Nicolas Dickner Clint Hutzulak Tom Gilling Thomas Wharton Serge Lamothe Patrick Brisebois Paul Quarrington Alexandre Bourbaki Sophie Beauchemin Serge Lamothe CS Richardson Christine Eddie Rawi Hage Rights Catalog Fall 2011

Sébastien Chabot Marina Lewycka Dominique Fortier Howard McCord Alissa York Max Férandon Lori Lansens Toni Jordan Martine Desjardins Anne Michaels Sarah Waters Hélène Vachon Steven Galloway Karoline Georges Dominique FORTIER

La porte du ciel Under the Louisiana sun, two young girls grow up, one in the shadows of the other. Eleanor and Eve will live different lives. One is white, the other one is black. It is the Civil War and the the country is torn apart. Dominique Fortier Someone builds in the middle of a marsh an impossible church. A forgotten Dominique Fortier was born in 1972. village falls asleep in a meander of the river. Very close, the clamour of the She holds a Ph.D. in literature from civil war rises. Brothers face each other under two star spangled banners. McGill University and is a respected editor and literary translator. On the In a lush and delicate prose, Dominique Fortier (Of the good use of stars, Les Proper Use of Stars, her debut novel, larmes de saint Laurent) offers a portrait of America of legend that tears itself was first published in Quebec in 2008 apart to be better reinvented. A maze-like novel full of twists and turns, a as Du bon usage des étoiles and was wonderful kaleidoscope, La porte du ciel transports its reader in a realm shortlisted for the French language between dream and history. Governor General’s Award for Fic- tion, the Prix des libraires du Québec, the Grand Prix littéraire Archam- bault, and the Prix Senghor. It is being adapted for the screen by Jean-Marc Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y., The Young Victo- ria). Dominique lives in Montreal.

French rights: Éditions de la Table ronde World rights : McClelland & Stewart (The Cooke Agency) Karoline Georges

Sous béton Karoline Georges Since its birth, the Child has been living in a narrow cell on the 5969th Floor Multidisciplinary artist Karoline Georges of the Building. has studied film and art history in Québec. Her body of work includes Around him, only concrete, no view on the outside. His father is becoming photography, audio and video perfo- more and more violent and his mother is scared of being expelled of the mances. Her first novel, La mue de Building. Motionless in his room, the Child is slowly experiencing a trans- l’hermaphrodite(Leméac) was critically formation that will open the doors toward an unexpected horizon. acclaimed and her second novel, Ataraxie, confirmed the truly unique In a slick prose, sharp and poetic, Karoline Georges explores what we might talent of this writer like no other on the be next through a visionary literary experience, part sci-fi and bildunsroman Québec literary scene. from the future. Nobody emerges intact from the discovery of the literary experience that is Sous béton.

« A genetically modified literary tour de force (…) the alien book of the fall season. » Rights held : World Le Devoir

« Karoline Georges may have invented a new genre : The claustrophobic novel. Only a writer like her can create such impossible worlds with the sole power of her imagination. »

La Presse

« A masterpiece ! »

Dominike Audet FM 93 Robert Lepage Robert LEPAGE Director, writer, actor Robert Lepage is one of Canada’s most renowned figures inthe performing arts. His Marie MICHAUD astonishing oeuvre includes epic plays (The Dragons’ Trilogy, Needles and Opium), award winning films (Le Fred JOURDAIN Confessional, Far Side of the Moon), and even rock shows. A Quebec na- tive, Lepage has received many pres- tigious awards and honours, includ ing the Ordre national du Québec, the Denise Pelletier Prize, the Prix Europe, France’s Légion d’honneur, and the Governor Gen- eral’s Per forming Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.

Marie Michaud Marie Michaud is a leading Québé- Le Dragon bleu coise theatre actress. She has per- formed over fifty roles with top An evocative, beautifully illustrated tale of a Canadian expatriate in China directors including Robert Lepage from legendary theatre director and visionary Robert Lepage. and Denis Marleau. She is currently In this stunning graphic novel adap tation of Robert Lepage and Marie starring in the role of Claire Forêt in Michaud’s play, the personal meets the political, East meets West, and old meets the the atrical version of The Blue new. Claire, a Québécoise art dealer, arrives in China to adopt a little girl. There Dragon, which she co wrote with she visits her ex husband, Pierre, who after fifteen years in China has begun Robert Lepage. to question the new directions his adopted coun try is going in. Claire and Pierre’s lover, the young Chinese artist Xiao Ling, become fast friends. Through this classic love triangle, The Blue Dragonexamines aging, cultural confu sion, fertility, and creativity, and emerges as a fascinating examination of some of modern China’s most intriguing paradoxes. Fred Jourdain’s gorgeous, colour- ful, and cinematic drawings do full justice to the story’s genesis as one of Robert Lepage’s most daz zling theatrical constructions. A feast for the mind as well as the senses, The Blue Dragon is an extraordinary graphic novel for grownups.

