• Age: 11 to 13
• Grade: 6 to 8

2020 BPAA Best Illustrated Book Of The Year Award Winner

Pass Me By is an award-winning queer, coming of age, and coming out romance. A five book series starts with Ed, a reserved man recently diagnosed with dementia, living in a small northern Canadian town. As Ed's memory declines he loses touch with the present and spends more time in a past he chose to forget, touring with a glam rock band across Canada in the early 1970s. In Gone Fishin', we are introduced to Ed, a retired man spending his time fishing and ordering the same dishes at the local diner with his close friend Rory. Rocked by a recent dementia diagnosis, Ed attempts to keep a semblance of a normal life. As his health worsens and daily routines become increasingly difficult, his panic begins to grow. Forgetting what he orders every day at the diner, disoriented by a grocery list, lost in familiar spaces, Ed's memories become a faded photograph of a past with the potential to disappear forever.

Kyle Simmers is a Calgary based, Canadian artist and illustrator born and raised in a special kind of Nowhere known as central Alberta. As a freelance illustrator, Kyle has worked on everything from theatrical productions and product design to editorial illustration and large-scale mural projects. Their work explores identity and relationships in the context of gender, queerness, and subjectivity.

Kyle Simmers' profile page

Ryan Danny Owen is a Canadian visual artist, writer, and queer historian currently living and working in Calgary, Alberta. His work responds to questions of identity, love, loss, desire, and emotion. Acting as love letter and protest sign, he examines his body existing in the context of queer genealogy and challenges the concept of coming after.

Ryan Danny Owen's profile page

Simmers Kyle's profile page

• Winner, Book Illustration of the Year Alberta Book Awards

"An inverted coming of age story about understanding queer identity and what happens to the stories you never tell." - Stephanie Chan, Smash Pages

"The publisher calls it "a queer, rural, Canadian, romantic tragedy." I call it delightful. It's gorgeous, clever and perfectly paced, with fully formed characters from the first panel." - Mike Donachie, Toronto Star

"This could likely be one of the strongest literary works regarding queer romance ever published." - Keven Skinner, Fox Force Five

"The pages are heavy with emotion that's simmering just underneath the surface. I'm really excited to see where this goes." - The Turnaround Blog, Pride Month: Graphic Novel Reading

"Truly great. A story worth telling and an honour to read. Pure, modern, Canadiana supplemented with absolutely stunning visuals. Looking forward to the series as it grows. Not a surprise CBC listed it as one of Canada's top 20 comics of 2019!" - Drake McCheyne, Amazon Reviews

"...a compelling story with a fantastic colour scheme to match." - Ann Logan, CBC/I've Read This