Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
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Spring 2017
Non-Fiction
Joe Berridge Perfect City
I Joe Berridge, an urban planner and co-founder of Urban Strategies, is currently working on major projects in New York City, London, Singapore and Manchester. He played a major role in helping shape Toronto and its urban region. He teaches at the University of Toronto and is a fellow of the School of Public Policy and Governance. He writes often for popular magazines and internationally is a sought-after speaker.
n this book, Joe Berridge travels the world on an audacious quest for the perfect city. He is the tourist’s ideal companion, possessing a wealth of anecdotes, insider knowledge, an understanding of historical and social context, and an unwavering eye on the future. He is a prominent urban planner who wears his expertise lightly. We know what we want in our cities, yet the complexity of city-making lacks a precise formula. They grow and die. We have seen the struggles of Detroit and Buffalo. We have witnessed the near-death of Belfast and Manchester, with shoots of new life stirring again. We revel in the excitement of New York, energized by creative visionaries. It’s about the people. We watch the explosive rise of Shanghai on its course to become the dominant city of the 21st Century. The intensely cerebral Singapore attracts world attention, yet may have few lessons to offer its messier, democratic relatives. We worry that London may have received a fatal blow by the UK withdrawal from the EU. We saw it happen in Montreal when separatists took power. Politics and leadership are as important as architecture. Will real estate prices sink San Francisco and Vancouver? And then there is Toronto, which has risen by accident and despite bureaucratic neglect to become the premier city in the middle of sprawling North America. Cities are made by the remarkable people who live in them – the entrepreneurs, artists, techies, politicians and citizens. How are they nurtured? How can you get them to work together? What do you do when they have been killing each other? Berridge views it from the inside. And the Perfect City is...! Joe Berridge grew up in a small country town in England. In university in Britain he read Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs and knew that he had to get to North America where real cities happened. By chance, he went to grad school in Toronto where Jane Jacobs was living. Ever since, he has been at the center of all things urban.
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Non-Fiction
Hugh Brewster Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage
The Titanic’s First Class Passengers and Their World
T Praise for Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage: “This is one of those rare books on the subject that provides information both new and relevant, in a scholarly readable way. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the social history of the early 20th century.” Library Journal “Walter Lord’s A Night to Remember and James Cameron’s awardwinning movie set the Titanic bar high. In Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage, Hugh Brewster clears that bar with ease and shows again why the story never gets old.” Newark Star Journal “Hugh Brewster’s colourful anecdotes and telling details show how 1912 - with its love-hate affair with celebrity, its romance with technology and contempt for the power of nature - sounds eerily familiar a century later.” Globe and Mail
he wealthy and glamorous passengers who boarded the Titanic, history’s most famous ship, provide “an exquisite microcosm of the Edwardian era.” But in most books about the doomed voyage, their stories are incidental to the ship’s collision with an iceberg on April 14, 1912. The cast includes artist and writer Frank Millet, the Director of Decorations for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair; White House aide Archie Butt; John Jacob Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim; and Lady Lucile Duff-Gordon, a leading couturiere, among others. Through these vivid characters, we gain insight into the arts, politics, culture, and sexual mores of a world both distant and near to our own. All converge on the boat deck of the Titanic during the ship’s final hours and we become witnesses to a heartbreakingly poignant scene where some survive and some do not. The final chapters recount the rescue of the passengers in lifeboats by the Carpathia and the trip back to New York with only 705 of the more than 2,200 on board. Some men who survived lived under a cloud of cowardice. Others left a remarkable legacy. Hugh Brewster is a former publisher, who has written and produced award-winning books of fiction and non-fiction for children. This is the book about the Titanic tragedy that he wanted to read.
HarperCollins Canada 2012 Crown/Random House US 2012 Gawsewitch France 2012 Piemme Italy 2012 Mondadori/Random House Spain 2012 Robson Press UK 2012 Wydawnictwo Literackie Poland 2013
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Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
History
Tim Brook Mr. Selden’s Map of China
Decoding the Secrets of a Vanished Cartographer
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his is forensic history at its best, presenting an ancient map reveals the origins of world trade, and surprising twists in China’s history.
“Brook is a true practitioner of the broad, rich and currently endangered concept of the humanities... reads like a perfect day at the library.” Globe and Mail “Alternating between early modern and modern history, England and China, biography, science and culture, Brook holds us spellbound.” Financial Times “The story is full of Chinese pirates and English adventurers. Most fascinating of all, though, is Selden himself...” The Economist
“...a fast-moving, conversational narrative, which flies by before you realise you have just been guided through some of the more esoteric aspects of Chinese science or folklore... personal anecdotes and trenchant observations on how the past continues to shape the present—especially when dealing with China.” Literary Review Bloomsbury US 2013 Anansi CAN 2013 *Profile UK 2014 Ohta Shuppen Japan 2015 Nermer Books Korea 2016 Wagenbach Germnay 2016 *Translation rights
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In 1659, a vast and unusual map of China arrived in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. It was bequeathed by John Selden, a London business lawyer, political activist, former convict, MP and the city’s first Orientalist scholar. Largely ignored, the map remained in the bowels of the library, until called up by an inquisitive reader. When Timothy Brook saw it in 2009, he realised that the Selden Map was ‘a puzzle that had to be solved’: an exceptional artefact, so unsettlingly modernlooking it could almost be a forgery. But it was genuine, and what it has to tell us is astonishing. It shows China, not cut off from the world, but a participant in the embryonic networks of global trade that fuelled the rise of Europe—and which now powers China’s ascent. It raises as many question as it answers: how did John Selden acquire it? Where did it come from? Who reimagined the world in this way? And most importantly—what can it tell us about the world at that time? Brook, like a cartographic detective, has provided answers—including a surprising last-minute revelation of authorship. From the Gobi Desert to the Philippines, from Java to Tibet and into China itself, Brook uses the map (actually a schematic representation of China’s relation to astrological heaven) to tease out the varied elements that defined this crucial period in China’s history. And it has the compelling John Selden, the epitome of the 17th century renaisance man. Timothy Brook was Shaw Professor of Chinese at Oxford when he first saw the Selden Map, and is now professor of history at the University of British Columbia. The author of eight books on Chinese history, his most widely read book is Vermeer’s Hat, which won the Mark Lynton Prize. Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
History
Tim Brook Vermeer’s Hat
The 17th Century and the Dawn of the Global World
“Vermeer’s Hat ... provides not only valuable historical insight but also enthralling intellectual entertainment.” “a spellbinding book…mind-expanding.”
The Times, UK
“Brook is a wonderful storyteller... I doubt I will read a better book this year.” The Telegraph, UK
“Timothy Brook is one of those historians who can tell world history like an adventure novel and economic history like a crime novel...After reading [this] one sees Vermeer’s world differently. And one’s own too.” Spiegel, Germany
“..provides…not only valuable historical insight but also enthralling intellectual entertainment.”
The Washington Post, US Winner: Lynton Prize in History
Bloomsbury US 2008 Chungrim Korea 2008 Edition Tiamat Germany 2009 Europa Konyvkiado Hungary 2009 Gradiva Portugal 2011 Iwanami Japan 2010 Kalima Arabic 2010 Payot & Rivages France 2009 Penguin Canada 2008 Profile UK 2008 Record Brazil 2009 Yuan-Liou Taiwan 2009 Wenhui Press China 2009 Wereldbibliotheek Netherlands 2010 Einaudi Italy 2015
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Michael Dirda, Washington Post
T
he story opens in Vermeer’s studio in Delft with his stunning portrait, Officer and Laughing Girl. This intimate tableau, in which the officer wears an extravagant hat of beaver felt, subtly captures the widening world. Beaver fur from northern Canada financed voyages of the explorers looking for a route to the riches of China. Lust for luxury goods drove expansion. Pursuing beaver pelts, Champlain introduced his gun, the arquebus in 1609, and it had a profound and bloody impact on North America’s indigenous peoples. The silken wrap of Paolo’s robe, and Wen’s silver vase reveal much about east-west commerce at the time. The craving for porcelain spawned as much bloodshed as beauty. Astoundingly, tobacco and the spread of smoking is the great unintended consequence of North American discovery. It spread to Asia within decades of North American discovery, thanks to the seeds carried by the sailors. Here also are tales foreshadowing religious conflict. Globalization in cultural, legal, political, and moral spheres is very much with us, but these trail the economic web which began in the 17th Century. Timothy Brook is the author or editor of 12 books on China, including Quelling the People: The Military Suppression of the Beijing Democracy Movement and Opium Regimes: China, Britain, and Japan, 1839-1952. He is editor of a six volume series on China published by Harvard University Press. He is currently Professor of History at University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. His recent book decodes the secrets of a Chinese map at Bodleian Library, known as the Selden Map (from Bloomsbury, Profile, Anansi.) Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Non-Fiction
Aileen Burford-Mason The Healthy Brain
Better brains at any age with diet and supplements
Aileen Burford-Mason, author of the acclaimed bestseller, Eat Well Age Better, (HarperCollins Canada) is an immunologist, cell biologist and an orthomolecular nutritionist, a specialized field of nutrition that uses diet and vitamins, minerals and amino acids and other substances naturally present in the body to treat and prevent disease. She graduated from University College, Dublin and received a Ph.D. in immunology. She is a director at a cancer research laboratory at Toronto General Hospital and she has developed a continuing medical education course on the use of diet and nutritional supplements in clinical practice. Learn more at: www.aileenburfordmason.ca
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T
his book will change the way you think about food, nutrition, and how to feed the brain for optimum efficiency. In short, it will change your life. Aileen Burford-Mason, who earned a Ph.D. in immunology, writes with exquisite clarity about advances in the science of the brain and its needs. “The brain,” she says, “is a complex, hard-working organ and it needs ten times the nutrition of any other organ. Most people are under-performing because their brains are under-nourished.” The brain issues she cites include ADD, depression, brain trauma, concussion and of course, big one--dementia. “Worldwide, dementia now affects 36 million people and these numbers will skyrocket as our population ages. However, scientists now admit that dementia is not an inevitable part of the ageing process. It’s a lifestyle disease, and poor nutrition and lack of exercise are the major risk factors.” The Healthy Brain outlines a life-long program that begins with pregnancy, childhood and adolescence, and moves through our working years and old age. In The Healthy Brain, she suggests dietary changes and appropriate supplements for optimal brainpower at any age. Smart, informative, reassuring and clear, you will want to keep this book close and discuss its remedies of nutrition, exercise and supplements with your doctor.
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Martyn Burke Music for Love or War
C
omic ironies and absurdities abound in this love story set against the thunderous clash of civilizations.
Praise for Music For Love or War “Music for Love or War is slashand-burn funny, but also unexpectedly touching and wise. Few writers can take you in one breath from the hills of Afghanistan to the gates of the Playboy mansion, and make you believe every crazy word.” Carl Hiaasen
“A glorious globetrotting epic spanning class, race, and ethical borders. Burke’s personal history as a Hollywood filmmaker and combat-zone documentarian makes this book seem less written than lived...Burke is a marvel. Read this book.”
Craig Davidson, author of Giller nominated Cataract City
“A whirlwind story, equally hilarious and heartbreaking, about the various kinds of love and war -and quite unlike any novel you’re likely to read.”
Bookgasm Blog
“Gripping, hilarious, otherwordly, brutal, heartbreaking. A transcentental tale of love and hope for a post-911 world.”
Jon Steele
Cormorant CAN 2015 F+W Media INC. US 2016
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In the blistered landscape of Afghanistan, a small unit of US soldiers is dependent on the Internet connection to Constance, a Hollywood psychic who provides advice on tactics in love and war. Two men in particular seek her out. Danny, a sniper who has been up close and personal with his Taliban prey, tortures them by blaring the music of Liberace from the mountain peaks. He also displays a giant portrait of Liberace prancing in a white sequined costume, bringing a bizarre bit of Las Vegas to the Afghan killing fields, and enraging the Taliban. Danny’s obsession is finding his high school sweetheart Ariana whose terrorist father married her off to a brutal warlord. Can Constance help? His friend Hank has fled to the Afghan war to distance himself from the decadent world of Hollywood which has swallowed his beloved in its rapacious drug and celebrity culture. Constance receives them when they use their home-leave to visit her. This also is the story of a friendship forged through trials of love and danger. Will Hank and Danny survive and prevail? Can they rescue the women they love? Music For Love or War is a soaring love story and a literary tour-de-force. Martyn Burke knows war-riddled Afghanistan where he has filmed documentaries. He knows Los Angeles where he lives and works. And he knows about terrorist families based in multi-cultural Toronto, his second home. In 2012, his feature documentary Under Fire: Journalists in Combat won a Peabody and was short-listed for an Academy Award. He is now writing a pilot for an HBO mini-series based on his 1984 novel The Commissar’s Report. In 2015, Martyn received the Auteur Award from the International Press Academy. Previous recipients include Guillermo del Toro, Baz Luhrmann and George Clooney. Click here for The International Press Academy’s video highlighting Martyn’s career Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Laurie Channer Small Dead Things
A gripping plot, surprising twists, depth of character, and insights on animal behavior - including humans. Laurie Channer is a novelist and screenwriter in Toronto. Her debut novel Godblog (Napoleon Books/ Dark Star) has been optioned for film. She has won awards for her short stories and works for the Writers Guild of Canada. Learn more at: www.lauriechanner.com
S
andy Stoppard fears nothing except intimacy. And she can’t let go of loose ends. Although the accused serial killer known as the Riverside Basher is in custody, and her colleagues at the Providence, Rhode Island police department are satisfied they have their man, there are details that don’t make sense to her. She begins to delve into the accused’s tortured past. Her discoveries lead her to an abyss with no backup. At the same time, Sandy remains obsessed about a previous case involving the murder of a little girl. She secretly searches dumpsters, landfills, and marshlands for the missing body parts of 10-year-old Madison Porter in an attempt to give the family peace. Grisly aspects of both cases don’t torment Sandy, whose own childhood bruises are a bridge to life’s dark side. Yet, Sandy allows her emotional armour to be peirced by her nephews when she joins them in their school project following life in a loon nest via webcam. In a loop of fate, the loon nest leads Sandy to a breakthrough in her former kidnap case, and to the smart, sexy bird biologist Hamlet Mar who is responsible for the webcam project. The twists spiral rapidly with Hamlet Mar’s suspicious connection to a newly-abducted child. Laurie Channer reserves her most terrifying twist for the end when the real Riverside Basher is revealed. In her skillful rendering, this police procedural soars beyond genre to become a spellbinding tale layered with fascinating detail and psychological insight.
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Thriller
Elvira Cordileone The Fury
R Elvira Cordileone worked at the Toronto Star for 22 years, starting out in the Ombudsman’s office and later writing features for “Special Sections.” The Fury is her first novel and she is working on a new Renata Ricard adventure.
ennie Ricard, a crusading journalist on behalf of abused women, is covering a gala luncheon in support of women’s education when the door of the hotel ballroom is flung open and a gunman begins to massacre more than 25 people. Rennie narrowly eludes death when a young male colleague throws himself on top of her and pulls her under the table. He is not so lucky. As Rennie struggles with grief and anxiety, a vigilante group calling itself Dirae, the Roman name for the Greek Furies, explodes on the scene. Their mission is to kill men who have killed women, and they use Rennie as a conduit to communicate with the public. Rennie herself has a troubled life. There is the ghost of her abusive father, a contentious divorce, and responsibility for her mother who is a shut-in. Yet, she has resources. She has a few caring colleagues, an ex-mother-in-law who mothers her, and an ability to make friends and alliances. But she doesn’t know who will turn on her next. She can’t resist pursuing the identity of the Dirae killers, especially when she discovers that her close friend Laura is beaten to death by her husband. Rennie’s anger leads her to reach out to the vigilantes, hoping they will strike down Laura’s husband. But when the three prominent women who spearhead Dirae capture him, they expect Rennie to pull the trigger. Gun in hand, Rennie can’t kill in cold blood and one of the women turns the gun on her. Badly wounded, Rennie manages to escape. Months later she learns Dirae’s network is more extensive than she thought --and they intend to punish her. Elvira Cordileone delivers a tense, raw, original thriller featuring a wellorganized female vigilante group. It keeps you reading while it frightens you and breaks your heart.
Manuscript Available
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Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
History
Modris Eksteins Solar Dance
Van Gogh, Forgery, and the Eclipse of Certainty
T Winner, $40,000 B.C Award for NonFiction 2013 Finalist, Hilary Weston Prize for NonFiction 2012
“Mr. Eksteins has a knack for pinpointing moments in the rise of Modernism that expose the deep social forces that have shaped our world... Solar Dance conveys the heady atmosphere that made Berlin the first European capital to embrace the transforming potential of art in a secular age.” Wall Street Journal
“Subtle and engaging…Eksteins tells his story in a suitably looping and layered manner, with many darts and artful reverses, suing a range of knowledge and allusion reminiscent of his 1989 masterpiece, Rites of Spring.” Globe and Mail
“Eksteins is a major historian and Solar Dance, like everything he writes, deserves a wide and attentive readership.” National Post “A marvellous, brilliant book, one that gives a clearer undersatnding of our cultural moment than just about anything published in ages.” Literary Review of Canada Harvard UP April 2012 Knopf Canada Feb 2012 Zysk Poland 2013
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he 19th century was the century of certainty – of Marx, Darwin, Wagner; it was the century of expansion and empire. It believed that there was a line to be drawn between the subject and the object. It believed in category. The 20th Century was the century of doubt – of Marcel Duchamp, Werner Heisenberg, and Monty Python; it was the century of contraction and decolonization. It disrupted all category. A man whose spirit straddled the two ages was Vincent van Gogh. Repudiated in his own time, he became the most loved and expensive artist of the 20th Century. He was the great synthesizer who captured in his art the exhilaration of life but also its fragility and tragedy. Modris Eksteins, whose subject is the 20th century, approaches the era through the lens of the sensational trial of a Berlin art dealer Otto Wacker and his role in the forgery of 33 Van Gogh paintings. In 1925, Wacker began releasing these hitherto unknown works which he cleverly had authenticated by experts. Through the progress of this drama Van Gogh’s commercial value rocketed skyward. Doubt and disaster also were crucial to Van Gogh’s posthumous success-- his own madness and suicidal end, and the subsequent near-destruction of European civilization in fratricidal war. In the Wacker-Van Gogh story, with its cast of characters who both delight and frighten us, is the story of Weimar Germany, the rise of Hitler and the fall of the Berlin Wall. In this thrilling book, Modris Eksteins illuminates the major themes of the modern world where a culture of vitality, life, and art has overwhelmed one of authority, form, and law.
Modris Eksteins is the author of acclaimed books on modernism, Rites of Spring: The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age and Walking Since Daybreak: A story of Eastern Europe, World War II, and the Heart of Our Century. Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
History
“Eksteins is as gifted a stylist as he is a scholar. One reads it with fascination and intellectual gratitude.” Alfred Kazin
Modris Eksteins
Modris Eksteins
Rites of Spring
Walking Since Daybreak
The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age
I
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his classic, award-winning book, in print “…a witty and enterpris- since 1989, is celebrated by ing scholar” scholars and readers alike. It Kurt Vonnegut even inspired a Hollywood “...nothing less than a film, Max, starring John retrospective of our en- Cusack. tire century. Art and politics, dance and war, have never been the same. ...It is the start of a new history.”