Fred Jourdain Fred Jourdain is an artist and de- « Utterly original, brilliant and magical.» signer, best known for his portraits of great jazz, rock, and film figures. His Le Journal de Montréal work is currently on display at the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa.

Rights held : World

Rights sold : English (World) - Anansi Martine DESJARDINS

Winner - Prix Jacques-Brossard (Best science-fiction or fantasy novel of the year) Finalist - Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction Finalist - Prix France-Québec Finalist - Prix Cinq continents Finalist - Prix des libraires du Québec

Maleficium Forgive these seven men, hapless victims of a strange and evil spell, who, in seeking an attentive ear for the tale of their misfortunes in the privacy of the confessional, implored God for the salvation of their very souls, defiled by curiosity and the weakness of the flesh. Forgive too this much maligned woman, forced into cruel silence, for she knows all too well what she has done. Lastly, forgive the man of God who broke the confessional seal by transcribing the words of these individuals into an impious work of evil. Dear reader, you hold in your hands a new but unexpurgated version of the mythic Maleficium written by father Savoie (1877-1913), a sacrilegious priest of which we know very little other than that he spent the last years of his life cloistered in a monastery having been mysteriously struck deaf. Know that by simply reading this deleterious work the pure of soul may suffer greatly for it excites the senses and awakes desires too shameful to mention. By Martine Desjardins giving into its charms, you risk nothing less than excommunication. You are The second of six children, Martine thus forewarned. Desjardins was baptised and received confirmation in Mont-Royal, Quebec, The author of Le cercle de Claraand L’évocation(Prix Ringuet de l’Académie where she still lives with her husband des lettres du Québec) offers up a baroque fresco in eight parts, an invitation and her fox-terrier Winnie. After to travel to the very limits of pleasure and pain. A rare work of the fantastic, studying languages, Russian and both exotic and erotic, borne by a prose of sumptuous beauty. Never will sin Italian, as well as comparative have seemed so irresistible. literature, she began free-lancing for several magazines. Today she is the literary critic for L’actualité. She no longer goes to church and hates travelling. “The author of Le cercle de Clara (1997) and L’évoca- tion (2005) has offered up a daring and singular book, dipping her quill into ink from another era, a time when nature and its mysteries had not yet been Rights held : World deciphered; where desire was an obscure force to be guarded against. The result is an extraordinary feast Rights sold : for the senses, which takes its rightful place among the English (Canada) - Talon Books rare and curious objects of present day literature.” France - Éditions Phébus Voir

“A superb book of the finest quality and one that we rarely find under our latitudes.”

Le Devoir Dominique FORTIER Finalist - Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction Finalist - Prix des libraires du Québec Finalist - Prix Senghor for first novel

Du bon usage des étoiles A sparkling, inventive debut novel inspired by Sir John Franklin's grand — but ultimately failed — quest to discover the Northwest Passage and by his extraordinary wife, Lady Jane. Originally published in Quebec as Du bon usage des etoiles, Dominique Fortier's debut On the Proper Use of Stars is as fresh and imaginative as anything published in recent years. It weaves together the voices of Francis Crozier, Sir John Franklin's second in command, who turns a sceptical eye Dominique Fortier on the grandiose ambitions and hubris of his leader, and of Lady Jane Dominique Fortier was born in 1972. Franklin and her niece Sophia, both driven to uncommon actions by love and She holds a Ph.D. in literature from by frustration as months then years pass with no word from the expedition. McGill University and is a respected Fortier skilfully accents the main narratives with overheard conversations editor and literary translator. On the and snippets from letters and documents that bring two entirely different Proper Use of Stars, her debut novel, worlds — the frozen Arctic and busy Victorian London — alive. was first published in Quebec in 2008 as Du bon usage des étoiles and was shortlisted for the French language Governor General’s Award for Fic- tion, the Prix des libraires du Québec, the Grand Prix littéraire Archam- « Captivating. . . . Fortier’s clever, confident prose and Fischman’s flawless transla- bault, and the Prix Senghor. It is being tion [shift] effortlessly between the comedy of manners of London society and adapted for the screen by Jean-Marc the Gothic romance of the Artic wilderness. . . . The novel pulses with adventure and Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y., The Young Victo- originality, and brims with promise for this gifted new voice in fiction.» ria). Dominique lives in Montreal.

