Willow Dawson

Dawson illustrated the 2008 graphic novel, No Girls Allowed, written by author Susan Hughes and published by Kids Can Press. The book tells several stories of different women across the globe and through history who dressed as men for various reasons. No Girls Allowed has received positive press, including rave reviews on Boing-Boing,[2] National Post,[3] and the School Library Journal.[4]

Dawson was approached by Penguin Canada (through her first agent) to create a historical graphic novel about Nellie McClung, Canada's most outspoken suffragette who is credited with getting women the vote and (along with the other members of "The Famous Five") getting women officially recognized as "persons" under the Act. Since McClung felt that her time on the farm was the underpinning to her political and literary success, Dawson wanted the design of the book to mirror the design aesthetic at the turn of the century during the suffragette's formative years. She created page borders with banners inspired by the covers of 1900s farming catalogues and tiny, moving animals reflecting the theme of each chapter.[5] This book was reviewed in CM Magazine [6] and Quill & Quire [7] and others. This book also received support from the Ontario Arts Council's Writers' Reserve Program.