“The Great War was the psychological turning point for modernism,” argues Eksteins. “The urge to creJames Carroll ate and the urge to destroy “This provocative and had changed places.” disturbing reappraisal of modernism rings with authority.” Publishers Weekly
Winner Trillium Award Macmillan UK 2000 OP Houghton Mifflin USA 1989 Knopf /Can 2012 Dogan Turkey 2014 Rowohlt Ger 1990/OP Plon France 1990 OP TBS Britannica Japan Editora Rocco Brazil Standard Uitgeverij Holland PIW Poland Geulhangari Korea Editorial Pre-Textos Spain Social Sciences Academic Press China
With originality and discerning historical analysis, he describes the origins, impact, and aftermath of WWI from the premiere of Stravinsky’s ballet The Rite of Spring in 1913, to the final dance by the denizens of Hitler’s bunker in 1945. This is a remarkable cultural history that redefines the way we look at our past and think about the future.
“A deeply moving and intellectually challenging view of modern history.” Los Angeles Times
“...a beautiful meditation, written with both intellectual and moral urgency.”
n his journey to 1945 and the firestorm in Berlin, Eksteins weaves the story of his family in Latvia into the major events of the era, merging the subjectivity of the modern style with the objectivity of the scholar.
Empire, war, communism, fascism, the Holocaust, Publishers Weekly genocide, the huge tide of European refuges, New “...an important reas- World immigration, freesessment of WWII and dom...These are the markers its outcome...provaca- of our turbulent age. tive and ambitious.”
Kirkus Reviews
Awards Winner Pearson Literary Prize
Standaart Nthlds 2007 Houghton Mifflin US1999 Macmillan UK 2000 OP Key Porter Canada 1999 Atena Latvia 2002
Born in Latvia, Eksteins arrived as a child in 1950 among the displaced in Canada. He surveys the wreckage from two angles: by looking back from 1989 and the collapse of the Berlin Wall and, at the same time, moving forward from the perspective of the 19th century borderlands between Russia and Germany. It is an astute and thrilling panorama from the imperial age of coherence to our current confusions and fragmented logic.
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Mystery
Howard Engel City of Fallen Angels A Mike Ward Mystery
I Winner of The Crime Writers of Canada’s Grand Master Award
“This is a terrific novel from one of Canada’s most celebrated authors. It has all Engel’s trademark wit, with his superb command of the noir genre in a style uniquely his own.” The Globe and Mail
“Mr Engel is a born writer, a natural stylist...This is a writer who can bring a character to life in a few lines.”
Ruth Rendell
“Engel can turn a phrase as neatly as Chandler...Benny Cooperman novels [are] first-class entertainment, stylishly written, the work of an original, distinctive, and distinctively Canadian talent.”
Julian Symons
“Benny Cooperman is a lot of fun to hang out. I’m delighted to see him getting into trouble again.”
Donald E. Westlake
“a Canadian icon of the mystery genre.”
Toronto Star
Cormorant CAN 2014
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t’s 1940, Europe is at war, and Canadian journalist Mike Ward, who has spent 20 years covering the major upheavals in Paris, London, Moscow, and Berlin, is removed from the main action. He is posted to Los Angeles where news is mostly celebrity gossip churned out by movie studios. Mike is not happy. He came of age in Hemingway’s Paris of the 1920s, got close ups of the rise of fascist dictators, wrote about the fall of governments, and watched while the war dreams began to beat louder. He can’t imagine that the movie business will be as compelling. But Hollywood is a place where the glitz and glamor of the silver screen meet the grit and grime of the criminal underworld. Mike has barely unpacked when the big story lands in his lap—the “suicide” of studio executive, Mark Norman. Some suspect Norman was killed by his first wife, but as Mike follows the trail through a thicket of enemies, other possibilities emerge. Along the way, the personable journalist befriends Errol Flynn who guides him through Hollywood’s intrigue. Soon Mike is partying with John Barrymore, lunching at Chasen’s, escorting young starlets, and tangling with cops over his efforts to get the story. Set during a time of upheaval in the capital of cinema, and populated by a who’s who of colourful historical personalities from both the film and criminal worlds, City of Fallen Angels—the latest from Arthur Ellis Award-winner Howard Engel—is a classic period whodunnit. Howard Engel is on the shortlist for the Libris Award for Lifetime Achievement. His novels have been published in more than countries since his debut in 1980 and have won literary prizes. Two have been adapted for TV films. He is well known for his Benny Cooperman series of mystery novels and his memoir, The Man Who Forgot how to Read, about dealing with the affects of a stroke that nearly ended his writing career. Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Mystery Series
Howard Engel Grand Master of Mystery Dr. Zeckerman, Grantham’s wealthy psychiatrist, loses a patient to suicide. Benny suspects homicide.
Captivating insights, beautiful phrases, lovable characters and grisly crimes spill effortlessly from Howard Engel’s sleeve. His classic series of Benny Cooperman mysteries and two historical crime novels have won prizes and are widely translated. In 2014 he was named the Grand Master of Canadian mystery writers. Best of all, there is a new Engel novel, City of Fallen Angels, set in 1940’s Hollywood. The rabbi and the president of Grantham’s synagogue hire Benny when a lawyer absconds with the life savings of the congregation.
The local crime boss wants Benny to find out who is trying to kill him, and Benny can’t refuse.
Did heiress Gloria Warren collude in her own kidnapping? Where is the money? Benny, the Mob, the cops and Gloria want to know.
Benny mixes with Grantham’s elite who buy, trade and steal paintings -and also murder.
Vanessa Moss, the sexy siren in the executive suite, hires Benny to protect her. He gets more trouble than he expected.
A Hollywood movie crew is shooting more than film at Niagara Falls.
Benny’s environmental anxieties fester when a trucker with hazardous cargo is murdered.
Benny suffers a vicious blow to the head and is diagnosed with a rare condition, alexia sine agraphia. No longer having the ability to read, Benny must unmask his assailant.
Benny is awash in black-flies, cults, and murder in the Canadian wilderness, while tracking a celebrity evangelist.
An old woman whose estate is plundered leads Benny to corrupt lawyers and intrigue at a TV news station.
An old friend pleads for Benny’s help just as he’s on the verge of retirement. Her husband Jake went missing along with their life savings.
CBC TV Film
CBC TV Film
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Terry Fallis One Brother Shy
O Praise for One Brother Shy: “One Brother Shy is a two-for-one flight of invention, full of hilarious one-liners. A compelling and surprising tale about the importance and inspiration of family is twinned with a rich portrait of characters in keenly observed social contexts. The wit and brio of the storytelling belies its sensitivity and emotional depth. Terry Fallis has written another fastpaced, incisive, and wry novel that doesn’t shy away from the enjoyably genuine and the genuinely human.” Gary Barwin
ttawa software engineer, Alex MacAskill, 25, is a painfully and chronically shy man whose once bright future was seriously dimmed by an incident in high school. It was not talked about, and it is known only by the family code name “Gabriel.” Outwardly reticent, and desperate to escape notice, Alex sustains a rich, thoughtful and witty inner dialogue that helps him cope. He never knew his father, not even his name. He was raised by a single mother, Lee MacAskill, whose battle with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis is nearing its end as the novel opens. When she dies, an envelope left for Alex reveals a secret that instantly changes his life and sets him on a search for the identical twin brother he never knew he had. Eventually reunited with his twin, Matthew Paterson, a high-flying, charismatic entrepreneur living in London, England, they piece together shreds of evidence, including an obscure tattoo linked to the 1972 Canada-Russia hockey series, to try to find the father neither of them knew. Their travels take them to Moscow only to discover their father was hiding in plain sight back in London, where he secretly kept tabs on the twin sons. The nature of his work which prevented him from becoming involved in their lives is an important feature of the plot. An initially rocky but ultimately happy reunion of father and sons leaves Alex with one final task. He tells Matthew about “Gabriel.” Matthew insists they both fly back to Ottawa to confront “Gabriel” and set Alex on the path to the person he should have become—as dictated by his genetic code. It is time to bring Alex’s vital and vibrant inner voice out into the open. It is also time for him to pursue a budding romance with a fiery work colleague that weaves its way through Alex’s narrative. One Brother Shy is a funny, poignant story of identical twins separated at birth, Cold War echoes, the strength of family ties, and the healing power of humour.
PenguinRandomHouse Canada Fall 2017 Manuscript Available
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Terry Fallis is a best selling author who has an identical twin brother, Tim Fallis. Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Terry Fallis Poles Apart
H
ail, Gender Warriors! Be prepared to submit to the beguiling spell of Poles Apart. Humor is the best option for the serious topics of feminist aspirations and male confusion and rage.
Praise for Terry Fallis: “Quite possibly the most fun you can ever have while reading about the struggle for equality. Light-hearted, wickedly funny and surprisingly touching, this novel lights up the lovability of feminism and its defenders.”
Michele Landberg
“Fallis employs an easygoing yet compelling writing style ... So what’s in a name? When it’s Terry Fallis, you know it means a good book.”
National Post
“Terry Fallis writes with a light touch and fine sense of the inherent humanity of humour, while still addressing one of the biggest questions we all have to face: Who are you? Who are you really?”
Will Ferguson , author of 419, winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize
“Gently satirical and intelligently frothy, Up and Down achieves a delightful weightlessness as transporting as the space voyage it deals with.” Andrew Pyper, bestselling author of The Demonologist
McClelland/Random House CAN 2015
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Everett Kane is a darling – a man who is a committed feminist. His strong mother, CEO of a Fortune 500 company, begs Ev not to tell his girlfriends. It is the reason, she says, that Ev is still single at 37. (What? Are male feminists not sexy?) Ev’s father, Billy Kane, a former autoworker on the line at Ford, is a stubborn throwback about a women’s place –i.e. firmly in the home. His attitude drove Ev’s mother to depart. Ev has suffered male guilt ever since. The Kane family comes together when Billy, now retired to Florida, is debilitated by a stroke. Ev, a free-lance writer, moves south (with his mother’s financial support) to help his father through rehab. In the same hospital, Ev meets his idol from his days as a student activist for women’s rights, the formidable feminist leader, Beverley Tanner. Warm, funny, and brilliant, Bev and Ev develop a special bond. Meanwhile, below Ev’s rental apartment, an “upscale” strip joint moves in. Longing to rekindle the idealism of his youth, Ev secretly starts a feminist blog, Eve of Equality, which rallies feminists, and has the misfortune to go viral. Ev’s cloaked attacks on the strip club anger the dancers, his mother who had a real estate deal with the owner, and the club’s owner, who brings dangerous, mob-style “heat” to the battle. Ev’s male identity is about to be revealed, potentially unleashing the fury of his feminist fans. Worse, his secret life as a feminist blogger thwarts his blossoming romantic passion for the young woman lawyer representing the strip mogul. Terry Fallis is the author of four previous, bestselling, hilarious novels that have won distinguished literary awards and been adapted for a TV mini-series and a stage musical. Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Terry Fallis No Relation Winner of the Leacock Medal for Humor
N Praise for No Relation: “Terry Fallis writes with a light touch and fine sense of the inherent humanity of humour, while still addressing one of the biggest questions we all have to face: Who are you? Who are you really?”
Will Ferguson , author of 419, winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize
“Born of a cheerful mood and a clever mind, Terry Fallis’s No Relation is an endearing book with a big heart.”
Trevor Cole, author of Practical Jean, winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour
“Fallis employs an easygoing yet compelling writing style ... So what’s in a name? When it’s Terry Fallis, you know it means a good book.”
National Post
o Relation by Terry Fallis is the story of a man who believes his name has blighted his life and thwarted his ambitions. His name? Earnest Hemmingway—spelled differently from that the iconic Ernest Hemingway, but laughable all the same. Life has been good for Hem, a middle-aged copywriter at a New York ad agency. He has had the same job for 20 years, a live-in girlfriend, and a great apartment. But as a writer, Hem believes his family name, bestowed on four generations of Earnest Hemmingways, has blocked him from his destiny as a great novelist. Hem’s cozy world shatters on a single day when he loses his wallet, his girlfriend and his job. His humiliating melt down while he tries to renew his driver’s license, which goes viral on YouTube, is the final blow. Hem’s father, however, sees it as a perfect time for his son to return to Chicago and take the helm of Hemmingwear, the storied underwear manufacturer led by three previous generations of “Earnests.” Hem has other plans. Besides, his younger sister is eager to take the job—if she can convince their misogynist father. Hem and his sister team up to expose traitors and foil a hostile takeover. Hem, meanwhile, assembles the sweetest support group this side of Freud--composed of people burdened with famous names. It allows Fallis to flirt with looping comic scenes while addressing serious issues of identity and the weight of expectations. It is a funny, endearing novel crafted by a master.
McClelland/Random House CAN 2014 Shui- Ling Taiwan 2015
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Terry Fallis lives in Toronto where he works for a communications company. His four novels, The Best Laid Plans, The High Road, Up and Down and No Relation are each major bestsellers in Canada and are attracting a growing number of readers abroad. One secret of his success—free podcasts of the novels, chapter by chapter, available on iTunes. To see the book trailer, click here. Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Terry Fallis Up and Down
Winner 2013 Evergreen Award “Up and Down kept me smiling, made me laugh out loud, and occasionally moved me to tears.”
--The National Post
“If Terry Fallis talks like he writes, then I want to meet this man because he is very droll indeed.”
--Montreal Gazette
“In Landon Percival, Terry Fallis brings to vivid life an unexpected hero–tough yet endearing, brave yet vulnerable.”
Cathy Marie Buchanan, New York Times bestselling author
“Gently satirical and intelligently frothy, Up and Down achieves a delightful weightlessness as transporting as the space voyage it deals with.” Andrew Pyper, bestselling author of The Guardians
“Terry Fallis has done it again. Up and Down is another hilarious page-turner that also packs an emotional punch.” Ali Velshi
“A rollicking good ride. Funny one moment, serious the next, always compelling: a reminder that we can all dream.” Marc Garneau, Former astronaut
D
avid Stewart’s first days on the job are not auspicious. He has just joined the Toronto office of an international public relations firm, ruled from New York and Washington. David is assigned to the crossborder team on the NASA account, which is charged with boosting flagging public interest in space exploration. His team leader, the chilly Amanda Burke, is immune to his charms. The tough Washington account exec is equally dismissive. Surprisingly, the NASA client approves David’s suggestion—a lottery to find two ordinary citizens, a Canadian and American who are eager to strap themselves to a rocket headed to the space station for the trip of a lifetime. Through a series of suspenseful hurdles, Fallis keeps us laughing and rooting for David and the “aged” would-be astronaut Landon Percival. But it is the beautifully drawn portrayal of Landon and their touching relationship that stay with the reader long after the book is closed on the campaign. Terry Fallis is a novelist who has done the impossible. He self-published his first novel The Best Laid Plans, a political satire set in Ottawa, which won the Leacock Medal for Humour, and later, after it was released by M&S/Random House Canada, it was winner of Canada Reads as “the essential Canadian novel of the decade.” A 6-part TV mini-series based on it airs on CBC TV in January 2014. His fourth novel No Relation, set in New York and Chicago, is a highly original tale on the question of what’s in a name. In his other life, Terry works in public relations, and is hugely popular on the speaking circuit, with more than 100 appearances annually. He lives in Toronto, is married and the father of two sons.
McClelland/Random Can/ Can 2012
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Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Terry Fallis
Terry Fallis
The Best Laid Plans
The High Road
Winner of 2011 Canada Reads
Short-listed for Leacock Medal for Humour
Over 109,000 copies sold Globe & Mail Bestseller
D
isillusioned by politics and lacerated by Amazon.ca Bestseller romantic betrayal, Daniel Addison, a young political “It deftly explores the speechwriter, wants out. Machiavellian machinaForced to barter his lost tions of political culidealism with one last obture.” Globe & Mail ligation, he cajoles a sacrificial candidate to contest the “The Best Laid Plans has a election for the opposition certain charm, some clevparty er turns of phrase and a well-honed appreciation for the absurdities of political life.”
Montreal Gazette
“The plot is advanced with self-deprecating and side-splitting vignettes... The novel is that and much more.” Silhouette’s A&E Magizine
Terry Fallis first selfpublished The Best Laid Plans as a podcast, then as a book. It was later acquired by McClelland & Stewart. Winner of 2008 Leacock Medal for Humour McClelland & Stewart 2008
T
“…a new brand of pohis deeply funny satire litical satire -- the most continues the story of irreverent, sophisticated Honest Angus McLintock, and engaging CanLit has seen since Stephen an amateur politician who dares to do the unthinkable: Leacock.” Winnipeg Free Press
tell the truth.
Just when Daniel Addison thinks he can escape his job as a political aide, Angus McLintock, the no-hope candidate he helped into Daniel persuades Angus Parliament, throws icy water McLintock, a crusty Enover his plans. Angus has just gineering Professor to alOttawa Citizen brought down the governlow his name to be used. It ment with a deciding vote. will be a campaign with no “The High Road will Now he wants Daniel to signs, no rallies, no speech- entertain. There will manage his next campaign. es, and no budget. Cam- be snickers, occasional paign headquarters is Dan- snorting and hooting, Daniel helps Angus fight an iel’s jalopy. But politics is and almost certainly rip- uphill battle against “Flamelaughs.” filled with surprises. Angus roaring belly thrower” Fox, notorious for Chronicle Herald is catapulted to victory and his dirty tactics. Together he and Daniel must examthey decide to take “The ine their political principles Terry Fallis is a part- High Road” and turn the and learn how to survive ner in Thornley Fallis, race into a nail-biter with hithe political process, the a public relations com- larious ups and downs, This pany in Toronto, and is deft political satire and roughest game around. is completing his third laugh-out-loud comedy. Six part TV mini-series telecast on CBC TV.
Musical Theater production Vancouver 2015
“an easy-reading page turner...anyone with even a passing or cynical interest in the political process should enjoy The High Road and after the romp be left with some food for thought.”
novel.
McClelland & Stewart Fall 2010
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Non-Fiction
Peter Figura and Philip Slayton Tennis Crazy!
M Roger Federer
Photo: Peter Figura
Peter Figura is a tennis writer and photographer with over 40 years involvement in the game. He has been a player, coach, and umpire. He is a regular contributor to two tennis magazines, Tenisklub (Poland) and Ontario Tennis (Canada). His freelance work for Canadian Press has been published across Canada. As a photojournalist for Newspix, a major European photo agency, his work has been published in many countries. Philip Slayton is the author of Lawyers Gone Bad, Mighty Judgment, and Mayors Gone Bad (all published by Penguin Random House), and Bay Street: A Novel.
en’s international tennis has been dominated by stars known as the Big Four: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Rafael Nadal. They have been the focus of world interest and their popularity has been the heart of the game’s appeal. Since 2005, only three other players have won a Grand Slam Tournament. And no one else has been ranked number one. But now, new young players are challenging the old guard. With the inevitable departure from the game of the aging Roger Federer, and the likely retirement of Rafael Nadal whose injuries prevent him from dominating the game as he once did, the race to the top and the battle between the old and the young has become compelling. Tennis Crazy! offers intimate profiles of leading male professional tennis players on the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World such as French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open. It will focuss on the new contenders while acknowledging the huge and continuing influence of the Big Four. Who are these players? What drives them? What have been the highs and lows of their lives and careers? What are their foibles and eccentricities? In Tennis Crazy! we will examine a selection of the players outside of the Big Four and introduce the huge international tennis audience to the great depth of field in the men’s game and the personalities that enliven the game. The book will contain original photography by co-author Peter Figura.