National Post French rights: Éditions de la Table ronde « Immensely entertaining and well-researched. . . . Fortier injects warm human World rights : McClelland & Stewart blood, romance and beauty into the frigid, stark and heartbreaking old story we all (The Cooke Agency) thought we knew. »

Gazette (Montreal)

« Enthralling. . . . The story leaves you both entertained and agonizingly aware of the tragedy that awaits.»

Chatelaine Hélène VACHON

Attraction terrestre Finalist - Prix France-Québec Longlisted for the Prix des libraires du Québec This is the story of two men. The first is an embalmer, a doctor’s son who, unable to look after the living, has devoted himself to the dead. The second, a sickly pianist, alleviates his solitude by consorting with the ghosts of his past glory. The embalmer resides in a building inhabited by a host of eccentric centenarians with a penchant for autobiography. The sickly pianist is entombed in a dreary bungalow that even the sun refuses to enter. The first is caught between two women. The second, between emphysema, rheumatoid arthritis and Parkinson’s. The embalmer dreams, the pianist shakes. They were bound to meet. When our philosopher-undertaker misplaces an enigmatic manuscript written by one of his fellow tenants, the pianist retrieves it. Thus begins an intrigue that leads from the port to a café, from the café to a park, from the park to the sunless house, and finally to a piano where love, life and death Hélène Vachon settle the score. After studying French literature in Borne by fine wit, a taste of the absurd, and genuine tenderness for the living Québec and France, Hélène Vachon and the departed, Attraction terrestre celebrates the pleasure of living. began working for the Québec Ministry of Culture and Communications. Since 1995, she has published over twenty « You take leave of this book with renewed joy in your works of children’s literature, a number heart. » of translations and two novels. Her books, most notably the Somerset Jean Fugère, Pourquoi pas dimanche? series, La tête ailleurs, Singuliers voyageurs, and L’arbre tombé, have « Once more, Éditions Alto has uncovered a gem of a been nominated for many prizes. novel that is both grave and cheerful. We sense Boris Hélène Vachon won both the Governor Vian’s influence in the rollicking way the author deals General’s Literary Award and the Mr. with disease and tragedy, but the text carves its own path Christie’ Book Award in 2002 for through constant innovation. Attraction terrestre may L’oiseau de passage. She lives on Île well lead us to death’s door, but its main impact is to stir d’Orléans, near Quebec City. the blood in our veins. »

Tristan Malavoy-Racine, Voir Montréal Rights held : World « A compelling book by Hélène Vachon. [...] She combines with unusual skill dark humour and humanism in this Rights sold : gentle and sensitive tale. [...] A meditation on disease, English (Canada) - Talon Books death and old age–the building where Hermann lives is populated by very old people, more or less likeable, though each is more eccentric than the other–Attraction terrestre tackles these difficult issues with surprising grace. »

