Toronto’s Dumagrad Books has acquired Edwin, a meditation on aging by award-winning Montreal childrens’ author and illustrator Roslyn Schwartz. The 64 page hardcover will be released in December.

Schwartz is best-known as the creator of the beloved childrens’ series The Mole Sisters, but has moved to the other end of the age spectrum with her latest work. In spare prose, Edwin addresses the reality of mental decline and the losses we experience, cycling several times through an incantation of woes. Schwartz’s illustrations, a mixed-media blend of photography, drawing, and collage, vibrate with the emotions of the cork-and-wire protagonist.

Schwartz created Edwin out of her frustration as a caregiver in locating books that respected the dignity of persons with dementia or Alzheimers. She soon discovered that friends of all ages found the work moving and entertaining, despite the inherent sadness of Edwin’s story -- although it’s true that all his sorrows notwithstanding, the irrepressible creature finds his own special redemption in Schwartz’s mindful meditation.

About Roslyn Schwartz

Roslyn Schwartz is the author of numerous illustrated books for children, including the Mole Sisters series, published in Canada by Annick and in a dozen international markets. The Mole Sisters was also brought to life as an animated series for TreehouseTV. A past winner of the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Children, Ros currently produces a regular feature for OWL Kids, The Vole Brothers. She lives in Montreal.

About Dumagrad Books

Dumagrad (“city of words”) is a small press founded in 2015. Its successes have included Svetlana Lilova’s illustrated poetry collection Metaphysical Dictionary and Canadian animator Graham Falk’s postcard colouring book, City Colour. Dumagrad is online at wordcity.ca.

Edwin
Roslyn Schwartz
978-1-988887-04-3
5.5” h x 5.5” w
64 pp, Hardcover
$12.95 Cdn (projected)
Publication date: Dec 2019

Distributed in Canada by LitDistCo