Proposal Available www.slopenagency.com
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Non-Fiction
Joanne Foster Busting Buts: Tips for Kids Who Procrastinate
Y
ou can empower kids to prevent procrastination! Award-winning author and educator Joanne Foster gives kids the tips and tricks to do it on their own. Dr. Joanne Foster, who received her Ed.D in Human Development and Applied Psychology, taught Educational Psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto for twelve years. She is co-author of Being Smart about Gifted Education, and Beyond Intelligence: Secrets for Raising Happily Productive Kids with Dona Matthews, as well as the sole author of Not Now, Maybe Later: Helping Children Overcome Procrastination. She is in demand as a speaker and she publishes widely. Her column “Fostering Kids’ Success” appears in The Creativity Post online.
Kids know many of the reasons they avoid things or put them off. They’re too busy, or lazy, or scared of failure. Joanne lists more than 25 reasons, some of which you have heard already, and others which may surprise you. Joanne confronts the internal “buts.” --“But...I’m disorganized.” --“But...I don’t have the knowledge.” --“But...I’d rather do something else.” The world, too, presents lots of reasons for dallying. --“But...my friends don’t have to do it.” --“But...it’s not fair.” --“But...you are pestering me.” --And the accusatory “but you procrastinate.” To combat these compelling reasons for avoidance, she offers powerful solutions tailored to each cause. There is no lecturing, hectoring, or judgment--just details on time management, how to find more information, and how to organize. Efficiency and productivity are skill sets and anyone can learn them. Joanne cuts out the middleman and writes directly to the procrastinators. She is compassionate but firm, and uses accessible language to offer effective tactics. She conveys real-life examples illustrating why children procrastinate. This step-by-step guide to bust “buts” will be welcomed by kids--and their teachers and parents.
Manuscript Available www.slopenagency.com
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Joanna Goodman The Home for Unwanted Girls
I Praise for You Made Me Love You “You Made Me Love You is a wonderful novel, full of humour, wisdom, and hope.”
Joy Fielding
“I love this novel. It has a wonderful, warm, true sensibility. I couldn’t put it down and was sorry when it ended.” Eliza Clark
Praise for Harmony “Joanna Goodman is such a fine, polished writer. Harmony is an honest heart-wrenching and complex look at the tangled emotions and lives of both mothers and wives.” Michelle Berry
“Goodman’s solid writing is permeated with commentary on the societal pressures to have it all.”
Publishers Weekly
“Joanna Goodman writes with compassion about human connections.”
Patti Henry
n this triumphant love story, the lives of two young people are beset by conflicts of class and culture in 1950’s Quebec.
Maggie is the daughter of Wellington Hughes, the “Anglo” who runs a seed business selling mostly to the French-Canadian farmers in the Eastern townships near Montreal. Her mother Hortense is a FrenchCanadian who refuses to speak English, but who shares her husband’s ambitions that her children should prosper in the higher status Anglo world. Gabriel Lafleur, the boy from the next farm, poor and orphaned, captures Maggie’s heart. When Maggie becomes pregnant at 15, either because of a rape or her love affair with Gabriel, she suffers the full tyranny inflicted by the regime and the Catholic Church. Her baby is taken from her and either sold by the nuns to an American family, or worse, placed in an institution and declared mentally impaired. The government paid more money for wards of hospitals than orphanages. (Based on shockingly true situations in Quebec in the 1950’s, the theft of her child is similar in the experience of Ireland’s Philomena Lee.) We follow Maggie’s desperate quest to find her daughter Elodie, and Elodie’s painful loss of the family she deserves. Joanna Goodman, whose grandfather was a seed man, draws on the conflicting allegiances of her own Quebecois family for this tale that is specific to its place and times and universal in its themes. The daughter of a French-Canadian mother and the wife of a French-Canadian man, Joanna is bi-lingual and multi-cultural. Occasionally, she wishes she were firmly rooted in only one identity. Joanna Goodman is the author of four acclaimed novels including The Finishing School (HarperCollins) coming April 2017. She lives in Toronto with her two children and her husband where they operate upscale retail linen shops Au Lit.
HarperCollins US 2018
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Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Thriller
Joanna Goodman The Finishing School
In this provactive novel of friendship, secrets, and deceit, a successful writer returns to her elite Swiss boarding school to get to the bottom of a tragic accident that took place 20 years earlier.
Advance Praise for The Finishing School: “The Finishing School plunges the reader headfirst into a fast-paced, nail-biting mystery that also manages to explore friendship, love, adolescence, family and motherhood. By the time you reach the unexpected ending, you’ll practically be gasping for air.” Jessica Anya Blau
“The Finishing School pulls back the curtain to expose a fascinating world of desire, betrayal, and dangerous secrets.” Lou Berney
“A compelling tale of horrific teenage secrets inside the walls of an elite school in Switzerland, unearthed with verve and sly irony. ” Deborah Lawrenson
“Every page of this compelling novel resonates with authenticity, and is filled with suspense. The book will keep readers up late at night.”
Roberta Rich
O
ne spring night in 1998, the beautiful Cressida Strauss plunges from a fourth-floor balcony at the Lycée Internationale Suisse with catastrophic consequences. Loath to draw negative publicity to the school, a bastion of wealth and glamour, officials quickly dismiss the incident as an accident. But questions remain. Was it a suicide attempt? Or was Cressida pushed? Cressida’s selfish streak had earned as many enemies as allies in her tenure at the school. For her best friend Kersti Kuusk, the questions nag. Kersti marries and becomes a bestselling writer, but never stops wondering about Cressida’s unaccountable obsession with the Helvetian Society --a secret club banned years before their arrival at the school— and the pair of its members who were expelled. When Kersti is invited as a guest to the Lycée’s 100th anniversary, she begins probing the cover-up, unearthing a frightening underbelly of lies and abuse at the prestigious establishment. In one portentous moment, Kersti makes a decision that will connect her to Cressida forever and raise the stakes dangerously high in her own desire to solve the mystery and redeem her past. The Finishing School is as clever as it is compelling. It is a riveting glimpse into a privileged rarefied world in which nothing is as it appears. Joanna Goodman is the author of three acclaimed novels. She lives in Toronto with her two children and her husband where they operate upscale retail linen shops Au Lit.
HarperCollins US April 2017
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Fiction
Joanna Goodman You Made Me Love You
T
he three appealing Zarr sisters each face life-altering decisions about Montreal Gazette work, love, ambition, and “In this novel, the stuff family. “Goodman...is a witty, energetic storyteller.”
of life happens.”
The Globe and Mail
“You Made Me Love You is about the need for love and approval in all of us. It’s a wonderful novel, full of humour, wisdom, and hope. Ms. Goodman has a wonderful ear for dialogue and a sharp eye for the nuances of life.”
“Make it in Hollywood,” is Estelle Zarr’s mantra. She dreams of becoming a celebrated film editor, but she also wants love, litheness, and approval from her eccentric, showbiz parents.
Pretty Erica Zarr flails from comedy improv, to photogJoy Fielding raphy, to writing. Her current live-in lover, a major “...feels, in spirit, like a New York novelist and incross between Four Wed- tellectual isn’t the answer. dings and a Funeral and A fateful meeting with a Hannah and Her Sisters.” woman rabbi guides her fuQuill & Quire ture. “It is funny, superbly written and never fails the reader with its realistic outlook on love and relationships. A truly enjoyable read.” Donna Morrissey
Penguin Canada 2005 NAL/Penguin USA 2006
Their sister Jess’s perfect life was set in stone when she was 21 – marriage, children, and a business. Ten years later, the stone is cracking.
Joanna Goodman Harmony
A
dark and surprising secret lurks at the heart of this comic novel. Soon, it will surface and profoundly alter Anne Mahroum’s sense of identity.
“Joanna Goodman writes with compassion about human connections... Harmony is a richly nuanced and compelling tale about secrets, redemption, and one woman’s effort to live fully as wife, mother, and herself.”
Patti Henry
“Joanna Goodman is such a fine, polished writer. Harmony is an honest heart-wrenching and complex look at the tangled emotions and lives of both mothers and wives”
Michelle Berry
“Goodman’s solid writing is permeated with commentary on the societal pressures to have it all”
Publishers Weekly
Joanna Goodman’s funny and wise novel is contemporary and timeless. Penguin Canada 2007 NAL/Penguin USA 2007
Anne, a perfectionist and collage artist, is married to Elie, A Lebanese-born numismatist -- a successful dealer in rare coins. They are blessed with a darling infant son, who to Anne’s distress, was born with clubfeet. This clouds her fantasy of taking her perfect son to show her father -- a man she never knew. Anne’s mother Jean, deliberately enigmatic, fled the marriage and his farming community in the Rockies, when Anne was a toddler. She never looked back. The events showcase Joanna Goodman’s flair for comic observation and characters who are warm and fully human. The ending is as surprising as it is satisfying.
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Don Gutteridge Lily Fairchild
P
ioneer life throbs with vitality in this magnificent saga of Lily Fairchild whose story will grip your heart and reduce you to tears.
Early Praise for Lily Fairchild: “In his masterwork of historical fiction, Don Gutteridge captures in fine, fully sensory detail the conflicts and changes of early Canada, and the prejudices, hatreds, disputes and loyalties involved in its development – all depicted through the singular experiences of a woman named Lily through the decades of her long life. There is blood and disgrace, passion and kindness, love and heartbreak and courage in Lily’s Story, every moment vividly, intimately rendered” Joan Barfoot
“Don Gutteridge’s novel is a masterly work that deserves time and attention to devour. That being said, once you start Lily’s Story, you won’t be satisfied till you reach the end. Gutteridge’s ability to draw characters that are so realistic, so likeable, is second to none.” Reader’s Favorite Reviews
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Born in 1840 near the shores of the Great Lakes, Lily begins as a shy, motherless girl, abandoned to play the hand that fate has dealt. In the course of her remarkable life ending in 1922, communities grow around her, husbands arrive and are taken, children are nurtured, and her days are filled with toil. An illiterate washerwoman and cleaner with the gift of wisdom, they are also leavened with friendship and purpose. No one stops fate. Wars are waged, fires reap destruction, runaway slaves from the South seek refuge, oil is discovered, railways arrive bringing hustlers, politicians and princes from afar. But Lily refuses to see herself as a helpless leaf in the winds of change. When the Prince of Wales, son of Queen Victoria, eyes the young beauty on his royal progress in the colonies, she chooses “agency” and knowingly accepts the Prince’s embraces. She becomes pregnant and gives birth. It affects her life but not in ways we anticipate. Don Gutteridge proves his mastery of the historical saga in Lily Fairchild that has already enchanted early readers. A longer version of it, titled Lily’s Story, was first released in a limited paperback edition of 608 pages and as an eBook. It garnered ecstatic response but at 287,940 words was deemed long by some. He has trimmed 60,000 words from it and tightened the pacing with a view to seeking traditional publication. See reviews on Goodreads here. Don Gutteridge grew up in Point Edward Ontario, the locale of the novel. It is now surrounded by the city of Sarnia on the Michigan border. As a youth he worked on the railway and listened to the voices of the people which he captures eloquently. A prolific poet and author of more than 16 novels, he is renowned for his Marc Edwards series of mysteries set in the 1840s Rebellions era in Toronto
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Non-Fiction
David Healy Pharmageddon
P
harmageddon has arrived. The large pharmaceutical companies have hijacked healthcare and the results are alarming.
Praise for Pharmageddon: “Neuropharmacologist David Healy’s exposé of the pharmaceutical industry’s control of modern medicine is a chilling, essential read.”
Healy, who was the first to draw attention to the now well-publicized suicide-inducing side effects of many antidepressants, presents a searing indictment of problems in health care that are leading to a growing number of deaths and disabilities. Also, often culpable are wellmeaning physicians who under the sway of drug companies diagnose for risks using “numbers” handed to them.
“It is the most powerful critique of the contemporary medical-industrial complex that I know.” Andrew T. Scull author of Hysteria and Madness
Only a small percentage of drugs now target disease. The bestselling drugs are “lifestyle” or “risk management” drugs: antidepressants, cholesterol-lowing statins, blood-sugar-lowering hypoglycemics, and treatments for osteoporosis and sexual dysfunction. Moreover, many newer generations of drugs under patent are often less effective than earlier versions.
MacClean’s Magazine (Named a best non-fiction book of 2012)
“Pharmageddon is Healy’s most important book to date. It will make a real contribution towards healing our sick system of pharmaceutical-driven medicine and helping doctors provide better care for their patients.” Elizabeth Siegel Watkins author of The Estrogen Elixir “[Pharmageddon] is provocative, challenging, and informative, and ultimately it serves as a powerful manifesto for rethinking modern medicine.” Robert Whitaker author of Anatomy of an Epidemic
The survival of pharmaceutical companies is tied to the development of blockbuster drugs, so that they must overhype benefits and deny real hazards. He is also critical of industry-controlled drug trials and the corrupted “evidence-based medical system.” These trends have basically ended the possibility of universal health care in the United States and elsewhere around the world. Dr. Healy concludes with suggestions for reform, which must come soon. David Healy is Professor of Psychiatry at Cardiff University in Britain, a former Secretary of the British Association for Psycho-pharmacology, and the author of more than 20 books and 350 artciles. He has written seminial histories of antidepressants, antipsychotics, and bipolar disorder.
U of California Press World English March 2012 Misuzu Shobo Japan 2014
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Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Kate Hilton Just Like Family
A
Praise for The Hole in the Middle: “Hilton captures and distils the slight but constant ripping at the seams that can happen in a marriage when there is simply no time to nurture it.”
Marissa Stapley, author of
Mating for Life
“Hilton captures the delicate and often unforgiving balancing act that is everyday life for so many women.” Jennifer Robson Author of Somewhere in France
“I thoroughly enjoyed it. Kate Hilton has created a warm, memorable and insightful heroine.”
Joy Fielding
“As moving as it is entertaining, this novel is crammed with funny, truthful moments that will strike a chord with over-extended women everywhere” Hello Magazine
“Wholly deserves to be set apart from other books of its ilk.”
The National Post
very Graham has three husbands. Her ex-husband, Hugh, is a mistake she won’t repeat. An illicit affair that took an unexpected turn into matrimony, Avery’s marriage to Hugh, like her twenties self, was artistic, sexy and a little bit dangerous – until it was time to grow up. She can’t face him, because she can’t forgive herself. Her work-husband, Peter, is the charismatic mayor she has worshipped since childhood. Bound together by deep family connections, and by a shared vision, Avery has never trusted anyone the way she trusts Peter. Now his Chief of Staff, Avery is at her best professional self with Peter: cool, smart, strategic, and passionate about being of service to her community, And then there is Matt, Avery’s almost-husband, her romantic partner of fourteen years. With Matt, Avery has the comfort of a spouse without any limits on her independence. Or so she thought. When Matt announces that he wants to get married and start a family, Avery’s world is turned upside down. As she considers his proposal, Avery is forced to confront her deepest fears about love and loss, and decide who she wants to be. Just Like Family is witty, funny, and profound. Kate Hilton has an English degree from McGill University and a law degree from University of Toronto. She has worked in fund-raising and public relations and made her debut as a novelist with The Hole in the Middle, a bestseller in Canada for HarperCollins and scheduled for US by PenguinRandomHouse in 2016. A 4.5 starred review of it in RT Magazine notes: “The friendships, work relationships and struggles are so beautifully depicted that you will want to read it again to pick up the wisdom you missed the first time through.” She lives in Toronto and is the mother of two boys.
HarperCollins Canada June 2017
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Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Kate Hilton The Hole in the Middle A Redbook 20 Hottest Books to Read This Spring 2016
S Kate Hilton has worked in law, higher education, public relations, fundraising and publishing. She has an English degree from McGill University and a law degree from the University of Toronto. “The pacing is fast, the suspense is strong from start to finish.” Roberta Rich
“I thoroughly enjoyed it. Kate Hilton has created a warm, memorable and insightful heroine.”
Joy Fielding
“As moving as it is entertaining, this novel is crammed with funny, truthful moments that will strike a chord with over-extended women everywhere” Hello Magazine
“Wholly deserves to be set apart from other books of its ilk.”
The National Post
ophie Whelan is the epitome of the modern, successful woman. She has a great husband, two adorable children, funny, generous friends, and a high-powered job at a leading children’s hospital. When Sophie operates at peak performance, she can cajole balky employees, trouble-shoot career disasters, and throw a dinner party for 10 without anxiety. But as Sophie’s 40th birthday looms, her seamless life reveals disturbing web-like fractures. Conflict with her boss, blossoming jealousy of her husband’s femme fatale business partner, and feelings of hopeless inadequacy as a mother and daughter, crack the edifice of her life. There is a futher complication—the reappearance of Will Shannon who was the great love and crushing disappointment of her college days. He wants her to work for his family foundation. Ordinarily, it would be a dream job. Instead, the offer presents an ocean of dragons lying in ambush. Kate Hilton has a gift for creating characters who are easy to love, a flair for social comedy, and a talent for the surprising and satisfying ending. The Hole in the Middle, a Canadian bestseller, makes its US debut in 2016. Kate is completing her second novel, Just Like Family, about a woman executive who is juggling her “work husband”, her ex-husband, and her almost husband who wants a commitment. With sharp observational humour and deep poignancy, Kate Hilton explores themes of midlife disappointment and human connection.
Watch Kate Hilton’s interviews on Breakfast Television and The Morning Show HarperCollins CAN Dec 2013 NAL/Penguin Random House US 2016
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Mystery
Mary Jackman Finger Food
A
Praise for Spoiled Rotten: “Liz Walker, [is] a lively and believable character... and grabs your attention. She’s a gem.” The Star Phoenix
“Jackman’s entertaining debut is sure to appeal.”
Publisher’s Weekly
“Spoiled Rotten is light summer fare... fun and full of drama.”
Halifax Chronicle Herald
severed finger is delivered to the Corner Bistro in a lettuce crate. The police soon discover it belongs to Norman Fitzgerald, a recent murder victim found in a crop circle. The macabre story is leaked to the press and the restaurant fills up with diners dressed in Martian costumes. Business is business and Richard Best, manager of Corners can’t believe their good fortune. Roni Taylor, the owner, is not so sure. Roni, curious about the crop circle, visits the farm and receives a brutal welcome. She is attacked, her newly acquired friend Ramona disappears and Alex Silva, Ramona’s husband, is murdered. The most interesting resident, and possible suspect, is Ramona’s lover John Mackinnon, a country playboy with a penchant for married women. Roni is susceptible to John’s entreaties to find Ramona and help clear him of charges. The adventure beats sorting dirty linen and the mundane tasks of running a restaurant. This is the start of a new mystery series with Roni Taylor and the Corner Bistro in Ithaca, New York. Mary Jackman is a witty and lively writer, bringing murder and suspense to the restaurant business. She certainly knows the terrain, she is the former owner of a popular restaurant, Peter Pan in Toronto, where several noted chefs got their start.
Manuscript Available
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Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Mystery
Mary Jackman Spoiled Rotten
L
eggy, sexy Liz Walker is the owner of Walker’s Way, a funky, hip restaurant and a breeding ground for young, soon-to-be famous chefs.
