• The Blue Road is a beautiful and timely young adult graphic novel about the plight of the migrant. The text is by acclaimed African Canadian poet and prose writer Wayde Compton and illustrations by Filipino Canadian artist April dela Nocha Milne.

• The Blue Road takes the form of a dream-like myth in which a young girl named Luna finds herself alone, homeless, and with no memory of her family. She lives in a swamp but embarks on a trip to the fabled Northern Kingdom, where she hopes to find people who look like her. But in order to arrive there, she must traverse the dangerous and forbidding Blue Road and its unsympathetic border guard.

• The book has obvious parallels with the ongoing migrant crisis in the US, and the divisive politics that have torn apart families and reinforced a culture split between the haves and have-nots.

• The book is based on a prose story that appeared in Wayde debut poetry book published 20 years ago, in 1999 (49th Parallel Psalm) but is relevant now more than ever. It was written then as an alternative viewpoint of black migration to Canada from the 19th century onward from a child's perspective; the current situation in the US inspired Wayde to revise the story and transform it into a graphic novel that his daughter (in her early teens) could read.

• The Blue Road is positioned as a YA graphic novel (12 and up). We had considered marketing this as a middle grade book but feel that would preclude older teens from reading it since kids tend to read higher than the proposed age range.

• The book will be marketed to both YA and adult readers.

• A digital blad will be available and shared with CBSD reps. Physical copies will be mailed to reps.

• Publicity by Beth Parker, who has handled many of our graphic titles.