Meet the Authors: Kate Beaton and Morgan Murray


Date: Apr 22
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Where: Theatre

Join Comics artist, Kate Beaton and novelist Morgan Murray who will read from their recent work.

Kate Beaton’s graphic memoir Ducks, which describes her own experiences working in the Alberta Oil Sands, is an indelible portrait of the dirty work – and the workers – that our petromodernity relies on.

With Dirty Birds, Morgan Murray has invented a new genre, the bland picaresque. Its so-so hombre soso, Milton Ontario, travels from Bellybutton, SK to Montreal and rocky points beyond in search of Leonard Cohen, and his misconceived ego ideal.

This is a free program but seating is limited so please reserve your free ticket online or by calling (709)757-8090.

About the Authors:

Kate Beaton was born and raised in Cape Breton. After graduating from Mount Allison University with a double degree in History and Anthropology, she moved to Alberta in search of work that would allow her to pay down her student loans. During the years she spent out West, Beaton began creating webcomics under the name Hark! A Vagrant, quickly drawing a substantial following around the world.

The collections of her landmark strip Hark! A Vagrant and Step Aside, Pops each spent several months on the New York Times graphic novel bestseller list, as well as appearing on best of the year lists from Time, The Washington Post, Vulture, NPR Books, and winning the Eisner, Ignatz Harvey, and Doug Wright Awards. She has also published the picture books King Baby and The Princess and the Pony. Beaton lives in Cape Breton with her family.

Morgan Murray was born and raised on a farm near the same backwoods west-central Alberta village (Caroline) as figure-skating legend Kurt Browning. He now dads, works, plays, writes, and builds all sorts of crooked furniture on a farm in the backwoods of Cape Breton, where he lives with his wife, cartoonist Kate Beaton, their daughter, Mary, Agnes the dog, and Reggie the cat. In between, he has been a farmer, a rancher, a roustabout, a secretary, a reporter, a designer, a Tweeter, a schemer, a variety show host, and a student in Caroline, Calgary, Paris, Prague, Montreal, Chicoutimi, and St. John’s. He has pieces of paper attesting to his competence from the University of Calgary; the University of Economics, Prague; Memorial University of Newfoundland; and a participation ribbon for beef calf showmanship (incomplete) from the Little Britches 4-H Club, Caroline, Alberta. Dirty Birds is his first novel.  

This program is presented in partnership with Memorial University Department of English.

Events & Programs

10:00 am - 12:00 pm
TOTS

Kickstart your weekend by joining us at The Rooms! Spend Saturday mornings with your little ones in our charming Harbour View Room. It's a delightful opportunity for unguided playtime amidst a variety of toys and books tailored for toddlers aged 2 to 4.

There's no need to pre-register; simply pay your admission at The Rooms front desk and then drop in anytime between 10 am and noon and let the weekend festivities commence! 

While the activities are designed for children aged 2 to 4, younger kids are more than welcome. Caregivers are required to accompany their children throughout the session. Our program room can accommodate up to 20 adults with their little ones, but if it's full, caregivers are encouraged to step back momentarily to allow space for others to join in the fun.

The Playdate is included in the cost of admission. Free for Rooms Members. 

With support from Tom and Susan (Kent) Foran Family Foundation.