May 29, 2017 – Toronto – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
Firefly Books and the National Film Board of Canada would like to announce their joint partnership. Firefly Books will be the official book publisher of the NFB.
In the tradition of the NFB’s creative and innovative cinematic storytelling, Firefly’s National Film Board of Canada Collection will be a series of celebrated animated films, documentary films, and media projects adapted for the printed page. This collection will be a rich resource for both entertainment and education, and the partnership with the NFB is an exciting opportunity to bring iconic Canadian productions and creators to new audiences worldwide.
The National Film Board of Canada has a distinguished 78-year history and has made more than 13,000 animated films, documentaries, fiction features, and interactive productions, which have won more than 5,000 awards, including 74 Academy Award® nominations and 12 wins.
“Firefly has been distributing and publishing children’s books since 1980, and this is one of the best developments in our history,” says Lionel Koffler, President of Firefly Books. “We’re proud to be linked to the work of this important institution and the animators, filmmakers, and writers who have so many works and awards to their credit.”
The inaugural program commences this fall with the publication of two children’s books adapted from Oscar®-nominated NFB animated films, The Cat Came Back by Cordell Barker and My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts by Torill Kove. It continues with the publication of George Hunter’s Canada: Iconic Images from Canada’s Most Prolific Photographer, which is an adaptation from the photo essay Legacies 150 – George Hunter. This book showcases the work of a pioneering photojournalist who documented Canada and its people over a long career.
“It’s tremendously exciting to see these adaptations of great NFB works. The NFB has always been about telling timeless Canadian stories, in all genres, and for people of all ages—working with some of the country’s finest creative talents. These new Firefly editions will give these visions a bold new life on the printed page, proving that strong, authentic storytelling can work in any and all genres, when handled with passion and care. We look forward to partnering with Firefly to bring new and classic NFB works—capturing the richness, uniqueness and diversity of Canada—to new formats and ever-wider audiences,” said Claude Joli-Cœur, NFB Chairperson.
Whether discovering a much-loved classic for the first time or interacting with a favourite film in a new and exciting way, readers will be delighted with the thought-provoking stories and inventive presentations of the National Film Board of Canada Collection made available by Firefly Books.
Additional Information:
The Cat Came Back by Cordell Barker is a timeless classic loved by all ages. It was nominated for an Academy Award® in 1989, and won 16 other awards.
My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts by Torill Kove was nominated for an Academy Award® in 2000 and went on to win 17 other awards. Torill Kove is an Oscar® winner for her story The Danish Poet.
George Hunter’s Canada: Iconic Images from Canada’s Most Prolific Photographer documents the incredible 70- year career of photographer George Hunter who crossed Canada more than 100-times on his photographic expeditions. His is a portrait of a young country maturing into an industrial force; a landscape as shaped by the people.
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Media Relations
For Firefly Books
Melissa Zilberberg
Director of Publicity
Firefly Books, Ltd.
416-499-8412 x 128
E-mail: melissa@fireflybooks.com
For the NFB
Nadine Viau
NFB Publicist
Tel. : 514-496-4486
Cell. : 514-458-9745
n.viau@nfb.ca
Lily Robert
Director, Communications and Public Affairs, NFB
Tel.: 514-283-3838
Cell: 514-296-8261
l.robert@nfb.ca
About Firefly Books
Firefly Books Ltd., established in 1977, is a North American publisher and distributor of non-fiction books for adults and children. Firefly Books is dedicated to publishing beautifully produced and useful books about wildlife conservation, practical science, healthy living, and stimulating content for young minds with a particular strength in natural history, astronomy, gardening, cookbooks, health, pictorial books, reference books (especially for children) and sports. Firefly Books is proud to have published books as diverse as Robert Munsch and Sheila McGraw’s sentimental favorite, Love You Forever (over 29 million copies in print in North America), and the best introduction to amateur astronomy available, Terence Dickinson’s Nightwatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe (Fourth Edition: Revised and Expanded for Use Through 2025).
About the NFB
The NFB is Canada’s public producer of award-winning creative documentaries, auteur animation, and groundbreaking interactive stories, installations and participatory experiences. NFB producers are deeply embedded in communities across the country, working with talented artists and creators in production studios from St. John’s to Vancouver, on projects that stand out for their excellence in storytelling, their innovation, and their social resonance. NFB productions have won over 5,000 awards, including 18 Canadian Screen Awards, 17 Webbys, 12 Oscars and more than 90 Genies. To access many of these works, visit NFB.ca or download the NFB’s apps for mobile devices and connected TV.