Praise for Spoiled Rotten: “Liz Walker, [is] a lively and believable character... and grabs your attention. She’s a gem.” The Star Phoenix
“Jackman’s entertaining debut, centered on a cozy Toronto bistro, is sure to appeal to anyone interested in the restaurant business.”
Publisher’s Weekly
“Spoiled Rotten is Light summer fare that also makes one salivate with all its talk of food... fun and full of drama.”
Halifax Chronicle Herald
Liz, smart and savvy, the mother of a 20-year-old son, knows how to deal with transient staff and temperamental cooks. But she is shocked when the butcher Mr. Tony, where she buys meat, is found hacked to death, the victim of a grisly murder. Moreover, she is worried when her talented young chef Daniel hasn’t shown up for work and becomes the main suspect. Liz goes looking for Daniel and winds up in the middle of a delicious plot that includes real estate machinations, a scam for selling illegal work visas, and betrayal. The fact that the police investigator on the case, David Winn, is falling for Liz adds zest to the adventure, but also raises the stakes. Mary Jackman, like her delightful heroine Liz Walker, owns a cool and funky restaurant, the Peter Pan in Toronto’s Queen St neighborhood where a few celebrity chefs (Susur Lee) got their start. In her new venture, she gives us an insider’s view of the restaurant and food business with all of its allure and some of its tribulations. Spoiled Rotten will entertain and enlighten anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant, dreamed of owning a restaurant, or eaten in a restaurant. And fans have a new Liz Walker installment to anticipate, titled Finger Food.
Dundurn World Rights Spring 2012
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Political Science/Policy
Donald J. Johnston Missing the Tide
Global Governments in Retreat
How the global optimism that characterized the 1990s evolved into pessimism and chaos. Donald J. Johnston is the former Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. He lives in Montreal.
T
he 90s were a decade of hope in a great future that lay ahead for generations to follow. Major challenges were approached with the realization that world leadership had the capacity to not only meet these challenges, but to turn them into unprecedented opportunities for global social and economic progress. In Missing the Tide, Donald Johnston demonstrates that none of these opportunities achieved their objectives, and in some cases failed completely. Scrutinizing some of the most significant unfulfilled hopes, he uses his discerning eye to dissect the failure of the West to engage effectively with a democratic Russia after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the European Union’s fractious path intending to become history’s largest and most competitive economy. This experienced man of the world inspects the expansion of the Marshall Plan concept to regions fractured by division and conflict, and the diminishing prospect of global free trade and investment stimulating economic growth in the developing world. He examines the absence of coordinated international action to combat climate change, the corruption in corporate governance undermining healthy capitalism, and the growing threats to democracy. Sifting through the economic, social, and environmental wreckage of the past 20 years, Johnston reflects on the failures and frustrations of international public policy. Can this rapid decline be arrested and reversed? In assessing the impotency of the international community to meet these challenges, Missing the Tide extracts some lessons to be learned and looks with cautious optimism to the future.
McGill-Queen’s University Press World English/French
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Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Memoir
Eric Koch Otto and Daria:
A Wartime Journey Through No Man’s Land
E Eric Koch, who was born in Frankfurt in 1919, lives in Toronto. His grandfather was a court jeweler and his father was an officer in the German army in WWI. Eric was deported to Canada, interned as an enemy alien during WWII. On his release, he remained in Canada, making his career at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He also is the author of 14 works of fiction and five works of non-fiction. Praise for Otto and Daria: “No one will finish reading this lovely book without experiencing a lifting of the spirits. To read it is to appreciate the value of music, literature, the effects of war, the hopes of peace, and the world’s cultural if not its civilized values.” John Robert Colombo, author, editor and translator of more than 200 books
“With its rare blend of insight, humour and astonishing detail, Eric Koch’s memoir is a deeply moving tribute to a vivid past. Engaging and inspiring, its appeal is universal and unchanging.” The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson
ric Koch was 19, on holiday from his studies at Cambridge in August 1938, when he met 17-year-old Daria. She had uncombed hair, sparkling blue eyes and ambitions to be a writer. Eric, a Jewish refugee fleeing Nazi Germany, had war and uncertainty in his future. Of Daria, he noted: “Too young for me anyway. What would I do with a schoolgirl.” Yet, their encounter at a two-star hotel in the French Alps was the beginning of a five-year correspondence, set against huge upheavals. Eric was arrested by the British as an enemy alien and sent to an internment camp in Canada. Daria, daughter of a privileged and cultured family in London, struggled to find her path in the maelstrom. Her letters are fresh and reveal a lively intelligence and considerable talent. But as the war and the years unfold, increasingly dark signs emerge. Loneliness and fear propel Daria and Eric to flirt with romantic fantasies of being together after the war. Eric, unmoored from home and the family’s upscale jewelry establishment in Frankfurt, ironically, exhibited greater resilience. Daria, whose father was a renowned musician and whose mother was from the British aristocracy, suffered emotional turbulence in London. Eric had saved Daria’s letters. When he unearthed them five decades later, they shocked him and he sought news of her. Her family rebuffed him, blaming him for grievously disappointing her. Did he lead her on? Were there junctures when different decisions could have meant a vastly different outcome? This memoir of a relationship between two young people in a time of war and internment is an engrossing, poignant tale that will be embraced by readers who admire In the Garden of the Beasts and The Hare With Amber Eyes.
University of Regina Press 2016
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Memoir
Jack Kuper Child of the Holocaust
“Marvellous . . . The charm and fascination of the book lie in the dual role of survival and growing up.” London Times Literary Supplement
Remarkable . . . Gripping . . . a child’s struggle for survival”
The Globe and Mail
“Astounding . . . a work that amounts to a letter from inside a nightmare . . . A miraculous example of the human spirit at its most resilient.” Toronto Star
“Artfully rendered . . . testifying to the spirit of a man who emerged whole from a childhood of shame and despair.” Saturday Review
“He reveals the terror, the mental and physical sufferings, and the hope and courage of a youngster’s desperate will to survive.” Seattle Times
J
ack Kuper was only nine years old when he came home to find everyone in his family gone. The night before, Germans had come to his village in rural Poland and taken away all the Jews. Now alone in the world, he has to change his name, forget his language and abandon his religion in order to survive. Jack wanders through Nazi occupied Poland for four years, with no place to hide and no one to trust. The harrowing true story of how he survives has been hailed as a classic, as powerful as The Diary of Anne Frank, and celebrated for its rare beauty. It has been in print in various editions in English and a dozen other languages since 1966. After the war, Jack Kuper escaped Poland and immigrated to Canada at the age of 15. He spent much of his career in advertising, producing and directing award-winning TV commercials. As a filmmaker he has written and directed several shorts. His film RUN! was honoured at the Venice Film Festival. He is also the author of After the Smoke Cleared, the sequel to this book. He now lives in Toronto with his wife Terrye and speaks often to groups about his experiences during the Holocaust.
Robson Press UK 2013 Mexico Diana/Planeta 2009 Dozens of translations/editions US, Can rights available
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Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Canadian History
Robert Lewis Power, Prime Ministers And The Press
R Robert Lewis began his career as a member of the exalted Ottawa Press Gallery reporting for the Montreal Star. He later was a correspondent for Time-Life News Service, and in 1993, he was appointed editor-in-chief of Maclean’s. In 2001 he became Vice President of Content Development at Rogers Media, and in 2009 he founded Robert Lewis Ink. Bob Lewis is a former Chair, Board of Directors, Canadian Journalism Foundation and a former member of the Board of Governors, York University. He lives in Toronto.
obert Lewis gives us a vivid and stirring history of Canada and our leaders viewed through the piercing lens of the Parliamentary press corps. From the days of John A. MacDonald in 1867 to the election of Justin Trudeau in 2015 we see our powerful politicians through the colourful gang of journalists who followed them, served them, argued with them, and exposed them. Bob Lewis was a fresh-faced 22-year-old reporter when he landed his dream job in 1965, covering parliament for the Montreal Star and joining the august Press Gallery. Lester Pearson was Prime Minister, John Diefenbaker had been dispatched from Tory leadership, a sex scandal raged, the Quebec separatist movement was growing in strength, and soon Pierre Trudeau stepped forward in the struggle to hold the nation together. Major change was at the gates. A skilled reporter, Bob Lewis not only scoured the archives and memoirs of dozens of Ottawa veterans, he interviewed journalists, politicians and their families to cull their experiences of events. He has written a Canadian history like no other in bringing the personal relationships and battles between prime ministers and the press to life. Underpinning this panoramic journey lurks a welling anxiety. Newspapers and media outlets are contracting dangerously. Today, fewer organizations are sending reporters to cover parliament’s national agenda, and the diminution is producing citizens who are less engaged, and who are voting in fewer numbers.
Manuscript available
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Fiction
Susan Ferrier MacKay Butterfly of Venus
A
D V of
Susan Ferrier MacKay
R A G O N F L Y
Dragonfly of Venus
E N U S
A
t age 40, Elizabeth Susan Ferrier MacKay Harding, head of a is a journalist and writer who lives hugely successful music talent agency, is nursing a brooutside Toronto. ken heart and harboring a sexual secret- she has never experienced satisfaction with a partner.
Dragonfly of Venus was uthor Susan Ferrier published in German MacKay adroitly blends with Butterfly of Venus an exciting tale with an erotic by Droemer. heart. Elizabeth and Declan are now nested in a secluded retreat in Scotland, saturated in wedded bliss as parents of adorable twins.
Entering her world is Declan Thomas, a stunningly attractive, brilliant young singer/songwriter. Despite her fear of mixing business with romance, and the fact that Declan is 16 years her junior, Elizabeth is won over by the confident young man urging her to share her steamy sexual fantasies with him.
Declan, a star musician, tears himself away to fly out for a short gig. His plane crashes on an isolated rocky Scottish shore and, unbeknownst to others, he wanders in delirium, waiting for rescue. While Elizabeth awaits news, paralyzed by grief, Natasha, the woman who is obsessed with Declan, again works to usurp Elizabeth’s identity as Declan’s wife. As the stakes escalate, Natasha turns murderous. Can Elizabeth and Declan and their children get out alive?
But Declan also has a complex personal life. He is being stalked by a viperous, possessive former lover who insinuated herself into Elizabeth’s office. Elizabeth stands to lose everything: Declan, her business, her balance, and even her life. HarperCollins NA 2014 eBook Droemer Germany 2014
Droemer Germany 2014
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Non-Fiction
Michael Marrus Lessons of the Holocaust
Winner of The Canadian Jewish Literary Award for History
Praise for Lessons of the Holocaust: “Academic memoir, erudite historiographical essay, provocative challenge to a flood of clichés, thoughtful analysis of the nature and purpose of the historical profession, and intellectual feast—Michael Marrus’ Lessons of the Holocaust is all of these and a constant delight to read.”
Christopher R. Browning
“An important argument, relevant to scholars and popular audiences alike: that we must challenge, even discard, our unquestioned pieties regarding the Holocaust. This is an excellent, stimulating book, sure to be both well received and widely discussed.” Susannah Heschel
“Fascinating book by one of the masters...”
Yehuda Bauer
University of Toronto Press 2016
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W
hen the eminent historian Michael Marrus was a student at Berkeley in the 1960’s, the Holocaust—the great catastrophe of European Jewry—was hardly a footnote to the study of WWII. However, as the full horror of Germany’s Nazi regime emerged, the Holocaust grew to become a central and confounding event of the 20th Century. As knowledge about the genocide of European Jews has exploded, the quest to distil its “lessons” has intensified. What can we learn from the Holocaust? Is there a redemptive message, or “take away” that may help prevent such depravity in the future? Teasing these lessons out of the ashes of World War II is far more complex than familiar platitudes might suggest. Who defines the lessons? Where do we look for them—to the victims, to the perpetrators, to the bystanders, to the political leaders? How do we commemorate or memorialize the Holocaust? Indeed, are there lessons? Michael Marrus, an internationally renowned historian and expert on the Holocaust, brings us into the conversation as he surveys this urgent question. Here are such authorities as Hannah Arendt, Elie Wiesel, Primo Levi, Raul Hilberg, Emil Fackenheim, Christopher Browning, Daniel Goldhagen, and others. Yet, they often come up short on definitive “lessons.” In this brief, sharp, stimulating analysis by a historian still totally engaged with his subject, Marrus offers the reader a new approach to the Holocaust lessons so many of us seek. Michael Marrus is the author of The Holocaust in History, The Nuremberg War Crimes Trial 1945-46: A Documentary History, Vichy France and the Jews (with Robert O. Paxton), and Some Measure of Justice, on Holocaust restitution. He is a Fellow of Massey College at the University of Toronto and the Wolfe Professor Emeritus of HoloBeverley Slopen Literary Agency
Non-Fiction
Ken McGoogan Dead Reckoning:
The Untold Story of Arctic Discovery
I
n this magnificent book, Ken McGoogan weaves past and present, the personal and the historical, the scientific and the romantic, into a seamless tale.
Praise for Fatal Passage: “A passionately and immaculately researched book. A sort of Arctic whodunnit”
Beryl Bainbridge
“McGoogan tells a riveting story -- backed by solid research -- that illuminates a fascinating chapter in the annals of Arctic exploration”
The Wall Street Journal
“In Ken McGoogan’s artful telling, John Rae emerges from the shadows to take his place among the most intriguing of the 19th century arctic explorers. This is delightful reading.” Andrea Barrett
Praise for Race to the Polar Sea: “Ken McGoogan’s readable biography ensures Kane’s place in the pantheon of polar explorers. Highly recommended.” Library Journal Review – Starred
In Dead Reckoning, McGoogan reaches back to the 17thC when Arctic adventurers relied largely on speed x time to calculate their location. He conveys the sweep and splendour of Arctic history through accounts of the explorers, the fur traders, and above all the indigenous citizens who have been omitted from previous exploration narratives. Among them is Akaitcho, the Yellowknife chieftain who rescued John Franklin after he lost more than half his men on his first overland expedition. We also meet Tookoolito, an Inuk woman brought to England, who learned English and assisted Charles Francis Hall. There is Hans Hendrik, an Inuk who helped Philadelphia doctor Elisha Kent Kane. Along the way, McGoogan explodes some myths, notably the legend of Sir John Franklin’s heroism. McGoogan asserts that he was a hapless bungler who presided over the worst disaster is the history of Arctic exploration and that his prominence is due to a master spin-doctor—his wife Jane Franklin. The story of Franklin will continue today with the discovery of Franklin’s two lost ships, the Erebus and the Terror. Ken McGoogan is possibly the only historian of the Arctic who has made more than nine trips to the region, including journeys through the fabled Northwest Passage. His dozen published books include four biographies of Arctic explorers. He has won such coveted prizes as: the Pierre Berton Award for History, the University of British Columbia Medal for Canadian Biography, the Canadian Authors’ Association History Award, the Writers’ Trust of Canada Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize, and an American Christopher Award.
HarperCollins Canada 2017
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Non-Fiction
Ken McGoogan 50 Canadians Who Changed The World
A
mazing people who have built our present and are shaping our tomorrow.
“Ken McGoogan is required reading for any Canadian who wants to know the real history of our country.” —Peter Mansbridge
“McGoogan is rapidly becoming the rightful successor to populist historian Pierre Berton.” —Toronto Star
Using the successful format of How the Scots Invented Canada, Ken McGoogan takes the reader on a compelling journey through the lives of fifty accomplished Canadians born in the 20th century who have changed—and often continue to change—the great wide world. He discovers an astonishing array of activists, humanitarians, visionaries, scientists and inventors, all of whom have made an impact internationally. From Tommy Douglas, Pierre Trudeau, John Kenneth Galbraith, Naomi Klein, Marshall McLuhan, Stephen Lewis and Roméo Dallaire to Glenn Gould, David Suzuki, Mike Lazaridis, Margaret Atwood, Oscar Peterson, Leonard Cohen and thirty-seven others, Ken McGoogan shows us why and how Canadians move in the wider world as influencers and agents of progressive change. Say hello to fifty Canadians who are shaping the future. Ken McGoogan is the bestselling, author of three previous books on Arctic explorers and adventurers, Fatal Passage, Ancient Mariner and Lady Franklin’s Revenge. His awards include the Christopher Award, the Pierre Berton Award, the Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize. Fatal Passage, the story of explorer John Rae and his confrontation with Lady Jane Franklin and Charles Dickens, has been adapted for an acclaimed film, which was released in the UK, US and Canada in 2008.
HarperCollins CAN 2013
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Non-Fiction
Ken McGoogan How The Scots Invented Canada
N “...[written with] lively intelligence and [a] keen eye for detail... How the Scots Invented Canada provides a pleasurable way to get to know many of the most colourful men and women in our history.”
Globe & Mail
“McGoogan’s How the Scots Invented Canada isn’t presenting Scottish influence as absolute on the evolution of Canada, but certainly an essential one... A magnificent, rich compilation of Canadian (and Scottish) histories.” Author Rob McLennan
“All in all, there are about five million good reasons to read McGoogan’s book.” Winnipeg Free Press
o matter where you enter the history of Canada – through exploration, politics, business, education or literature -- you find that the Scots and their descendants have played a leading role. Today, almost five million Canadians identify themselves as Scottish, and their influence is felt throughout the land. Starting with his own deep roots in Scotland and early Canada, Ken McGoogan has created a lively, entertaining narrative that focuses on more than sixty Scots who have led the way in shaping this country. Early arrivals included explorers Alexander Mackenzie, Simon Fraser and the “Scotch West Indian,” James Douglas. Later, Scots such as Lord Selkirk and John Galt encouraged thousands to immigrate. Nation-builders followed, among them John A. Macdonald, James McGill and the reformer Nellie McClung. Then came the visionaries, Scottish Canadians such as Tommy Douglas, Doris Anderson and Marshall McLuhan, who have turned Canada into a nation that revels in diversity. McGoogan commemorates the first settlers to land at Pictou, Nova Scotia, and celebrates such hybrid Canadians as the Cherokee Scot John Norton, Thérèse MacDonald Casgrain and the kilt-loving John George Diefenbaker. He honours the war contributions of Scottish Canadian regiments, and he toasts Sir Walter Scott and the beloved Robbie Burns. Beautifully illustrated and handsomely packaged, How the Scots Invented Canada is an exuberant celebration of the building of a nation.
Ken McGoogan is the bestselling, author of three previous books on Arctic explorers and adventurers, Fatal Passage, Ancient Mariner and Lady Franklin’s Revenge. His awards include the Christopher Award, the Pierre Berton Award, the Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize. Fatal Passage, the story of explorer John Rae and his confrontation with Lady Jane Franklin and Charles Dickens, has been adapted for an acclaimed film, which was released in the UK, US and Canada in 2008. HarperCollins Canada 2010
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Non-Fiction
“His biography is detailed and compulsive.” The Mail on Sunday (London)
“...an exhaustive and scrupulously researched biography.”
Sara Wheeler Times of London
HarperCollins Canada 2005 Bantam United Kingdom 2007
Ken McGoogan
Ken McGoogan
Lady Franklin’s Revenge
Fatal Passage
Born into a wealthy London family in 1791, Jane Griffin was denied the opportunities available to men of her class. Yet she became a world traveler, and with her husband Sir John Franklin presided over Tasmania. She helped Franklin seize the leadership of a Royal Navy expedition to find the shortcut to China. After he disappeared in the Arctic, Jane dispatched seven doomed expeditions to find him, and became the most important person in Arctic exploration.
