Northwords

by Sarah Leavitt, Alissa York, Noah Richler

Northwords is a cross-platform project that takes urban Canadian writers Joseph Boyden, Sarah Leavitt, Rabindranth Maharaj, Noah Richler, and Alissa York to some of the world's most extreme environments, to join the conversation about the north.



Introduced by award-winning journalist and radio personality Shelagh Rogers, Northwords is a collection of stories written by acclaimed Canadian authors as they experienced one of Canada's most awe-inspiring northern national parks Torngat Mountains National Park, the country's newest national park, and a place steeped in geological and human history. The cross-platform project, which includes a documentary film that follows the authors as they explored the harsh and stunning terrain, had adventures, and created these new works, adds to the continuing story of the North. The stories explore the idea of the North, and what happens when the country's best writers tackle its most overwhelmingly beautiful places.



Taking advantage of opportunities presented by transmedia integration, users can experience the stories in the writers' own words through Anansi Digital, as well as learn more about their processes and what inspired them through interactive content. Users will have access to film and audio content, and together, these related media will create a larger story web, allowing the audience to truly immerse themselves in the sights, sounds, and stories of the North.

Genres: Nonfiction

54 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

Sarah Leavitt is the author of the graphic memoir Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer’s, My Mother, and Me (2010), and the historical graphic novel Agnes, Murderess (2019).

Tangles was published in Canada, the US, UK, Germany, France, and Korea. It was the first comic to be a finalist for the Writers’ Trust Non-Fiction Prize, was a Globe and Mail best book of the year, and is currently in development as a feature-length animation with Vancouver-based Giant Ant Media and a US production company. Tangles has been included in a number of exhibitions, notably at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum and the National Library of Medicine. Tangles is part of the curricula in both health and literature courses from Canada to the UK to India.

Agnes, Murderess represents quite a departure from Tangles — Sarah describes it as historical fiction with a touch of horror. It all started when Sarah was visiting a small historical site in the Cariboo and found a pamphlet about a nineteenth-century serial killer. This led to nine years of research, writing and drawing, as she figured out how to tell the story of Agnes McVee, an historical figure who maybe never really existed.

Sarah has developed and taught comics classes for the UBC Creative Writing Program since 2012, where she is stealthily working on converting as many writing students as possible into comics makers.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 2011, Shelagh Rogers (of CBC fame) chose five urban Canadian writers to travel with her to northernmost Labrador, to Torngat Mountain National Park. They spent a week there and were tasked with each writing a short story on their experience there. I enjoyed Joseph Boyden’s and Noah Richler’s stories the most. There is a documentary about this lurking out there somewhere. The stories could have used some decent editing.

[Jodie Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed hearing each author read their story in this interactive e-book. It was a great way to pass a blizzardy morning here in Kuujjuaq.

I particularly enjoyed Joseph Boyden's piece about Nanook, and Noah Richler's take on the waiver (a similar one, I signed on a trip into Kuururjuaq National Park at the foot of the Torngats).

I love the concept of this book, and would love to read/hear more stories inspired by experiences like this.

[Garth Mailman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of stories inspired by a trip to Torngat Mountains National Park in Northern Quebec. Some of the stories could use a bit more editing, all give each author’s take on the experience but I’d rather have a chance to view the film footage taken of the park while the group was there.

[Vivek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection of short stories that provide a taste of the countryside and culture.