Josée Lapointe, La Presse Nicolas DICKNER

Tarmac (Apocalypse for beginners) From the author of Canada Reads winner Nikolskicomes a sweet, smart and occa- sionally surreal romantic comedy, featuring two young friends who could become lovers — if only one of them hadn't convinced herself that the end of the world is nigh. The Randall family was always a little strange. For generations, each member re- ceives a prophetic vision of the apocalypse — but always on a different date. When the End of Days fails to materialize, yet another Randall goes mad. In the summer of 1989, Hope Randall's mother, in an attempt to forestall the latest Nicolas Dickner imminent apocalypse, loads up the Lada and heads west from Yarmouth. After their car dies in Rivière-du-Loup, the mother and daughter put down roots, as yet an- Born in Rivière-du-Loup in 1972, Nicolas other day of reckoning comes and goes. Dickner grew up in Québec and studied visual arts and literature at Laval University. After- Mickey Bauermann has never seen the likes of the red-headed wonder that is Hope, wards, he travelled extensively in Europe and whose idea of a good time is spending Friday nights watching David Suzuki reveal Latin America before settling in Montreal, the mysteries of science on TV. The Bauermann family has been in the concrete where he now resides. Dickner won two liter- business for generations, but Mickey has other ideas of what he wants to do with ary awards for his first published work, the his life. For now, he spends every available second with Hope, whose mother has 2002 short story collection L’encyclopédie du become increasingly unhinged. The teens take refuge in Mickey's bungalow petit cercle, including the Prix Adrienne-Cho- basement, aka The Bunker, where they watch the twentieth century crumble and quette for the best collection of short fiction of transform on the small screen. the year. Dickner’s first novel, Nikolski, was originally published in Quebec by Éditions But when Hope's destiny as a Randall is revealed by chance — and by a bomb Alto in 2005. It soon garnered rave reviews and shelter's worth of ramen noodles — the time for hiding out is past. For Hope, the only prestigious awards, including the Prix des way to deal with the end of the world is to confront it head on. The journey begins... libraires du Québec, the Prix littéraire des collegians, the Prix Anne-Hébert for best first book, and France’s Prix Printemps des «Charming. . . . The novel twinkles with the same lecteurs — Lavinal. The English edition, with idiosyncratic rhythm that made Nikolski such a delight. the translation done by Lazer Lederhendler, was . . . By turns sharp, thoughtful and sweet. . . . With a writer published as part of Knopf Canada’s well- as nimble as Dickner in our midst, here’s hoping that regarded New Face of Fiction program in 2008. [the world does not end] . . . any time soon.»

The Globe and Mail Rights held : World

«We’re reminded that part of what made Nikolski so deservedly popular was Dickner’s deft hand with tone and Rights sold : mood. . . . Those strengths are on even greater display in English (Canada) - Vintage Canada the new novel.» English (UK) - Portobello France - Denoël The Gazette Holland - Ailantus Germany - Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt Spain - Siruela Nicolas DICKNER

Winner - Canada Reads 2010 Winner - Prix des libraires du Québec Winner - Prix littéraire des collégiens Winner - Prix Anne-Hébert (Best first book) Winner - Prix Printemps des Lecteurs–Lavinal

Nikolski Intricately plotted and shimmering with originality, Nikolski charts the curious and unexpected courses of personal migration, and shows how they just might eventually lead us to home. In the spring of 1989, three young people, born thousands of miles apart, each cut themselves adrift from their birthplaces and set out to discover what — or who — might anchor them in their lives. They each leave almost everything behind, car- rying with them only a few artefacts of their lives so far — possessions that have proven so formative that they can’t imagine surviving without them — but also the accumulated memories of their own lives and family histories. Nicolas Dickner Their journeys seem remarkably unformed, more often guided by the pre- Born in Rivière-du-Loup in 1972, Nicolas vailing winds than personal will, yet their stories weave in and out of other Dickner grew up in Québec and studied visual wondrous tales — stories about such things as fearsome female pirates, urban arts and literature at Laval University. After- archaeologists, unexpected floods, fish of all kinds, a mysterious book without wards, he travelled extensively in Europe and a cover and a dysfunctional compass whose needle obstinately points to the Latin America before settling in Montreal, remote Aleutian village of Nikolski. where he now resides. Dickner won two liter- ary awards for his first published work, the 2002 short story collection L’encyclopédie du «Despite the preponderance of clues and artefacts scattered petit cercle, including the Prix Adrienne-Cho- quette for the best collection of short fiction of throughout the story, Dickner does not tie everything up in a neat the year. Dickner’s first novel, Nikolski, was package. He lets certain threads dangle, giving Nikolski more originally published in Quebec by Éditions substance and nuance. The story lingers in the mind long after the Alto in 2005. It soon garnered rave reviews and last page has been read, leaving the reader in its strange and prestigious awards. wonderful orbit.»