“In Ken McGoogan’s artful telling, John Rae emerges from the shadows to take his place among the most intriguing of the 19th century arctic explorers. This is delightful reading.” Andrea Barrett
Carroll & Graf USA 2002 Bantam Press UK 2002 HarperCollins Canada 2001 Film PTV
The Observer
“A gripping tale of genuine adventures, very well told.”
Kirkus Reviews
Bantam Press UK 2004 Carroll & Graf USA 2004 HarperCollins Canada 2003
Rae’s heroic achievements were almost wiped from history by Franklin’s widow who enlisted Charles Dickens in her campaign against him.
Ken McGoogan
Ken McGoogan
Ancient Mariner
Race to the Polar Sea
Samuel Hearne, the first European to reach the Arctic coast of North America, made a remarkable 3500mile journey over land in his quest for copper.
“Brisk, readable books don’t come much better than this.”
In May 1854, John Rae, a young Scottish doctor, achieved the goal dozens of Arctic explorers had attempted and failed. He discovered the key link in the Northwest Passage, and he learned the shocking truth of cannibalism among the starving crew of the expedition led by Sir John Franklin.
The harrowing expedition culminated in the infamous massacre of Bloody Falls in 1771. Later, Hearne was captured by the French in a siege against his Arctic outpost. He was torn away from his lover, a native woman, who tragically died before he could return to her.
Elisha Kent Kane, a young Philadelphia doctor, is often proclaimed to be America’s Shackleton. He led two gruelling expeditions in the 1850s to the North Pole. “An impressive case for the bravery and importance of the explorer who first identified the Greenland ice sheet.”
The young adventurer’s rightful place in Arctic legend was ruined by his love for an unsuitable woman.
“Terrifically accessible.”
Arctic Whiteout: A discovery of the Northwest Passage and the hidden truth about John Franklin.
Publishers Weekly Kirkus
Counterpoint US 2008 HarperCollins Canada 2008
NEW PROPOSAL:
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Non Fiction
Keriann McGoogan The Road From Tana
A
Keriann McGoogan is an English-major turned primatologist turned editor. She has two degrees in primatology from the University of Calgary and a PhD in Biological Anthropology from the University of Toronto. She transitioned from field work in the jungle to become an acquisitions editor for a leading educational publisher. She also is a board member for Planet Madagascar, a non-profit that aims to conserve Madagascar’s unique biodiversity while also helping the Malagasy people. She lives in Toronto with her partner and founder of Planet Madagascar, Travis Steffens.
t age 25 Keriann McGoogan scored the research project of her dreams. Her thesis adviser for her PhD in primatology recruited her for fieldwork studying lemurs in the remote forests of Madagascar. He had planned to set up the site and then depart after a few weeks, leaving Keriann to share the responsibilities with key Malagasy staff. His faith in his accomplished student was well placed. Keriann was comfortable in the bush, she had prior experience studying primates in Belize, and passion for her subject drove her. “No, I wasn’t soul searching or seeking to ‘find myself,’” she says. Her earlier fieldwork in Belize had also offered enticements. There, Keriann was part of a group of sixteen women and one sole male, Travis, a fellow Calgary student. They fell in love studying the Black Howler monkeys in the Belize jungle. Travis, though, wouldn’t be with her in the terrifying Madagascar jungle far from civilization. One by one, the supports put in place by her professor collapsed. When her right-hand man became delirious with malaria, Keriann—her calm and poised exterior hiding her trembling fears—was left to lead a small band of locals on a desperate three day trek to safety. Despite the terror, readers will find much to enjoy along the journey: the beauty of Madagascar, the interesting details of the famed lemurs, the glimpses of local culture and fauna, and above all the brave, beautiful, curious young woman on the trail.
Manuscript available
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Non-Fiction
Michael McGuire Believing
The Neuroscience of Fantasies, Fears, and Convictions
M
ichael McGuire is a psychiatrist by training, a neuroscientist by occupation and a preeminent figure in brain-behavior research.
Michael McGuire is author or coauthor of 5 books, notably Darwinian Psychiatry (Oxford University Press) and God’s Brain. His research findings on serotonin levels and its links to dominance in vervet monkeys has been featured in the New York Times and Newsweek. His distinguished academic career includes positions at Harvard Medical School, University of California Medical School , Director UCLA’s non-human primate research facility for 20 years and Director, Gruter Institute of Law and Behavior. He lives in northern California. “An important book for any believer who now wants to know.”
—Jay R. Feierman, The Biology of Religious Behavior
“From marketing soft drinks to managing genocidal wars, the brain and its beliefs remain central. Believing will clarify how and why. It may even protect you.”
Lionel Tiger, Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology, Rutgers University Prometheus NA 2013 Peppermint KOR 2014 Obeikan Saudi Arabia 2015
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His interest in the mechanisms and persistence of beliefs was ignited by a tearful psychiatric patient, who, for years was unable to accept that her parents, whom she loved, were her biological parents, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. Her difficulty believing irrefutable evidence led McGuire to undertake decades of research involving vervets and chimpanzees. In this short and lively book, McGuire recounts his investigation on the latest contributions of philosophers, historians, cognitive psychologists, theologians, evolutionary biologists, and brain scientists. Notably, McGuire also draws on his own research on the role of serotonin. Each discipline has something enlightening to offer, but none is sufficient. However, nowhere is there a more complete or entertaining summary of current knowledge on belief. And surprises abound. *Belief does not cause action; action often comes first. *We believe we have made a decision or a plan, that we have free will and choices are not random, but biology says otherwise. *The default state of beliefs is resistance to change. *The brain is the product of millions of years of evolution and the mechanisms responsible for belief are unperceived in awareness. *The brain, its mechanisms and its ways of processing information are unlikely to change soon. McGuire addresses features suggested in Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman and The Believing Brain by Michael Shermer but in their work, the biological mechanisms responsible remain to be specified. It is these that McGuire addresses.
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Angela McIntyre Vicky Sula and The Playboys
T
he rhythms and soul of jazz in the 1920s throb in this novel of Vicky Sula, an accomplished upright bass player who dreams of leading her own band.
Angela McIntyre, born in Whitehorse, Yukon, now lives in Calgary as an event coordinator for literary festivals and runs a jam session Sunday nights at a dive bar. She recently worked under the guidance of celebrated author Tayari Jones at the Napa Valley Writers Conference in California. This is her first novel.
Raised by an impoverished single mother on Chicago’s south side, she began touring in the U.S. for the Chautauqua which brought culture to the “masses.” But she was lured to Chicago’s wild side where illegal booze flowed, sex was menacing, and murderous gangsters ruled. Get on the wrong side of power and you’re dead. When Vicky’s mobster boyfriend Joe is sent north to Moose Jaw, a prairie town in Canada, to seize control of whisky running, Vicky and her band, The Playboys, go with him. It is her chance to live out her dream -–if she can survive. Moose Jaw, equipped with maze of underground tunnels used by gangsters to run contraband booze to the rail station and to house illegal Chinese immigrants, is a marvel of corruption and surprise. Vicky, whose silky flapper dress conceals a tiny pearl handled gun strapped to her garter, is shocked to encounter a young woman chained to a bed and abused as a sex slave. She is Yoo Lin, who was following in her father’s footsteps of challenging the Chinese regime and was forced to flee. Vicky liberates Yoo Lin and vows to protect her. Although love can bloom in such toxic soil, it can’t flourish unless Vicky can get both of them out alive.
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Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Kim Moritsugu The Showrunner All About Eve meets The Devil Wears Prada
K
im Moritsugu’s novel The Showrunner is set inside the high stakes world of TV series production in Hollywood.
Kim Moritsugu lives in Toronto where she gives walking tours of Toronto’s North Rosedale neighbourhood, sings in a rock choir, and teaches creative writing through the Humber School for Writers. Praise for The Oakdale Dinner Club “Witty, smart, sarcastic, The Oakdale Dinner Club is a compelling read.”
– Eva Stachniak, author of The Winter Palace and Empress of the Night.
“You know when you’re reading a book and it’s so delicious that you can’t decide whether to savor or devour it? It’s like a smart, sarcastic soap opera (Gossip Girl for grownups).”
— Robin Spano, author of the Clare Vengel Undercover Novels.
“I had no idea that reading could be so much fun! This novel is a delicious romp – social satire blended nicely with food and sex, a wonderfully wicked combo.”
– Isabel Huggan, author of Belonging
Stacey McCreedy is the new young firecracker in the Hollywood firmament. She began her career a few years earlier as an acolyte to Ann Dalloni the industry legend. Clever and ambitious, Stacey originated and developed the concept for The Benjamins, brought it to Ann who was her boss at the time, and extracted a partnership agreement to coproduce it and to run it jointly. The show is a mega hit, and Stacey is now chafing to fly on her own, free from Ann’s tyranny. At 63, Ann struggles to hide her increasing vulnerability –she is losing her eye sight, her marriage is crumbling, she is gaining weight, drinking too much, and acting inappropriately. Her distrust and criticism of Stacey is increasing. So far, so stable. Then Ann hires a delightful young assistant, Jenna Kuyt, an out of work actress, who is trying to restart her washed up career at age 20-something. The sweet little thing is a master of manipulation, picking her way through minefields as the animosity between Stacey and Ann becomes murderous. Kim Moritsugu walks the delicate lines of farce and satire with agility, but readers, in a shock of recognition, will find it realistic. Kim Moritsugu is the author of six previous novels: the romantic comedy Looks Perfect (shortlisted for the Toronto Book Award), the domestic comedy Old Flames, the literary mystery The Glenwood Treasure (shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Best Crime Novel Award), the domestic novel The Restoration of Emily (serialized on CBC Radio’s Between the Covers), the Rapid Reads short novel And Everything Nice, and The Oakdale Dinner Club.
Manuscript Available
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Memoir
Shannon Moroney Through The Glass
W
Shannon Moroney speaks widely on restorative justice. She is also a teacher in Toronto. Learn more at: www.shannonmoroney.com Praise for Shannon Moroney: “A compelling documentation of a flawed penal system, a nuanced look at the humanity of a violent criminal, and a snapshot of the cognitive dissonance required by romantic love. Most of all, it’s a meditation on forgiveness.” - Maclean’s
“A remarkable story... of love and betrayal, of a horribly broken man’s hidden bbrutality and his ex-wife’s boundless capacity to forgive.” - National Post
UK Title: The Stranger Inside
hen Shannon Moroney married in October of 2005, she had no idea that her happy life as a newlywed was about to come crashing down. One month after her wedding, a police officer arrived at her door to tell her that her husband, Jason, had been arrested and charged in the brutal assault and kidnapping of two women. In the aftermath of these crimes, Shannon dealt with a heavy burden of grief, the stress and publicity of a major criminal investigation, and the painful stigma of guilt-by-association, all while attempting to understand what had made Jason turn to such violence. In this intimate and gripping journey into prisons, courtrooms and the human heart, Shannon exposes the far-reaching impact of Jason’s crimes, the agonizing choices faced by the loved ones of offenders and the implicit dangers of a correctional system and a society that prioritizes punishment over rehabilitation, and victimhood over recovery. Through it all, Shannon retained unwavering support from her closeknit family and golden circle of friends. In forging her own path to forgiveness –to let go of hope for a better past-- she won a fellowship to complete a Master’s degree in International Child Welfare in England at the University of East Anglia. She speaks internationally on restorative justice and has extensively toured Canada and the U.S., addressing university and high school students, prison inmates, legal and mental health professionals and law-enforcers on the ripple effects of crime for all victims and for society at large. She is a volunteer with Leave Out ViolencE and is a contributor to The Forgiveness Project, an international charity that encourages people to explore the nature of forgiveness and alternatives to revenge. Her radio documentary, In Harm’s Way, aired on CBC’s The Current in fall 2015.
Doubleday Canada Fall 2011 Simon & Schuster US 2012 Smon & Schuster UK 2013
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Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Donna Morrissey The Fortunate Brother
“H The exuberance of Donna Morrissey’s fans is boundless. Her six novels have been compared to Dickens, Hardy, Shakespeare and the Bible. Her literary awards are numerous, and her books have been widely published and translated into German, Japanese, Swedish, and Italian. Born in The Beaches, a small fishing outport on west coast of Newfoundland, she now lives in Halifax, Canada. “Morrissey summons energy ... the writing is poised, charged and tactile, almost biblical in places.”
The Sunday Times (London)
“Donna Morissey is one of our country’s finest writers. And The Fortunate Brother might very well be her most powerful novel to date. An intimate study of family, a murder mystery, a love song to a people and to what home truly means, I can’t recommend this book highly enough.”
er writing has what Chekhov called an indispensable layering of fact and feeling,” said author Howard Norman, one of her fans which include Thomas Keneally, Vincent Lam, and Alistair MacLeod. With The Fortunate Brother Donna Morrissey surpasses her previous accomplishments. We once again see the full range of human longing, redemption and exultation through life in a remote fishing village in the North Atlantic. Here, great environmental and technological disruptions shake both land and society. The fish are gone, taking livelihood too. It is a real place but it takes on a mythic timelessness in Morrissey’s powerful story which weaves love, grief and murder. Kyle Now, the 20-year old youngest son of Sylvanus and Addie, is a charming, popular young man. With the tragic death of his brother Chris who perished in a violent explosion in the western oil fields, Kyle feels that it is his responsibility to shoulder the family burdens. His mother, the family’s tower of strength, is undergoing cancer treatment, while his father Sylvanus takes refuge in drinking. Threatening their fragile balance are two men who menace the community. One is the feral Trap who is suspected of causing Chris’s death in the oil sands. The other is Clar Gillard, the abusive husband of Addie’s friend Bonnie. Clar’s vicious insanity was glimpsed when he tied Bonnie to a chair and sprayed her with oven cleaner.
Joseph Boyden
Kyle and his father have a nasty altercation with Clar Gillard and when he is found dead on their doorstep, they are suspects in his murder. Desperately, father and son struggle to protect the other from arrest and to hide their danger from Addie.
Penguin Random House Canada 2016 Canongate UK
Even tiny, isolated communities harbor secrets, newcomers and outsiders who create turmoil in the social dynamic. Even here there are police seeking to re-establish order. With such simple materials Donna Morrissey has fashioned a breathtaking masterpiece, taut with suspense and infused with compassion.
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Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Donna Morrissey The Deception of Livvy Higgs
A stunning multi-generational saga of secrets and lies
Nominated for the 2013 Ontario Library Association Evergreen Award “This hauntingly beautiful novel lingers in the imagination like the sight of a storm-churned ocean, and confirms that Morrissey is one of Canada’s great storytellers.” Vincent Lam
“Haunting, emotionally insistent, lyrical and powerful in its portrait of two unforgettable women whose fates are entwined by a violent act, this is Donna Morrissey’s best work yet. Her writing has what Chekhov called “indispensible layering of fact and feeling.” Morrissey has brought the WWII era into the present with the disturbing intimacy of a seance. A rare accomplishment.” Howard Norman
T
he childhood of Livvy Higgs, in the idyllic, isolated fishing village on the French shore of Newfoundland was a battleground of bitterness and lies. There were tensions, veering on hatred, between those of French ancestry and those with English roots, like her father Durwin Higgs, owner of the general store. But there was also the animosity between her parents. Her doting mother fed her a thick gruel of confusion, born from the lies she imbibed from her mother Creed, who masked her humble beginnings behind a cloak of aristocracy. The death of Livvy’s mother and her growing feelings for the French boy next door prompted Durwin to cast her out from the village to live with grandmother Creed in Halifax. We meet Livvy near the end of her life as she begins to cut through the web of truth and deception that shaped her. Thanks to her caring next door neighbor Gen, a young single mother with a story of her own, Livvy completes her journey toward understanding, clarity, acceptance and love. The Deception of Livvy Higgs is a tour-de-force, a story involving the powerful forces of greed, pretensions, old wounds, terrible crimes, and the healing balm of forgiveness. Donna Morrissey grew up in the Beaches, a small fishing outport in Newfoundland. Her four previous, award-winning novels, drawing on her roots in that rich and rocky terrain, have been bestsellers in Canada and published in several languages, including German, Japanese, Swedish and Italian. She lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Penguin Can 2012
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Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Donna Morrissey
Donna Morrissey
What They Wanted
Sylvanus Now The time is the 1950s and the place is Canada’s Atlantic coast at the edge of the great Newfoundland fishing banks.
Sylvie Now fevers for the larger world, both for herself and her vulnerable, artistic brother Chris.
“An absolute terrific original.” David Adams Richards
Brother and sister journey west to the booming oilfields to earn quick, hard cash, joining rough characters. In that throbbing angry earth, their lives are changed. Yet, out of pain and piercing grief, there is reconciliation and renewal.
“Morrissey summons energy ... the writing is poised, charged and tactile, almost biblical in places.” The Sunday Times (London)
“A splendidly unique novel.”
Alistair MacLeod
Penguin Canada 2005 Hodder & Stoghton UK 2005 W.W.Norton U.S.A. 2006 Premium/DTV Germany 2007
Penguin Canada Fall 2008 DTV Germany 2008
“A Newfoundland Thomas Hardy...Morrissey’s work is a performance, an almost oral folk epic.” The Globe and Mail
Aoyama Japan 2003 Forum Sweden 2004 Houghton Mifflin US 2003 Hodder & Stoughton UK 2002 Penguin Canada 2002
This is the love story of Sylvanus Now and the fiery Adelaide. With their heartbreaking loss and renewal of passion, we are aware that Sylvanus Now’s eternal, beloved sea is on the cusp of cataclysmic change. A powerful tale of two people caught in the upheaval of personal, social, and global change of unimagined proportions.
Donna Morrissey
Donna Morrissey
Downhill Chance
Kit’s Law
Job Gale, a fisherman, hunter, logger, joins the army in World War II, leaving his distraught wife and two young daughters. When Job returns, he is broken in body and tortured with a secret shame that cascades over the family.
At 14, never having known her father, Kit becomes responsible for her mentally handicapped mother when her grandmother dies. She fends off village busybodies who try to place mother and daughter in institutions.
His young daughter Clair escapes by becoming a teacher at nearby Rocky Head, then falls in love with Luke, who courts her from afar with a story which reveals his own secret sorrow.
“Irresistible...Masterful... The rich, rocky terrain of Newfoundland has borne a native storyteller with talent to burn in Donna Morrissey.” Sunday Tribune, Dublin
Throughout the turmoil, Kit is sustained by a kindly doctor and the love of Sid, son of Reverend Ropson. Confronted by shattering revelations, Kit retains her courage and resilience.
