimed to bring nostalgia back to adult Christmas shoppers while also catering to children.
The fair showcased a wide range of works by Northern authors, both traditionally and self-published. The collection included children’s books, memoirs, photography books, graphic novels and books in French. Fantasy novels and memoirs were also well-represented.
Henry brought two children’s books that she authored to the fair. One of them, A Ptarmigan and a Birch Tree, is a parody of the Twelve Days of Christmas but set in the North, published in 2016. The other, Northern Princess, published in 2021, is a story about a girl who goes on adventures around Niven Lake Trail. Both books are completely fictional, with Northern Princess inspired by Henry’s own fantasy of slowing down the onset of winter.
She said the Northern Book Fair proved to be a celebration of Northern talent, offering a beautiful assortment of works from about 20 different authors. The event was a testament to the rich literary culture in the North, featuring a variety of genres including plays, poems, photography, graphic novels, children’s novels, fantasy novels and guidebooks.
Jay Bulckaert and Erika Nyyssonen — husband and wife and co-writers of the graphic novel King Warrior — were among the authors at the event.
“Jay was inspired to tell a story about a relationship between a father and his son, and then, Yellowknife has inspired so much,” said Nyyssonen. “We love it here .Jay has lived here now for 20 years. I grew up here, and so we wanted to bring different elements that we love into the story and part of it is like also my Finnish heritage and this ptarmigan here is really like embodying that Finnish spirit.”
The story takes a turn when the father meets with a terrible accident, prompting the young boy, Afrah, to transition from being the prince warrior to the king warrior. He must save his family. The graphic novel is a celebration of childhood imagination and wonder, incorporating elements of martial arts, the Arctic and the diverse ethnicities that make up Yellowknife.
The novel was initially written as a movie script, but due to the high costs involved, it was condensed into a graphic novel format. The artwork is credited to illustrator Luke Green, whom Bulckaert describes as a genius. Halima Muhammad, a resident of Yellowknife who came from Somalia, served as their cultural consultant.
The literary work is filled with elements tied to the NWT capital. It includes references to McDonald Drive, where Bulckaert and Nyyssonen lived when they wrote the novel; the Navigator Hotel; and the Snow Castle, which appears as a fantastical larger version in the graphic novel.