The Gazette Rights held : World «Nikolskioffers a breathtakingly original perception of the world, mixing geography, cartography and longing in a language and Rights sold : construction both intellectually sophisticated and emotionally English (Canada) - Vintage Canada affecting.» English (UK) - Portobello The Globe and Mail English (USA) - Trumpeteer France - Denoël «The characters are so infused with vitality and surprise that they Holland - Ailantus become unforgettable; the language (and in translation — remar - kable) is as lively as the characters; and the humorous, sweetly sad Germany - Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt view of life in general is engaging. . . . This novel is so richly textured Italy - Voland and multi-layered that a single short review may do it a disservice. Israel - Keter Books But its comic brilliance is undeniable — a hugely enjoyable read.» Romania - RAO Edmonton Journal Russia - Centre Polygraph Spain - Txalaparta Christine EDDIE

Winner - Prix France-Québec Winner - Prix Seghor for first novel Finalist - Prix des libraires du Québec

Les carnets de Douglas On the same day, two adolescents free themselves from a life that would have left them feeling trapped. They chance upon each other two years later, in Rivière-aux-Oies, a village far too discreet to be found on any map. In the heart of a bountiful yet savage wilderness, they fall in love, far from the roar of the twentieth century. That is until life takes an unpleasant turn as it so often does. Fade into white. Christine Eddie The years go by. Rivière-aux Oies slowly undergoes a metamorphosis, with, Born in France, Christine Eddie grew in the background, a not so quiet revolution and the devastation brought on up in Acadia before settling in by an endless trail of cement trucks. In this setting, despite the gossip and Quebec. She has written a number of the mean-spirited remarks, a singular family is able to find a measure of hap- articles, published short stories, piness. Together perhaps this doctor with a mended heart, this school teacher received several literary prizes (Prix with an unpronounceable name, and this child who came in from the forest Arcade au feminin, Concours de will at last enable Douglas to hear the answer blowing in the wind. nouvelles XYZ) and published a book for young readers, La croisade de The reader will find passion here, the kind we see in films, unfurling itself Cristale Carton (Hurtubise HMH, in the shade of a tree, a clarinet and the fragile beauty of the world. 2002). Les carnets de Douglas is her first novel.

«With Les carnets de Douglas, Christine Eddie, a short story writer, delivers a first novel filled with tenderness and poetry. Her universe is so compelling that it is hard Rights held : World to tear oneself away from it.»

La Presse Rights sold: France - Éditions Héloïse d’Ormesson France (Paperback) - Le Livre de poche «Wise and poetic, subtle and elegant, Christine Eddie English (Canada) - Goose Lane casts a benevolent gaze on people and things, filling us with wonder. [...] Les carnets de Douglas flows as freely as water. [...] A wonderfully graceful first novel despite its solemnity, it dwells within us like a never-ending melody.» Sébastien CHABOT

Le chant des mouches In the very heart of Sainte-Souffrance there is a gaping hole that separates the village.Two rival clans contest each other’s versions of the origin of the deep pit which the inhabitants fill with their secrets and black thoughts. If the villagers wanted to uncover the truth, they would only need to listen to the ever-present flies singing with drone-like insistence the tale of the town- ship of Matalik and the brief romance between a miner with breath smelling of hot coals and the lovely but weak-minded Little-Fly. They might also hear the strangely harmonious music that accompanies the lives of the couple’s twin boys. Separated at birth, one becomes an unhappy composer with painfully acute hearing, the other chooses to embrace God with an uncommon fervour. It will take more than a quarter of a century and an impossible attempt at reconciliation for the villagers to understand that their redemption or eternal damnation depends on the destinies of these two orphans. Filled with eccentric yet disquieting characters, Le chant des mouches is a Sébastien Chabot jarring tale with burlesques accents, a comedy of tragic proportions that will echo in the mind and the body long after the story has come to an end. Sébastien Chabot was born in 1976, in Sainte-Florence, in the Matapedia Valley. His talent was first revealed to the public with the publication of Ma mere est une marmotte (2004) and L’angoisse des poulets sans plumes (Prix Jovette Bernier 2006). Le chant des mouches brings to a higher level his unique vision of a literary world in which the borders between the real and the imaginary, and between mad- ness and lucidity are erased.

Rights held : World

«With Le chant des mouches, Chabot delivers a vibrant opus, borne by his signature melancholy and black humour.»

Ici

«A funny novel, devastating in its intentions, marked by a vivacious style and free- dom of tone [...]. Possessed of a kind of joy that prefers cruelty to banality, Le chant des mouches often brushes up against the burlesque, the hyperbolic.»

Le Devoir Alexandre BOURBAKI

Grande Plaine IV The truth about the truth is that everything is true. If you like muddled situations, unbridled imagination and exaggerations of questionable taste, do not open this book, you may be disappointed. All the events related here have been rigorously verified, checked and double-checked.