Cairo Italy 2009 Aoyama Japan 2003 Houghton Mifflin US 2003 Heyne Germany 2001 Hodder & Stoughton UK 2002
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Memoir
Memoir
Marina Nemat
Marina Nemat
Prisoner of Tehran
After Tehran
Finalist for 2012 Canada Reads
O Grinzane Book Award Italy 2008 The FreePress US 2007 John Murray UK 2007 Penguin Canada 2007 Artemis Netherlands 2007 Weltbild Germany 2007 Cairo Italy 2007 Quidnovi Portugal 2007 Espasa Calpe/Planeta Spain 2007 Forum Sweden 2007 TV2Forlag Danish 2007 Psichogios Greece 2007 Tammerraamat Estonia 2007 Kinneret Israel 2007 Wisdom Korea 2007 Concept Marathi 2007 Jota Czech 2007 Planeta Brazil 2007 Trivium Kiado Hungary 2007 BWP Taiwan 2008 Alnari Serbian 2008 Duc In Altum Polish 2008 JCGawsewitch French 2008 Pustaka Alvabet Indonesia 2008 Ucila International Slovenia 2009 Pegasus Yayincilik Turkey 2010 Kalimat Arabic 2010 Sarasavi Sinhalese 2011 Film option Nerida Albanian 2017
n January 15, 1982 Marina Nemat was arrested and sentenced to death for political crimes. It was a deadly time in Ayatollah Khomeini’s new regime, when her mildly critical article of the state in her high school newspaper put her on a watch list. Marina was seized from her family’s apartment in Tehran and taken to Evin prison. In a bizarre twist, one of the Revolutionary Guards, Ali, fell in love with her and plucked her from the firing squad with only minutes to spare. In return, he demanded that she marry him. If she didn’t, he said he would ensure that her family was harmed. After Ali was gunned down by rival factions and died in her arms, Marina was eventually released.
Bestseller in Germany, Italy, Canada • 5 printings in Portugal • 2 printings in Netherlands
“...an account as graceful, honest, and revelatory as her original.”
W
hen Marina Nemat walks out of the notorious Evin prison at age 18, Maclean’s Magazine after being incarcerated for 2 years, 2 months, and 12 days “[a] portrait of an artist for political crimes, and crossand the evolution of an es the busy Jordan Highway activist.” Globe & Mail in Tehran to rejoin her family, she hopes to resume her life. “...a fascinating study of one woman’s struggle to But release from prison promwin back her life from ises a freedom that is elusive. the ravages of a trau- Her loving but flawed parmatic past.” ents are wary of probing the Quill & Quire details of torture and rape. Praise for Prisoner of Her high school sweetheart Andre has waited for her. Yet, Tehran she can’t tell him about her “Gripping, elegantly forced marriage to her captor, written memoir…mas- Ali, a Revolutionary Guard, or about Ali’s death, and the terly.” The Wall Street Journal miscarriage she had suffered. “Her story is unforget- She and Andre manage to table.” leave Iran to come to CanaVogue da in 1991 and to raise two “It is an act of bravery, sons. Despite her attempts to compartmentalize her presthis book” The Globe and Mail ent from her past, survivor guilt, the burden of secrets, Penguin Canada 2010 and flashbacks of the agonies Cairo Italy Nov 2010 she suffered, intrude on her Droemer Germany 2012 life as a housewife and mother Kinneret Israel 2012 with a job as a waitress at a suburban fast food restaurant.
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Non-Fiction
Terry O’Reilly This I Know
Big Marketing Lessons for Small Business
Canada’s most famous adman spills a career’s worth of marketing secrets, so anyone can compete with the best in their business – whatever that business may be. Terry O’Reilly has won hundreds of advertising awards as a copywriter and commercial director, and is the co-founder of Pirate Radio & Television. Under the Influence is broadcast on CBC Radio and WBEZ Chicago. His audience abroad includes listeners in Britain, Germany, France, Ireland, Sweden, Australia, Japan, China, Philippines and Mexico.
B
The New York Festival awarded the show the Grand Trophy as the Best Radio Program in 2011 and again in 2012. In 2011, iTunes named the show the Best New Podcast of the year, and in 2015 listed it as one of their top podcasts.
Following his bestselling Age of Persuasion, O’Reilly collects a lifetime of marketing wisdom into an indispensable guide to competing for your customer’s attention. From understanding what business you’re really in and foregoing the extra mile in favour of the extra inch, to the benefits of counter intuitive thinking and knowing an opportunity when you see one, This I Know will help anyone understand the fundamentals of good marketing strategy and building the relationships that turn good marketing into great results, no matter how big or small your budget.
Knopf Canada 2017
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ig Companies spend a fortune marketing their wares and services. Can yours? Invariably people ask advertising veteran and CBC Radio host Terry O’Reilly one question more than any other: How does a little business that can’t afford a big-time marketing agency access high-level marketing thinking? After decades at the helm of an award-winning advertising company, and over a decade exploring the art and science of marketing for CBC Radio, O’Reilly delivers all the answers they--and anyone with something to sell--ever wanted to know.
Click here to listen to Under the Influence on CBC Radio. Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Non-Fiction
Terry O’Reilly and Mike Tennant The Age of Persuasion How Marketing Ate Our Culture
CBC Radio’s Age of Persuasion won five New York Festivals International Radio Awards, including the 2011 Grand Prize in Business and Consumer Affairs
W
“A lively, anecdotal primer...filled with smart and breezy tales told from an insider’s perspective.”
itty, erudite, and irrepressibly irreverent, Terry O’Reilly and Mike Tennant offer a lively social history of advertising and its impact as a major cultural force in modern life.
“[A]n instant classic on media literacy.”
Terry O’Reilly is the perfect guide to the age of persuasion. As the host, creator and co-writer with Mike Tennant of two wildly popular CBC Radio series on advertising, he is known as a delightful raconteur and scholar of media literature. But unlike academics, his day job as one of the top directors of radio and TV commercials affords him a unique perspective on marketing and how it has driven a change in the way we react to media.
Washington Post
Movie Entertainment
“Witty and insightful... this ragbag of pop culture references, anecdotes, solid research, and advice will be indispensable to marketers or anyone curious about the power and ubiquity of advertising in modern culture.” Publishers Weekly
“O’Reilly and Tennant are exceptionally talented writers...In a straightforward, popular style, The Age of Persuasion is easy-to-read and often subversive.”
Globe & Mail
Terry O’Reilly has won hundreds of advertising awards and is the co-founder of Pirate Radio and Television. The Age of Persuasion is broadcast on CBC Radio and NPR’s WBEZ Chicago. Knopf Canada 2009 Counterpoint US 2010 Cheers Publishing China 2010
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The age of persuasion dawned in the 1880s with the rise of ad agencies. In its fledgling years, advertising was defined as “salesmanship on paper.” That concept was left in the dust with the explosion of media and consumerism. Radio in the 1920s and television in the 1950s spawned market research and the idea of persuasion as a “science.” The creative explosion in the 1960s, however, revealed persuasion to be a delicate “art.” In the 1980s, the arrival of a multi-channel universe and MTV’s rapid-fire editing of images and sound, forever altered our attention span and notions of fast and slow, short and long. Terry O’Reilly has another wildly successful show on CBC radio and Sirius, titled Under The Influence. The show has more than one million listeners, plus 60,000 weekly downloads. Its awards include the Grand Trophy at the New York Radio Festival two years in a row. Terry has been signed by Random House Canada for a book with the working title Lessons from Under the Influence for publication in early 2017. US rights for it are available. A partial manuscript or detailed proposal will be available fall 2015.
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Mystery
Andrea Poole Death in a Past Tense
T Andrea Poole is a graduate lawyer, with a Ph.D in history, experience in commercial litigation, theater management and teaching and writing history.
he French-born baker who fled Paris in the turbulent 1960s for Brooklyn, New York, returns briefly 40 years later to visit his dying mother. When he is found murdered under a bridge on the Seine, the police investigation is assigned to the urbane, wry, intellectual commissaire Maurice Lalonde. At first, the baker, Jean-Marc Verdurin was thought to have left France to avoid the French military draft. But Lalonde and his commandant, Dupont, are struck by Verdurin’s collection of three articles from different newspapers, each reporting a routine school opening attended by local politicians. As Lalonde develops a time-line of Verdurin’s activities during his short family visit, he uncovers a complex past for the secretive baker. The trail leads to Verdurin’s youthful, tragic error, and his role as a witness in a major scandal in French politics. Lalonde’s suspenseful exploration contains splendid details of French life—notably, food, sharp depictions of social class and status wars, insights into the functions of bureaucracy, and the rise of a nasty conservative wing in French political life. Andrea Poole, who has French roots, was born in London, Canada in 1959, earned a B.A. in history from Bennington College, a B.A. and M.A. in law from Oxford University, an LL.M. in law from New York University and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Toronto. She practiced law in New York in the 1980’s. In the 1990’s she worked in theater with Circle Repertory Company and the La Jolla Playhouse. From 2006 to 2012 she taught history at Trent University. She is the author of Stewards of the Nation’s Art: Contested Cultural Authority 1890-1939 (UTP, 2009), andThe Construction of Victorian Women’s Citizenship: Miss Emma Cons and Lady Frederick Cavendish (UTP, 2014). She is now adding novelist to her portfolio of impressive accomplishments.
Manuscript available
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Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Non-fiction
David Posen
David Posen
The Little Book of Stress Relief
Always Change a Losing Game
Stress has become an integral part of the way we live. In controlled doses, it helps us perform better. Peter G. Hanson, M.D. author of The Joy of Stress But, left, unchecked, stress and Stress for Success can leave us feeling fatigued and overwhelmed, and can “It’s amazing that such lead to a number of health a little book can deliver problems. “The Little Book of Stress Relief is filled with great tips and insights. And it’s fun to read!”
such an impact! Superb!”
Rita Emmett author of The Procrastinator’s Handbook
In The Little Book of Stress Relief, stress expert Dr. Da“I love this guy!” vid Posen teaches us how The Edmonton Sun to take back control of our “Perceptive, instructive, lives and regain a healthy productive and written work-life balance. in an entertaining fashion,” Dr. Ron Taylor, Toronto Blue Jays Team Physician
Small in size, light in tone, and rich in content, The Little Book of Stress Relief offers 52 prescriptions to help us make small changes that can have a profound positive effect on the quality of our lives.
“Everyone can relate to this book! Dr. Posen teaches us, through practical and entertaining stories, how to make our lives better in every way- and inspires us to take action!” Jack Canfield, co-creator of Chicken Soup for the Soul series
“This book makes change seem fun rather than a chore. Dr. Posen shows you how to turn dreams into reality. Begin reading any page- you’ll not want to put this wonder book down”
Christine A Padesky, PhD. co-author of Mind Over Mood Director, Center for Cognitive Therapy, Newport Beach, CA
“For a change: a practical book full of the clinical wisdom of an eperienced physician”
Dr. Stanley E. Greben, Psychiatrist
Translated into six languages Firefly Re-issue 2012
“Change is a cure for stress,” says Dr. David Posen, “yet many distressed people resist beneficial change. People keep losing in business, sports, politics and everyday life by following a game plan that doesn’t work. The solution is, always change a losing game.” Although change is potentially threatening, the prospect sounds liberating. It becomes a mechanism for gradually taking control of our lives. Using sports analogies, Dr. Posen helps people look at their failed strategies and shows them how they can change the situation. There is no shortage of advice in this intelligent, entertaining, and inspirational book on the curative powers of change.
Firefly Re-issue 2013
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Historical Thriller
Roberta Rich A Trial in Venice
I
n 1575, when midwife Hannah Levi rescued the newborn son of wealthy Venetian parents from being slain by his larcenous uncle, she fled with the orphaned child and her husband Isaac to Constantinople.
Praise for The Midwife of Venice: “Roberta Rich introduces a unique heroine, and her wry humour leavens a serious subject.”
Globe & Mail
“The Midwife of Venice is a compelling and engaging novel, a well-researched high-stakes drama written with elegance and compassion. Fascinating!” Sandra Gulland
Praise for The Harem Midwife: “Rich describes the opulence of royal life in Constantinople set against conspiracy and betrayal... the more heavenly the surroundings, the more treacherous the characters.”
Toronto Star
“The details of 16th-century life in Constantinople are delightfully portrayed, the storyline is compelling …. an entertaining read, sure to please”
Vancouver Sun
Doubleday Canada April 2017 Boekencentrum Netherlands 2017 Euromedia Group Czech 2017 Kinneret Israel 2017 Hermes Bulgaria 2017
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They doted on their adopted son and allowed themselves to hope there would be no repercussions. Matteo’s entire family had perished in the plague and Hannah and Isaac were his world. But Matteo, heir to fabulous riches of the di Padovani estate, attracted the attention of Antonio Foscari, a cold scoundrel in desperate need of a fortune. Cunning and flamboyant, sporting a sinister silver nose, Foscari still is no match for his spirited accomplice, the scheming Cesca who had wormed her way into Hannah’s life. Cesca and Foscari abduct Matteo and abscond with him to Venice. Foscari plots to have the court declare him guardian—and then plans to kill the child. When Hannah, in her distress to save her child, is lured to Venice, she is arrested and jailed. She must stand trial for the murder of Matteo’s uncle. In this stew of avarice and deceit, there is one truly noble character, the esteemed architect Andrea Palladio who owns the villa adjacent to the lands once controlled by the di Padovani family. Roberta Rich secured a respected place in the gallery of historical novelists with The Midwife of Venice, which introduced Hannah. An international bestseller, it has been licensed in 18 countries. It is followed by The Harem Midwife and A Trial in Venice. In her next novel, Roberta Rich turns to the rich period in American immigrant history—the colorful, roiling quarter of New York’s 19th Century tenement district. Roberta Rich divides her time between Vancouver Canada and Colima, Mexico.
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Historical Thriller
Roberta Rich The Harem Midwife
H
annah and Isaac return in this opulent, riveting, and suspenseful tale--a sequel to the #1 national bestseller The Midwife of Venice.
“Rich describes the opulence of royal life in Constantinople set against conspiracy and betrayal... the more heavenly the surroundings, the more treacherous the characters.”
Toronto Star
“The details of 16th-century life in Constantinople are delightfully portrayed, the storyline is compelling …. The Harem Midwife is an entertaining read, sure to please those who enjoyed The Midwife of Venice and certain to find new fans as well.”
Vancouver Sun
“Love, roses, Turkish delight, blood, babies and a plucky heroine who triumphs. A great read!”
National Post
Hannah and Isaac Levi, Venetians in exile, have set up a new life for themselves in Constantinople. Isaac runs a newly established business in the growing silk trade, while Hannah, the best midwife in all of Constantinople, plies her trade within the opulent palace of Sultan Murat III, tending to the thousand women of his lively and infamous harem. But one night, when Hannah is unexpectedly summoned to the palace, she’s confronted with Leah, a poor Jewish peasant girl who has been abducted and sold into the sultan’s harem. The Sultan favours her as his next conquest and wants her to produce his heir, but the girl just wants to return to her home and the only life she has ever known. What will Hannah do? Will she risk her life and livelihood to protect this young girl, or will she retain her high esteem in the eye of the Sultan? An adventurous, opulent and deliciously exciting read, peopled with fascinating, unforgettable characters (a court eunuch; the calculating Sultan’s mother; the beguiling harem ladies; and a very mysterious young beauty from Rome who shows up on Hannah’s doorstep causing much havoc), this novel is sure to please fans of The Midwife of Venice and extend Roberta’s reputation as one of the most beloved historical fiction authors. Roberta Rich has once again brought history to life to delight all readers. She divides her time between Vancouver and Mexico. Learn more at: www.robertarich.com
Doubleday CAN 2013 Randomhouse/Ebury UK 2014 Simon & Schuster/Gallery US 2014 Tericum Kiado Hungary 2014 Boekencentrum Netherlands 2014 Oceanida Greece 2015 Hermes Bulgaria 2015 Juritxen Forlag Norway 2015 Euromedia Czech Rep. 2015 Inkilap Turkey 2015
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Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Historical Thriller
Roberta Rich The Midwife of Venice
H Roberta Rich divides her time between Vancouver and Mexico. Learn more at robertarich.com “Roberta Rich introduces a unique heroine, and her wry humour leavens a serious subject.” Globe & Mail
“The Midwife of Venice is a compelling and engaging novel, a well-researched high-stakes drama written with elegance and compassion. Fascinating!” Sandra Gulland
Globe and Mail Bestseller No. 1 BESTSELLER on Amazon.ca, and over 11 weeks on Top 100 list Doubleday Canada February 2011 Bloomsbury Berlin Germany 2011 Gallery US February 2012 MA Editions France 2012 Inkilap Kitabevi Turkey 2012 Ebury UK 2012 Juritzen Forlag Norway 2012 Medialive Content Spain 2012 Tericum Kiado Hungary 2012 Hermes Books Bulgaria 2013 Novo Seculo Brazil 2013 Kinneret Israel 2013 Court Echelle Quebec 2013 Alnari Serbia 2013 Boekencentrun Netherlands 2013 Euromedia Czech Rep. 2015 Ikar Slovakia 2015 Petrone Print Estonia 2016
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annah Levi, a midwife in the Venetian ghetto, has gained renown for her skill in coaxing reluctant babies out of their mother’s bellies using her “birthing spoons” as rudimentary forceps. One night a Christian nobleman, Conte Paolo di Padovani, appears at Hannah’s door in the Jewish ghetto with an impossible request. He implores Hannah to help his dying wife and save their unborn child. But a Papal edict has made it a crime, punishable by death, for Jews to give medical treatment to Christians. The Conte offers her a huge sum of money, enough to enable her to sail to Malta to ransom her beloved husband, Isaac. He was captured at sea and is a slave of the Knights of St. John. Hannah delivers the infant, Matteo, a child who captures her heart. As she prepares to depart for Malta to rescue Isaac, she discovers that the baby’s uncles are plotting to murder the child in order to seize the family fortune. Hannah believes she must safeguard Matteo. She enlists her sister Jessica who is a courtesan and living as a Christian outside the ghetto. An outbreak of the plague traps them in Venice and makes them easy prey for the baby’s murderous uncles. Woven through Hannah’s travails are Isaac’s hardships as a slave in Malta. Blessed with wit and charm, he earns scraps of food as a scribe and pins his hopes for freedom on bartering his precious silkworm eggs. To reach Isaac, who believes she has died in the plague, Hannah must outsmart the Padovani family and sail to Malta before Isaac manages to buy his passage to a new life in Constantinople. The Midwife of Venice, which has sold 106,000 copies in Canada alone, has been a triumph internationally. It is followed by The Harem Midwife and a new novel which continues the adventures of Hannah Levi.
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Hilary Scharper Eden’s Gates
H
ilary Scharper has written an alluring novel of avarice, warring sisters, and intense grief that summons a mystical dimension from the past.
Praise for Perdita: “Stunning…richly complex and unpredictable.”
Historical Novel Review
“Scharper shines in this surprising and engaging gothic novel… Impeccably researched and beautifully told, this is a tale that will stay with readers long after the final page is turned.” Publishers Weekly
“Hilary Scharper deftly mines the beauty and wonder of both the human heart and nature in this haunting tale of enduring love.” Cathy Marie Buchanan, author of The Painted Girls.
“Scharper’s prose is just as measured, just as alluringly old-fasioned as many a Pulitzer or Orange Prize winner before her... stuningly beautiful... Scharper accomplishes first-rate historical fiction...believable, charming and genuinely hypnotic to read...Her prose will haunt you.”
