2 minute read
I (Athena
by Ruth DyckFehderau
Wrongfully institutionalized for over thirty years due to a misdiagnosis by a small town doctor, Athena is finally free to live her life, but what life will she chose?
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When Athena was a young girl in the 60s, she lost her hearing to a childhood fever but was misdiagnosed as “profoundly retarded” and institutionalized for thirty years. Now she’s out of the institution, awkward and bookish, and learning to integrate with mainstream society where nothing works quite like she thinks it should. Athena researches her past, trying to understand why she was institutionalized in the first place and why the people looking after her made such a huge mistake. At the same time, she tries to find a way to live with the man who was her lover in the institution, uncovering all sorts of surprises along the way.
Funny, tough, and serious-minded, Ruth DyckFehderau’s I (Athena) recalls the work of Barbara Gowdy and Elizabeth Strout.
Trade Paperback / April 1, 2023 isbn 10: 1-77439-067-1 isbn 13:978-1-77439-067-2 BISAC 1: FIC 019000 BISAC 2: FIC 079000 BISAC 3: FIC 076000 400 pp / 6 x 9 / $23.95 CDN $18.95 USD
—Fran Kimmel, author of The Shore Girl and No Good Asking
About The Author
Ruth DyckFehderau has written two nonfiction books with James Bay Cree storytellers: The Sweet Bloods of Eeyou Istchee: Stories of Diabetes and the James Bay Cree (2017) and E Nâtamukh Miyeyimuwin: Residential School Recovery Stories of the James Bay Cree, Vol. 1 (forthcoming 2023). Her work has been translated into five languages and she has won many literary awards. She sometimes teaches Creative Writing and English Lit at the University of Alberta. She lives in Edmonton with her partner. She is hearing-impaired. This is her first novel.
ADDITIONAL SALES POINTS
• Accessibly-deisgned book for low vision readers using guidelines from the CNIB and other sources. • Published as part of the Nunatuk First Fiction Serie. • Strong themes of female empowerment and inclusion.
MARKETING PLAN
• ARC review copies and press releases to all applicable online and print publications including magazines, bloggers, digital book influencers, television, and radio. • Book release announcement on website and newsletter as well as all social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter • Dedicated podcast episode featuring interview and readings, available through Apple Podcasts. • Submit to all eligible awards. • Ads in all applicable publications. • Home-town book celebration and participation in NeWest season launch in Edmonton. Virtual events where applicable.
MARKETS
• National trade: fiction • US and UK trade: fiction
COMPARISON TITLES
• Falling Angels by Barbara Gowdy (9780006475088, HarperCollins, 2007) • My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Stroud (9780812979527, Penguin Random House, 2016)
