The Cine Star Salon

by Leah Ranada

Sophia is pulled between the life she imagines, the life her parents imagine, and what the world has in store for her.

Philippine-born Vancouverite Sophia is most grateful for two things: her modest hair salon and Adrian, her mild-mannered fiancé. She is eager to get married, move away from her highly educated but career-frustrated parents, who believe that their daughter can be so much more than a beautician. Then Sophia’s estranged friend reaches out from Manila, desperate for help. After a dubious accident, her fiery Auntie Rosy is on the verge of losing the Cine Star Salon—the place where Sophia first felt the call to become a hairstylist and salon owner. Coming to her auntie’s aid is not so easy though. Sophia worries helping might reopen old wounds and threaten the bright future she has planned. Leah Ranada’s debut novel is a graphic and engaging depiction of the importance of women’s work and the loyalties that connect friends across oceans. Recalling the work of Doretta Lau, Alex Leslie, and Lauralyn Chow, The Cine Star Salon marks the entry of a vital new voice in Canadian literature.

Trade Paperback / October 1, 2021 ISBN 10: 1-77439-032-9

ISBN 13: 978-177439-032-0

BISAC 1: FIC054000 BISAC 2: FIC082000 BISAC 3: FIC051000 200 pp / 5.5 x 8.5 / $21.95 cdn $17.95 usd

Part of the Nunatak First Fiction Series, Canada’s longest-running debut fiction series. Notable Nunatak titles include Chorus of Mushrooms by Hiromi Goto; Icefields by Thomas Wharton; Dance, Gladys, Dance by Cassie Stocks; The Shore Girl by Fran Kimmel; and Molly of the Mall by Heidi L.M. Jacobs.

About The Author

Leah Ranada was born in Davao City, raised in Metro Manila, and moved to Vancouver in 2006. She attended The Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University in 2013. Her writing has appeared in Room Magazine, Sta. Ana River Review, Scarlet Leaf Literary Review, and elsewhere. Leah has brought her administrative and editorial skills to legal, settlement services, and academic workplaces. She lives in New Westminster and blogs at leahranada.com.

ADDITIONAL SALES POINTS

• Book will appeal to those who enjoy diaspora and Asian Canadian fiction. • Setting of the book, hair salons, is a place readers have experienced but have not read about in Canadian literature.

MARKETING PLAN

• Early ARC and international press release mailout. • Announcement of book’s release by email newsletter and on the NeWest Press Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages. • Podcast reading/interview posted on Apple Podcasts, RSS feed, Facebook, and NeWest website. • Press releases and review mailouts to various CBC outlets across the nation, both radio and television. • Ads in Glass Buffalo, Prairie Books NOW, Prairie Fire, PRISM international, Read Alberta Books (Alberta Views), subTerrain, and the ULS Super Forthcoming Catalogue. • Online Zoom launch, and eventual in-person launches in Vancouver. • Submit to all eligible awards.

MARKETS

• National trade: Asian Canadian and literary fiction • US and UK trade: Asian Canadian and literary fiction • Vancouver, BC, and Manila.

COMPARISON TITLES

• Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim (978-1-984803-25-2, Penguin Random House, 2019) • Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez (978-1-55156-77-5, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2017) • Belinda’s Rings by Corinna Chong (978-1-927063-27-9, NeWest Press, 2013)