The Globe and Mail
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Katharine Harris at age 31, the winsome daughter and helpmate of a brilliant public intellectual, Victor Harris, inherits his remarkable library valued at $10 million. But the inheritance is freighted with a disturbing secret of Victor’s career and the jealousy of her sister Jitendra. When Katharine arranges to donate the valuable library to Oxford University, in accordance with her father’s wishes, Jitendra launches legal action, claiming that Katharine is mentally incompetent. Into this swirling stew of loss and aggression, two men enter Katharine’s life. Stuart Falconer, Oxford’s senior archivist, arrives at her Toronto residence to prepare an inventory of the coveted collection studded with first editions and rare folios. But invading Katharine’s dreams, interrupting her sleep, is Owen Longman, a romantic poet who was murdered in 1902. He was a former resident of Katharine’s newly acquired century home and his spirit “visits” are part solace, part curiosity and a source of anxiety. After her rescue from a near fatal fire among her father’s books, Katharine faces the truth about her father’s secret and her own stultified life. She discovers a place of forgiveness for him and a place of love for Stuart, opening herself to an empowered and fulfilling life. Eden’s Gates is a rich tale brimming with intelligence, insight and drama. It will appeal to those who love the romantic, gothic aspects of novels by A.S. Byatt, Donna Tart, and Robertson Davies. Hilary Scharper, who received her Ph.D from Yale University, is Assoc. Professor of Anthropology at University of Toronto and a novelist. Her debut novel Perdita was acclaimed for its beauty and her introduction of the genre she calls eco-gothic.
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Hilary Scharper Perdita
H “Hilary Scharper deftly mines the beauty and wonder of both the human heart and nature in this haunting tale of enduring love.” Cathy Marie Buchanan
“The story moves effortlessly between two love stories, one from a hundred years ago, the other contemporary, both depicted with plausibility... Very suspenseful, the novel kept me guessing to the very end.” Roberta Rich
“Scharper’s prose. . .is just as measured, just as alluringly oldfashioned, as many a Pulitzer or Orange Prize winner before her.”
Globe And Mail
“Canadian author Scharper (Dream Dresses) shines in this surprising and engaging gothic novel… Impeccably researched and beautifully told, this is a tale that will stay with readers long after the final page is turned.”
Publisher’s Weekly starred review Hilary Scharper
istorian Garth Hellyer is bemused when he is assigned to interview Marged Brice, a resident of Clarkson Home for The Aged as part of his work on the Longevity Project. Official records indicate that she is 134 years old, arousing suspicions of bureaucratic error or major fraud. When Garth finally meets her, he is intrigued. Marged, looking as old as polished stone, her sharp mind occasionally drifting to reverie, tells him she wants to die but Perdita won’t let her. Not too old to be charmed by Garth, she entrusts him with her journal which he takes with him to his cottage near the Cape Prius lighthouse of Marged’s childhood. This remote peninsula on the Great Lakes was a summer respite for the elite, including a renowned artist who may have been Marged’s lover, and a prominent ornithologist whom Marged assisted. But Garth is also driven by his curiosity about Perdita, the name of the infant girl in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale who is left on a seacoast to die but is rescued by shepherds.
Hilary Scharper masterfully constructs Marged’s story set in the dawn of the 1900s and its impact on the unresolved issues in Garth’s life, offering us a glorious romance of gothic and modern. Fans of Jane Eyre, Rebecca, and Possession will enjoy the rich pageant of conflicting passions, wild storms, and the mystery of the supernatural. Hilary Scharper, who lives in Toronto, spent a decade as a lighthouse keeper on the Bruce Peninsula with her husband. She also is the author of a story collection, Dream Dresses, and God and Caesar at the Rio Grande (University of Minnesota Press) which won the Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award. She received her Ph.D. from Yale and is currently Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology at the University of Toronto.
Simon & Schuster Can 2013 La Courte Echelle Can (French) 2014 Sourcebooks US 2014/15
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Non-fiction
Edward Shorter Desire:
A History of the Adult Entertainment Industry
Edward Shorter who completed his Ph.D at Harvard, is Jason A. Hannah Professor of the History of Medicine Professor of Psychiatry at University of Toronto. His book The Making of the Modern Family (1975), helped launch a new field of study. He also has written on the impact of medical issues on women’s lives in A History of Women’s Bodies (1982). Since the mid 1990s Edward Shorter emerged as an internationally recognized historian of psychiatry. History of Psychiatry (1997), A Historical Dictionary of Psychiatry (2005) and Before Prozac (2009) are landmark publications. His recent book is How Everyone Became Depressed, Oxford University Press, 2013.
In 2005, Edward Shorter, the internationally respected medical and social historian wrote Written in the Flesh: A History of Desire, a groundbreaking work on human sexuality. Documenting attitudes and practices in the western world from pre-history into the 1970s, it is a tour de force. Published by University of Toronto Press, it was short-listed for a major non-fiction literary prize, the Governor General’s Award. At the time, Shorter thought he said everything there was to say about the history of sex. And then… there were new developments. The huge appetite for pornography emerged and turned into a multi-billion dollar business. The acceptance of behaviours from the pornographers’ toolkit were going mainstream as demonstrated by Fifty Shades of Grey or Amy Schumer, et al. Shorter writes: “As I got into the story, it became clear to me that the adult entertainment industry wasn’t just a source. It was part of the story. Internet porn was actually changing people’s tastes.“ Shorter is part scholar, part journalist, part social commentator. The industry is run by savvy men and women who are proud of what they do. Indeed, we in publishing know a large contingent as friends and colleagues—the eBook and print publishers like those at Random House, Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords, HarperCollins, and other merchants of erotica. The book’s table of contents includes: Early Days; From Movie House to Jimmyland; Is Porn Bad? Models; Abuse? Internet; Gonzo; In Front of the Camera, Behind the Camera; Woodsmen; Dominance; Anal; Gay/Lesbian; Toys; Camming and Dating; Black Porn; Transgendered. Readers, even the squeamish, will find Professor Shorter informative, entertaining, refreshingly straight-spoken, and unshockable.
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Non-Fiction
Lionel Tiger Darwin’s Defeat
How The Pill Changed Everything
Lionel Tiger is the author of 10 books including Men in Groups, The Decline of Males, The Pursuit of Pleasure, and co author of The Imperial Animal (with Robin Fox) and God’s Brain (with Michael McGuire). Born in Montreal, a graduate of McGill, he was recruited from Vancouver’s University of British Columbia to Rutgers where he was the Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology. He lives in New York City and his articles appear frequently in such leading journals as The Wall St. Journal and The New York Times. His appearances include university panels and TEDx talks. Tiger also has been an anthropoligical consultant to the U.S. Department of Defense on the future of biotechnology. His areas of study include day care, young males, college demographics, the workforce and human alienation from their biological roots. His works have been translated into many languages, such as Korean, Chinese, Dutch, French and Turkish, Japanese, and Spanish. Manuscript available www.slopenagency.com
With his world-changing book On the Origin of the Species published in 1859, Charles Darwin exploded fundamental concepts of God and sex. By revealing two immutable laws of nature –i.e. evolution of species and natural selection, Darwin joined the pantheon of scientists as foundational as Newton and Copernicus. And yet, an unforeseen seismic change occurred. In the 1960s the contraceptive pill and other reproductive technologies spread in the industrialized world, altering core elements of sexual interaction. Lionel Tiger, the Charles Darwin Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Rutgers University, notes: “Sexual selection can no longer function for humans in the manner on which the Darwinian system was predicated. We have to rethink the matter.” Tiger’s first book Men in Groups, published in 1969, was prompted by primate research revealing that relations between adult male primates differed from those with females or children. The book not only introduced male bonding into the language, it inspired female rage. Difference in biology was interpreted as inequality. Darwin’s Defeat abounds with insights on major societal changes. • The Pill works by hormonally simulating pregnancy in women. What is the effect of this on men? Tiger reports its effects on nonhuman primates. • Young men are alienated from the means of reproduction • Young men are increasingly seen as carriers of male original sin. • Women are surpassing men in education –are they studying for two? • Women are surpassing men in work but is a reported wage gap the result of a choice to slow their careers for 5 to 7 years to be with their children? • Birth rates in the industrial world are declining precipitously –47% of women of childbearing years are childless. The ensuing conversation will be lively, informative, and raucous. There is no going back. Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Non-Fiction
Lionel Tiger and Michael McGuire God’s Brain
G
od’s Brain is not about whether God exists or not. It is not an assertion about whether or not religions are good, noble, necessary, a sign of infirmity, or catalogues of grand silliness.
“This is easily the best book on the nature of religion to appear for a long time.”
This book answers the essential questions of existence. What is the purpose of religion? What is its source? Why does 80% of the world’s population have some religious affiliation?
“The book is a well-written, easy to read, unique perspective on religion.”
God’s Brain describes why, how, and what the brain does as part of religious experience and organization. Neurophysiology and neuroanatomy are as necessary to understanding religion as knowing about the leg’s muscles and blood circulation is necessary to train hurdlers.
Robin Fox, University Professor of Social Theory, Rutgers University
Jay R. Feierman, editor, The Biology of Religious Behavior
“Recent, often bitter debates have lacked a scientific take on religion that is not at the same time trying to destroy it. This lively, creative account helps fill that gap. It may even help you with your own trials of faith.” Melvin Konner, author of The Tangled Wing: Biological Constraints
on the Human Spirit
“Tiger and McGuire have concocted an amazing and insightful look—based on sound science— into how the human brain ‘seeks’ religion.”
R. Curtis Ellison, MD, professor of medicine and public health, Boston University School of Medicine Prometheus Books 2010 Wise Book Korea 2011 Lannoo Dutch 2011 Alfa Turkey 2011
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In God’s Brain, the authors consider religion’s role in socialization, its relentless obsession with regulating sex, its conceptions of an after-life, its influence on law, and the similarities between non-human primate and human social groups. They also demonstrate religion’s ability to help the brain adjust to stress and anxiety in lieu of modern-day drugs and therapy. This answer to Dawkins and Hitchens is without judgment but is scientifically and socially judicious. The story is told by a master neuropsychiatrist and an accomplished detective about the mysteries of human behavior. It is the most important book on the subject of religion to appear, for both the religious and non believers alike. Michael McGuire, MD, is the author or editor of 10 books including Darwinian Psychiatry (with A. Troisi), and he is the primary discoverer of seratonin’s crucial role in brain chemistry. He is President of the Biomedical Research Foundation, and Director of the Bradshaw Foundation and the Gruter Institute of Law and Behaviour. Lionel Tiger is the bestselling author of Men in Groups, The Imperial Animal (with Robin Fox) and The Pursuit of Pleasure. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, Harvard Business Review and Brain and Behavioural Science. He is the Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University. Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Michelle Tisseyre Prelude to Slaughter
P Reviews of Divided Passions (Key Porter 1997) The French language version, La Passion de Jeanne, was published by Robert Laffont, 1997 “…a great read reminiscent of The Forsyte Saga. It might be a bit bleaker than John Galsworthy, but it reads like a thoroughly 20th century novel—the writing is sleek and forward-moving...” Globe and Mail
relude to Slaughter is a powerful love story set against the sweep of history and the complications of great passion. Louis Marshall, an idealistic young British doctor in Montreal 1928, has fallen in love with Jeanne Langlois. Jeanne, the doting mother of a young daughter, is trapped in a stultifying marriage to a man whose rage and embarrassment make him vengeful. He refuses to divorce her and he alienates the child from her mother. Jeanne’s devout and prominent French Canadian family also cast her out. Unmoored from her roots and her daughter, Jeanne sails with Louis for England, where the scars of the Great War are still fresh and visible, and an unequal society is soon to be riven further by economic hardship. Louis begins a life of service as a country doctor in the wilds of Cambridgeshire, while Jeanne devotes herself to their little son, Harry. Amid their happy, settled life there are portents—political unrest, Jeanne’s troubling suspicions about Louis’s past romance with a woman who was his father’s mistress, and her ache for her daughter. And as storm clouds gather over Europe, the drumbeat of the Spanish civil war reaches Britain, and Louis, the passionate idealist, follows it to Guernica --and the slaughter. Tisseyre weaves a rich tapestry of life in 1920s and 1930s New York and Montreal, of the grinding poverty of the English countryside, of tumultuous student protests at Cambridge, of Oswald Mosley’s Black Shirts and the Hunger March to London, of the mounting horror of war-torn Spain, of another war coming and people desperate to stop it.
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Michelle Tisseyre’s first novel, Divided Passions, which she wrote in French and English, was inspired by her maternal grandparents. It was on the best- seller lists in Quebec for 17 weeks and published in France by Robert Laffont. A prominent literary translator, Michelle is equally adept in English and French. She lived in England for several years but has returned to her home of Montreal. She is the mother of seven children. Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Biography
Sandra B. Tooze Levon Helm: Keepin’ It Real
S Sandra Tooze garnered worldwide acclaim for her book Muddy Waters: The Mojo Man. Eric Clapton wrote the foreword, and Levon Helm and Mick Jagger both endorsed it in back-cover quotes. The reviewer for America’s preeminent blues magazine, Living Blues, called it “a first-rate biography … An illumination and a joy, it deserves a place on our shelves as a loving and earnest tribute to one of the greats of American music.” On Britain’s BBC Radio, her book was described as “terrific … absolutely great.” And in the U.K.’s premier music magazine, Mojo, it was praised as “a vivid, brilliantly researched portrait.”
andra Tooze, author of the acclaimed biography, Muddy Waters: The Mojo Man, turns to Levon Helm in this biography of a talented, often tragic musician in the era that saw the convergence of blues, country and R&B. As a young man, Levon Helm emerged from the cotton fields of Arkansas to join rockabilly wild man Ronnie Hawkins, whose band soon included Robbie Robertson. By the mid-1960s, they had left Hawkins and were playing with Bob Dylan (Nobel Prize winner) and on their way to making rock history as The Band. Levon, a drummer who played mandolin, guitar, and bass guitar, was listed by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the top 100 Greatest Singers, and was praised by Bruce Springsteen. His influence extended to other musicians like Eric Clapton, Elvis Costello, Elton John, Ringo Starr and George Harrison. He won three Grammys for his own albums and as a member of The Band, he was inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But exciting youth gave way in his last 36 years to feelings of betrayal by his closest friend Robbie Robertson whom he accused of disloyalty and financial misconduct. Helm died in 2012 at age 71 after a long struggle with cancer. Levon Helm: Keepin’ It Real will be the first full-length, penetrating biography of this versatile musician and actor. His autobiography presented the story as seen only by Helm, his closest friends and loved ones. Tooze’s book expands that perspective stepping back and take an all-inclusive view — warts and all. It will be an objective, balanced portrayal.
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Mystery
Morley Torgov Key Witness
T Praise for Morley Torgov’s Hermann Preiss series: “Torgov has just the right feel for this kind of writing, never coy, solid with his history but not allowing the facts to get in the way of a good joke.” Toronto Star
“You don’t have to be a classical music lover to enjoy this one.” Publisher’s Weekly
“Worthy of Hitchcock.”
The Whole Note
“This is a story well told: Setting, character, plot, enriched by the lifestyles and colours of the time. Murder is investigated, clues unearthed, expanded and timed to keep the reader turning the pages. Music and mystery make captivating partners.” Hamilton Spectator
he cast of Morley Torgov’s new mystery is dazzling. There is Franz Liszt, a virtuoso of the piano, and heartthrob of 19th C Europe. There is PT Barnum, the flamboyant American showman. And there is a young Mark Twain, soon to be a celebrated author and humorist. To assuage Liszt’s concerns about security, Barnum engages Dusseldorf detective Hermann Preiss who captivated readers in Torgov’s two previous mysteries set in the world of classical music. To the main characters, add Liszt’s egomaniacal American rival, a couple of avaricious manufacturers of grand pianos who are fighting to have the Maestro endorse their instruments, and two or three beauties on the prowl for opportunities. With riches, fame, and recognition on the line, corruption is inevitable and so is murder.
Morley Torgov is the author of nine novels, including two previous Hermann Preiss mysteries. Murder in A-Major featuring Robert Schumann and The Mastersinger from Minsk featuring Wagner have been translated into French, Greek, and Korean with others pending. His French publisher, Actes Sud, is printing 10,000 copies of Murder in A-Major for a special promotion. He also has written a complete working draft of a fourth Preiss novel, Twilight of A God. Tchaikovsky has journeyed with his secret male lover to Beyrueth to review a new opera by Wagner. When a naked wealthy woman is found murdered in Tchaikovsky’s bed and her fabulous ring is missing, Tchaikovsky is the suspect. Two of Torgov’s books—The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick and A Good Place to Come From—have been adapted for stage, film, and a TV series. His literary prizes include the Leacock Medal for Humour. Although his mysteries are deadly serious, his irrepressible wit is evident.
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Morley Torgov Mysteries
Morley Torgov
Morley Torgov
The Mastersinger
Murder in
From Minsk
A-Major
An Inspector Hermann Preiss Mystery
An Inspector Hermann Preiss Mystery
I
n the city of Munich, 1868, composer Richard Wagner has finally completed the libretto and score for his new opera “Die Meistersinger von Nuremberg.” After a string of extremely difficult years - Wagner’s “Torgov has just the right reputation and financial feel for this kind of writ- stability depend on the sucing, never coy, solid with cess of his new work. Morley Torgov is an award-winning author of nine novels that have been published internationally. He divides his time between writing and practising law in Toronto.
his history but not allowing the facts to get in the When an anonymous note way of a good joke.” arrives threatening WagToronto Star
ner’s premiere, Inspector Hermann Preiss is called to “You don’t have to be a classical music lover to investigate. With the premiere less than two months enjoy this one.” Publisher’s Weekly away, and an enemy list stretching from one opera “Worthy of Hitchcock.” act to another, discoverThe Whole Note ing the perpetrator before opening night will be Preiss’ Magnum Opus. Join Dusseldorf ’s top detective for another mystery in the world of classical rock stars, where life and death hang on a single note.
Dundurn Canada/US 2012 Actes Sud France 2013
The second installment in the Hermann Preiss Series.
“It’s still easy to see why, in the early days of his long writing career, Toronto’s Morley Torgov won two Leacock medals for humour... This is so even in his first venture into crime genre fiction, which shifts back in time to the 19th-century European world of what has become known as classical music.” Joan Barfoot London Free Press
T
ake one of the crowning musical geniuses of midnineteenth centry Europe, surround him with enemies, add several scoundrels, including one who ends up murdered under highly mysterious circumstances...and there you have the world of Robert and Clara Schumann in Germany of the 1850s. This is a historical mystery that explores what or who was driving Robert Schumann mad. It takes the reader into the world of mid-nineteenth century music, where classical composers were stars, and their egos were just as monstrous as the rock stars of today.
“This is a story well told: Setting, character, plot, enriched by the lifestyles and colours of the time. Murder is investigated, clues unearthed, expanded and timed to keep the reader turning Inspector Preiss tackles a the pages. Music and mysterious off-key A on the mystery make captivatSchumanns’ piano, but are ing partners.” Hamilton Spectator
all mysteries meant to be solved? Inspector Preiss has the final answer.
Metaixmio Publishing Greece 2009 Sallim Publishing Korea 2009 Actes Sud France 2009 Napoleon RendezVous US/ Canada 2008
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Non-Fiction
Michael Ungar, Ph.D. Resilience:
The Real Reasons We Succeed When Our Lives Are A Mess
M
ichael Ungar, acclaimed author and researcher in psychological resilience, has uncomfortable truths for those who hector people to pull themselves up by their figurative bootstraps.
Michael Ungar is author of Too Safe For Their Own Good: How Risk and Responsibility Help Teens Thrive, The We Generation: Raising Socially Responsible Kids, and I Still Love You: Nine Things Troubled Kids Need from their Parents. He is founder and Director of the Resilience Research Centre where he coordinated more than $10 million dollars in funded research in a dozen countries. He consultants regularily to organizations such as the World Bank, UNESCO and the Red Cross.
