Friday, August 8, 2025
4:30 PM to 6:00 PM
Central Library
800 3rd Street SE
Under the Arch (outside the front doors)
FREE
Please join us for this WGA collaboration with the Calgary Public Library on their series, Gathering of Words! This special event will highlight graphic novels and comic books, featuring readings and a Q&A with local authors R. Overwater, Kat Simmers, and Teresa Wong! Hosted by Ashley Frerichs. More details on registration will be available soon on the Calgary Public Library website here.
About the Presenters
Rick Overwater is a Calgary-based comic creator, fiction author, and songwriter. His graphic novel Futility: Orange Planet Horror was a 2019 Aurora Award nominee, and his work appears in several award-nominated anthologies. He holds a Master’s in Creative Writing from UBC and is a certified writing instructor. His recent works include The Dim Beneath the Lights, Son of a Bullfighter’s Ghost, and Sky Devil and the Haunted Air. Rick blends prose, comics, and music in his storytelling and is represented by Stacey Kondla of The Rights Factory. More at overwater.ca
Kat Simmers is a trans woman, artist, author, and muralist working in comic media and street art rto create community connections through visual media. Born and raised in a special kind of nowhere — Bashaw, Alberta (pop. 830) — Simmers experienced firsthand the intersection of queer and rural life. More at katsimmers.com
Teresa Wong is author of the acclaimed graphic memoirs All Our Ordinary Stories and Dear Scarlet, both finalists for the City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize and longlisted for CBC Canada Reads. Her comics have appeared in The Believer, The New Yorker, McSweeney’s and The Walrus. A teacher of memoir and comics at Gotham Writers Workshop, she was also the 2021–22 Canadian Writer-in-Residence at the University of Calgary. More at byteresawong.com