Artist, graphic novelist, and comic creator Kate Beaton is a hit with audiences of all ages. The Wordfest millennial crew will fondly recall her webcomic Hark! A Vagrant, and we’ll hazard a guess that you’ve read her epic graphic novel Ducks. Now she’s back with Shark Girl, which the School Library Journal called “a relevant and redemptive tale of hope in the darkest of times, with gregarious graphics to satisfy kids and a message to break even the most callous adult’s bitter shell.” And when cartoonist and author Gabrielle Drolet listed Beaton as one of her top inspirations this spring at her Wordfest Youth show, we knew she’d be the perfect host.