“Even Cinderella had a fairy godmother,” Dr. Ungar says. Persistence, smarts, or decency can take you only so far in life. We need environments rich in opportunities that make it possible for us to realize our talents, exploit our positive character traits and reward us for our efforts. “Resilience depends just as much on what we have on the outside as what we have on the inside,” Ungar explains, poking holes in the belief that grit is enough. With his research in 40 countries spanning more than a decade, Dr. Ungar identifies a shortlist of 12 experiences we need to recover and thrive when our lives are in turmoil. These include not only lots of strong relationships with family, friends and colleagues but also structure, reasonable consequences, a powerful identity, control over things that matter, fair treatment, safety, financial confidence, positive thinking, and the physical capacity to do what we need to do. Using real life examples of people who have beat the odds, Dr. Ungar shows how we can shape our environment to our benefit when events bite. His advice is compassionate, empowering and, best of all, grounded in the experiences of the thousands of people with whom he’s worked. Michael Ungar is Principal Investigator for the Resilience Research Centre at Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Canada, His blog Nurturing Resilience appears on Psychology Today’s website reaching some 50,000 readers. In the past ten years, he has delivered more than 500 keynote and workshop presentations. Learn more at: www.michaelungar.com
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Fiction
Rangeley Wallace I Knew You When
Rangeley Wallace moved from Alabama to Washington, D.C. where she is an author and a lawyer. She is the author of No Defense (St. Martin’s Press). Learn more at: www.rangeleywallace.com
Before Annie can celebrate, her husband John lands his dream job— President of the University of South Alabama—which means moving the family from Washington DC to Carsonville and leaving the life she loves. Annie is devastated. Family comes first, though, and she reluctantly accepts a post as a “spousal hire” at USA’s law school to run a legal clinic in environmental law. The problem is that legal clinics require real legal cases and Annie, embarrassingly, doesn’t have one for the start of term.
Praise for No Defense “Wallace avoids any Grishamcome-lately clichés in this interesting novel of southern justice... This page-turner of a novel is refreshing in it’s uncommon perspective, as opposed to the usual legal novel that focuses on lawyers.” Booklist
“Rangeley Wallace has written a taut, compelling Southern drama that is cut from the same cloth as Harper Lee and the early William Faulkner.” Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump
“A riveting courtroom drama… Another fine story in the Southern literary tradition.”
Library Journal
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Annie Fitzpatrick is committed-- to her husband, to her kids, and to protecting the environment. She teaches environmental law at George Washington University and has been awarded a prestigious grant to stop gas companies from fracking on public lands.
Then, a great case swims into her orbit, requiring a pact with the devil. William Davidson, the great unresolved love of her youth, enlists her and her students to take the case of saving the Muskogee National Forest, which Annie has grown to love. In her college days at Stanford, Davidson, a notorious and charismatic activist, held Annie in his thrall. He betrayed her, but worse, he seduced her to stray from her ethical bedrock. It is a source of enduring shame which she has kept secret from her family and her husband. She and Billy are united once more by their passion against a common cause, even as the shadows and temptations of their history linger. With the clock ticking and the forest at imminent risk, she and Billy and her students begin the court fight of their lives. But as angry protest demonstrations divide the town and the secrets of her past go viral, the situation becomes explosive. I Knew You When is an engrossing exploration of the intensity of first love and the lengths we will go to follow our passions, It will appeal to readers of Kristin Hannah, Randy Susan Meyers and Karen White and represents Rangeley Wallace’s finest work.
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Non- Fiction
Jennifer Welsh The Return of History CBC Massey Lectures
I Jennifer Welsh was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. She earned her B.A. from the University of Saskatchewan and earned her Masters and Doctorate in International Relations at Oxford where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She is the author, co-author, and editor of an impressive and distinguished list of books, articles and studies.
n 1989, the Berlin Wall was breached, the Soviet Union collapsed, and pundits declared end of the Cold War. Shock and jubilation greeted this surprising reversal of history. Francis Fukuyama famously declared in an essay that it was “The End of History.” But some 25 years after Fukuyama’s bold prediction about transcending the struggles of the past, history has returned in a form few could contemplate. The 21st Century has seen arbitrary executions, attempts to annihilate religious and ethnic minorities, starvation among the besieged, annexation of territory, and movement of masses of refugees seeking a peaceful foothold. Jennifer M. Welsh is Professor and Chair in International Relations at the European University Institute in Florence Italy, and a Senior Research Fellow at Somerville College, University of Oxford. She was previously a Professor in International Relations at the University of Oxford, and co-director of the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict. In 2013, she was appointed by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to serve for two years as his Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect. Jennifer Welsh applies her scholarship and her on-the-ground experiences in this book which will be accompanied by five lectures in the prestigious Massey Lectures series delivered in major Canadian cities in Fall 2016 and broadcast on radio by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The tentative table of contents may include: The Prophets of Progress on the factors that seeded optimism; The Return of the “Barbarians, ” on the rise of ISIL, and the compromise of basic principles of humanitarian law; The Return of Aggression on the Russian advancement into Ukraine; The Return of Mass Flight on the explosion of refugees and asylum seekers; The Return of Inequality on the cracks in the liberal democratic model and the risk of crumbling from within.
Anansi 2016
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Non-Fiction
“One of my favorite books of all time. Elegantly written and deeply moving, a book to cherish and reread.”
K. Tsianina Lomawaima Author of They Called it Prairie Light
Basil Johnston
Basil Johnston
Crazy Dave
The Manitous
Through the wrenching story of his Uncle David, native writer Basil Johnston pays loving tribute to his family, culture and reservation life.
In this masterpiece, Basil Johnston offers a spellbinding collection of the legends and spiritual teachings taken from ancient oral tradition, and recorded here.
David, born with Down Syndrome, aspired to learn and to be part of a world to which he would never belong. Funny and heartbreakingly poignant, David’s story is an unsettling reflection of a society and culture cruelly marginalized.
Minnesota Hist. Society 2002 Key Porter Canada 1999
Told through the stories of warriors, lovers, thieves, and spirits, and filled with the wisdom of an ancient tribe, these tales inform the moral teaching of the Ojibway.
Minnesota Hist. Society 2001 HarperCollins US 1996 Key Porter Canada 1996
Basil Johnston
Basil Johnston
Honour Earth Mother
Indian School Days
The great Ojibway writer offers young people tales of Mother Earth and her centrality in Native beliefs, values, and institutions.
Basil Johnston was removed as a small boy from the safety and love of his mother and sent to a harsh residential school for Natives, run by Jesuits, in the 1940’s.
This is a book in which adults will find much to enjoy and contemplate.
“No one who opens this book will close it in disappointment. It is a work to further the understanding and enrich the heart.”
Louise Erdrich
U of Nebraska Press 2004 Kegedonce Press Canada 2003
In short, this is the bible of the Ojibway people.
Despite the loneliness, deprivation and abuse endured by the children, this memoir is often warm and amusing as the boys come into maturity and stand up to their masters.
U of Oklahoma Press Key Porter Canada 1988
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Non-Fiction Henry Aubin Rescue of Jerusalem A thrilling military history and stirring political analysis of the ancient world. 2003 Jewish Book Award Editions E & C France 2007 Gold Book Kft. Hungary 2005 Soho Press USA 2002 Doubleday Canada 2002
Lita-Rose Betcherman Court Lady and Country Wife A gripping tale of two noble sisters embroiled in the romance, intrigue and scandal of 17th Century England. HarperCollins Canada2005 HarperCollins USA 2005 Wiley UK 2005
Timothy Brook The Confusions of Pleasure Ming life in all its ebullient complexity by a superb scholar and writer.
U of California Press 1998
Will Kymlicka
Tod Hoffman
Contemporary Political Philosophy
The Spy Within
A discussion of major topics of contemporary political thought including communitarianism and feminism. Oxford University Press 15+ translations
The Spy Within recounts one of the most significant cases in the history of espionage. It offers unique insight into the Chinese intelligence tradecraft and the investigation and prosecution of Larry Chin. Steerforth US 2008
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Non-Fiction William Weintraub Getting Started The adventures of Weintraub and his three friends Mordecai Richler, Brian Moore, and Mavis Gallant as they struggle to become writers.
McClelland & Stewart Canada 2001
Jeffrey Rosenthal
Howard Engel
Struck By Lightning
The Man Who Forgot How to Read
Randomness and probability explained by a warm and funny mathematician.
HarperCollins Canada World Rights 2005 Various international editions
While he slept, Engel experienced a stroke and was afflicted with the rare condition alexia sine agraphia, the inability to read. HarperCollins Can 2007 St.Martin’s US 2008 Rizzoli Italy 2008 Alma Korea 2009
Elliott Leyton
Elliott Leyton
Men of Blood
Sole Survivor
An anthropologist looks at society through the lens of murder, yielding surprising insights.
Explores the world of middleclass children who slaughter their parents and siblings revealing the hidden class structure in American society.
McClelland & Stewart 1995 Reissued 2002
Blake UK Reissue 2001 McClelland & Stewart Canada
Elliott Leyton Hunting Humans Examines modern American society through the eyes of the multiple murderer and serial killer.
Alba Spain 2005 Carroll & Graf USA 2004 McClelland & Stewart Canada
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Non-Fiction Philip Slayton Lawyers Gone Bad A bestseller! True stories of money, sex and skulduggery that derail some lawyers too smart for their own good.
Michael Decter and Francesca Grosso Navigating Canada’s Health Care System An indispensable tool-kit to get the care you want when you need it.
Penguin 2007
Penguin Canada 2007
Dorothy Eber
Alan Mendelson
Encounters on the Passage
Exiles from Nowhere
A riveting narrative of Inuit oral history, which recounts their hitherto unknown tales of the explorers who searched for the Northwest Passage. University of Toronto Press 2008
This history of intellectual thought and cultural codes in 20th century Canada uncovers ‘genteel’ antiSemitism among Canada’s elite.
Robin Brass Studio 2008
Michael Decter
Ken McGoogan
Tales from the Back Room
How the Scots Invented Canada
This memoir of a young man’s experiences in the corridors of power is a reminder of what a pleasure grassroots politics can be for ordinary citizens.
A lively and entertaining narrative about the Scots and how they built a nation in the new world. HarperCollins Canada 2010
Great Plains Publications 2010
Jennifer Welsh
Margaret Wente
At Home in the World
You Can’t Say That in Canada
Examines Canada’s position, present and future, within North America and that of the wider world.
Margaret Wente knows what enrages Canadians. The Globe & Mail’s popular columnist punctures their most cherished hypocrisies.
HarperCollins Canada 2004
HarperCollins Canada 2009
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Non-Fiction
Dave Bagby
Harold Troper
Dance with the Devil
The Rescuer
The heartbreaking true story of the murder of young doctor Andrew Bagby exgirlfriend by Shirley Turner, 12 years his senior, when he tried to end their relationship.
Rights Available
Before his parents Dave and Kate Bagby could gain custody of their grandchild, Shirley murdered Zachary and killed herself.
“An important story that had to be told . . . As this book shows, sometimes the power of one is greater than the ignorance of many.”
Dave Bagby’s riveting memoir is a moving story and an indictiment of the judicial and social welfare systems.
A fast-paced tour-de-force worthy of any spy novel.”
The Globe and Mail
National Post
Lester, Mason and Begg 2007
Kirkus
Steerforth US 2008
The Rescuer is the remarkable narrative fo the heroic and deeply humanitarian actions of one seemingly ordinary woman. Harold Troper is the author of several books including None is Too Many with coauthor Irving Abella.
Tod Hoffman
Howard Engel
The Spy Within
The Man Who Forgot How to Read
Larry Chin was the top Chinese linguist working for the C.I.A. And for 30 years, he was China’s top spy.
“Hoffman possesses a solid command of his material and conveys the secretive nature of espionage agencies with a novelist’s panache.”
After seeing a news report about 12 Syrian Jews blown up in a minefield trying to escape their country, Judy Feld Carr knew she had to help. For almost 30 years she publicly championed the cause of Syrian Jews while secretly negotiating their escape.
The Spy Within recounts one of the most significant cases in the history of espionage - the longest running penetration ever. It offers unique insight into the mysterious realm of Chinese intelligence tradecraft, and reveals untold details about the investigation and the prosecution of Larry Chin.
“His memoir manages to transcend...a self-consciousness that is predicated on unreliable memories....[It avoids] jargon, hyperbole or self-glorification. It finds humour in the grim.”
The Globe and Mail
HarperCollins Can 2007 St.Martin’s US 2008 Rizzoli Italy 2008 Alma Korea 2009
While he slept, the brilliant mystery writer Howard Engel experienced a stroke and was afflicted with the rare condition alexia sine agraphia, the inability to read - a devastating blow for a man devoted to reading. In this absorbing and uplifting memoir, Engel chronicles his rehabilitation, how he slowly began to learn to read again and how he continued to write.
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Fiction
Sheree Fitch
William Weintraub Crazy About Lili
Kiss the Joy as it Flies
Richard Lippman’s life is changed at age 17 when his roguish Uncle Morty takes him to the Gayety Burlesque and introduces him to the dazzling stripper, Lili L’Amour. Douglas Gibson Books McClelland & Stewart Canada 2005 Film option
“Mercy is a great heroine-wise, sexy, extremely funny. This book is a joy ride.”
But tidying up the edges of her life means the past comes rushing back to Awards: Leacock Medal for Humour haunt her and the presFinalist ent keeps throwing up more to do’s. In a week filled with the riot of an Vagrant Press 2008 entire life, nothing turns Other Rights Available out the way she expected. Lisa Moore
Joanna Goodman
Joanna Goodman
You Made Me Love You
Harmony A dark and surprising secret lurks at the heart of this comic novel. Soon, it will surface and profoundly alter Anne Mahroum’s sense of identity.
The three appealing Zarr sisters each face life-altering decisions about work, love, ambition, and family. Estelle dreams of becoming a celebrated film ediMontreal Gazette tor; Erica lacks direction before a fateful meet“...feels, in spirit, like a cross between Four Weddings and ing with a female rabbi a Funeral and Hannah and guides her future; and Jess’s perfect life, set in Her Sisters.” Quill & Quire stone, begins to crack. “Goodman...is a witty, energetic storyteller.”
Penguin Canada 2005 NAL/Penguin US 2006
Panic-stricken by the news that she needs exploratory surgery, 48 year-old Mercy Beth Fanjoy drafts a to do list to put her messy life in order.
“Goodman’s solid writing is permeated with commentary on societal pressures to have it all”
Publishers Weekly
“Goodman writes compassion.”
with
Patti Henry
Penguin Canada 2007 NAL/Penguin USA 2007
Anne, a perfectionist and collage artist, is married to Elie, a Lebanese-born dealer in rare coins. Their infant son, to Anne’s distress, is born with clubfeet. This clouds her fantasy of showing her perfect son to her father -- a man she never knew.
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Non-Fiction
Edward Shorter
Edward Shorter
Written in the Flesh
How Everyone Became Depressed
An elegant and erudite history of sexual desire in the western world.
Awards: Governor-General’s Award Non-Fiction Short List
Colibri Russia 2007 Unniversity of Toronto Press 2005
Renowned medical historian Edward Shorter demonstrates that desire is hardwired into the brain, expressing itself in remarkably similar ways in men and women, adolescent and adult, and in gays, lesbians, and straights alike. Drawing from a wide array of sources, Shorter explores the widening of Western society’s sexual repertoire.
Oxford University Press 2013
Edward Shorter and David Healy
Edward Shorter Before Prozac
Shock Therapy
An unsettling look at modern psychiatry where drugs that don’t work are used to treat diseases that don’t exist. Edward Shorter reveals how greed, lax regulation, and academic infighting have set the field back.
Electroshock therapy was considered by many to be the penicillin for the severely mentally ill, but it fell out favor in the 1960s for curious, cultural reasons.
Rutgers University Press 2007 University of Toronto Press 2008
This book argues that psychiatry’s love affair with the diagnosis of depression has become a death grip. Depression is a real illness, especially in its melancholic form. But most patients who get the diagnosis of ‘depression’ are also anxious, fatigued, unable to sleep, have all kinds of physical symptoms, and tend to obsess about the whole thing. They do not have a disorder of ‘mood’. It is a travesty to call them all ‘depressed.’ How did this happen? How did everyone become depressed?
This book by two leading authors will be a major contribution to ameliorating the stigma attached to shock therapy. Why this effective treatment fell out of favour is one of the great unknown stories of modern medicine. Oxford University Press 2009
Based in part on unprecedented access to federal archives and on extensive interviewing, Shorter illuminates this dismal landscape in a revealing and provocative account of why psychiatry is losing ground in the struggle to treat depression.
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency 131 Bloor Street West, Suite 711,Toronto, Canada, M5S 1S3 Telephone (416) 964 9598 email: beverley@slopenagency.ca www.slopenagency.com
Client List Tony Aspler Henry Aubin Lita-Rose Betcherman Hugh Brewster Timothy Brook Martyn Burke Bonnie Buxton Pat Capponi Laurie Channer Ann Charney Michael Decter Ron Dembo Linda Silver Dranoff Dorothy Eber Modris Eksteins Howard Engel Michael Enright Terry Fallis Robert Fulford Joanne Foster Joanna Goodman Stacey Gorlicky
Catherine Graham Lyndsay Green Francesca Grosso Don Gutteridge Kate Hilton David Healy Tod Hoffman Blanche Howard David Israelson Mary Jackman Basil Johnston Martin Knelman Eric Koch Jack Kuper Will Kymlicka Bob Lewis Elliott Leyton S.F. MacKay Dr. Mailis-Gagnon Michael Marrus Dona Matthews Leon Major Rona Maynard
Representatives
Brazil RIFF Agency Rio De Janeiro
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Hungary Katai & Bolza Budapest
France Michelle Lapautre Paris Germany Paul & Peter Fritz AG Zurich
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Attendance at selected Book Fairs is supported by
Jack McClelland Ken McGoogan Keriann McGoogan Michael McGuire Sally Melville John Miller Angela Misri Shannon Moroney Kim Moritsugu Donna Morrissey Marina Nemat James W. Nichol David Onley Terry O’Reilly David Penhale David Posen Andrea Geddes Poole Bruce Allen Powe David Pratt Nick Pron Tierney Read Peter Rehak Robert Remington Roberta Rich
Pamela Richardson Jeffrey Rosenthal Hilary Scharper Edward Shorter Philip Slayton Joey Slinger Daniel Stoffman Jaron Summers Mike Tanner Mike Tennant Lionel Tiger Michelle Tisseyre Sandra Tooze Morley Torgov Harold Troper Michael Ungar Robert Jan Van Pelt Michael Valpy Rangeley Wallace William Weintraub Jennifer Welsh Margaret Wente Beryl Young Sherri Zickefoose
Japan Tuttle-Mori Tokyo
Scandinavia Licht & Burr Agency Denmark
Korea Eric Yang Agency Seoul
Spain Julio Yanez Barcelona
Netherlands Internationaal Literatuur BV Amsterdam
Turkey Akcali Copyright Istanbul
Russia Alexander Korzhenevski Moscow
United Kingdom David Grossman London
Beverley Slopen Literary Agency