International Rights

Nish: North and South

  • ISBN 9781443197236, Paperback
  • 304 Pages | Ages 10 to 14
The first book in Isabelle Picard’s bestselling coming-of-age series about Innu twins, Léon and Éloïse.

In this acclaimed book, readers meet thirteen-year-old twins Leon and Eloise who live in Matimekush, an Innu community in Northern Quebec.

While Leon spends all his free time playing hockey, and wondering how he can prove he has the talent to make it big in a place with no competition, Eloise works on a school project that opens her mind to the history of her people — their victories and their battles lost.

But when their father gets sick and needs treatment almost 1000 km from home, and someone from their village mysteriously disappears, the twins learn lessons about the fragility of humanity and the dangers of the land they call home.

Rights Sold

Rights available: United States

Selling Points

  • A coming-of-age series with Indigenous children at the centre.
  • There are few indigenous stories aimed middle-grade readers.
  • The author is an ethnologist and journalist and an excellent promoter, fluent in French and English.
  • “Nish” is the Innu word meaning “two” and is also linked to the experience of life as an Indigenous person.

Awards

  • Short-listed, Sundogs, Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award, 2025