Almost Summer 1

Sophie Bédard completed studies in graphic design before launching her breakthrough webcomic Almost Summer at just 19 years old. She then went on to earn a BA in sexology prior to starting Lonely Boys, winner of the Doug Wright Award for Best Book in 2021. She lives in Montreal with her cat Jacques and hopes that obtaining a degree will not become a prerequisite for every new book she writes.

Helge Dascher has for 25 years translated texts with a dynamic relationship to images. A background in art history and literature has grounded her translation of over sixty graphic novels, many by artists who have broadened the medium's storytelling range. Her translations included acclaimed titles such as Julie Delporte's This Woman's Work (co-translated with Aleshia Jensen, Drawn and Quarterly, 2019), Sophie Bédard's Lonely Boys (co-translated with Robin Lang, Pow Pow Press, 2020) and Michel Rabagliati's "Paul" books (Drawn and Quarterly, Conundrum). She also translates exhibitions, digital stories, and films, most recently Theodor Ushev's The Physics of Sorrow (with Karen Houle, NFB, 2019). A Montrealer, she works from French and German to English.

Robin Lang has been co-translating graphic novels for Pow Pow Press alongside Helge Dascher since 2017. Most recently she was lead translator on The Jellyfish, by Boum (Samantha Leriche-Gionet), The Adventures of Sgoobidoo, by Cathon, and Lonely Boys by Sophie Bédard, winner of the 2021 Doug Wright award for best book. Other works she has co-translated include The Pineapples of Wrath by Cathon, and the Almost Summer series by Sophie Bédard. Robin runs a cut-flower farm in the Eastern Townships during the growing season and translates from French to English in the winter. She thoroughly enjoys the intricacies involved in translating graphic novels and draws great satisfaction from helping these stories reach new readers.