Unlucky in love and misunderstood by the critics, the unpredictable Alexander Bourbaki Alexandre Bourbaki tossed Professor Cuthbert Calculus’ pendulum to the As chance would have it, Alexander wind and headed East, and ever further East. From this strange journey, he Bourbaki was born in Gaspé, some- has extracted the material for a book full of curious thoughts on solitude, time between 1973 and 1975, the son Solair chairs, TV test patterns , the domestication of dogs, land management, of Soviet defectors. He developed a a dark tale of artistic warfare and the semi-personal diary of his passion for literature at a very young doppelganger. age while devouring Tintin books. He is fascinated by scale models, biloca- tion, science fiction novels, Cézanne «Unlike other literary laboratories, Alexandre Bourbaki’s writing experiments have and modern art. After tackling the el- the advantage of being accessible. Grande plaine IV reads like a novel of the strange, ementary laws of physics in Traité de ironic and frenzied, without ever leading the reader astray.» balistique, published in 2006 (short- listed for the Grand Prix littéraire Ar- La Presse chambault), he described the difficulties involved in adapting to city Traité de balistique life in Babylone (2007). He is cur- rently living in Montreal and no Imagine a world where short wave radio, soviet polka, an aboriginal throwing longer owns a dog. weapon, gravitational force, a Babylonian monster, the cartoon character Petzi, the railway, universal chaos, Albert Einstein, soft caramels, and Russian roulette are somehow united. Welcome to Alexandre Bourbaki’s little laboratory. Nineteen stories and a few images are all this surprising tinkerer needs to Rights held : World take apart and put back together the history of modern science as though it were an old toaster, from the Second World War to some faraway point in time. A book that will make you forget everything you learned in physics class.

«Traité de balistique, despite its technical title, is teaming with intriguing and poetic characters, inspired finds and fantastical ideas. [...] Here, science is the sparkplug for Finalist — Grand Prix littéraire Archambault the imagination. […] Traité de balistique transmutes scientific material into poetic Longlisted — Prix des libraires du Québec matter. Is that not true alchemy?» La Presse Patrick BRISEBOIS

Catéchèse Patrick Brisebois “In Mauvouloir county, buried under wild grass and years of want, the dead Born in Verdun in 1971, Patrick find no peace.” Brisebois grew up in McMasterville An old and austere village, Mauvouloir is the theatre of a forbidden love affair and on the South Shore before between Sue Ironblood, a wild and mysterious native woman, and Violaine, moving to Montreal. A few years ago, the eldest of the three Murray children, a pious clan obsessed by holy icons. he spent some time in the Charlevoix region to write poetry and the novel In this land of legends and dark rumours, beneath tranquil waters and hidden Catéchèse. He is the author of a in dark forests, a horrible drama unfolds. Mauvouloir is a world encased in collection of poems, Carcasses au mountains under a leaden sky, a fragile place where reality begins to crack, crépuscule, and of the “Trilogie allowing strange anomalies and wild nightmares to creep in. sinistre,” which is comprised of the In sharp contrast with Patrick Brisebois’ previous novels, warmly received novels Que jeunesse trépasse, by critics, Catéchèse is both a rural tale and a suspense novel. In this raw Trépanés and Chants pour enfants morts, all published by Effet Pourpre. narrative exuding a smell of sulphur and holy water, the author of the “Trilogie sinistre” casts a new look at society’s (dis)illusions and past and present obsessions. Rights held : World

«In this wild and outrageously provocative novel, Brisebois is able to weave together, God knows how, a rural tale and a mystery novel, dipping into the works of nine- teenth-century Quebec novelist Henri-Raymond Casgrain and borrowing from the virtual gaming world.»

La Presse

«A disturbing modern tale, Catéchèse is also a brilliant social satire. Its many levels of interpretation lend it unexpected depth. »

Entre les lignes Max FÉRANDON

Monsieur Ho Name: Mister Ho Occupation: civil servant Distinguishing feature: discreet by nature Task: Conduct a census of 1.3 billion people

In a land where being alive means being part of a collective, Mister Ho leads the calm life of an invisible minor civil servant. And yet, somewhere in the Higher Spheres, they have other plans for him. He soon finds himself at Max Férandon the head of a project as vast as it is implausible: a census of all of China’s Max Férandon was born in 1964 in a inhabitants. picture postcard village of Central France, in the Creuse department. Mister Ho will travel by train across a land of contrasts, obsessed by the future The poetic imagination of his child- and forgetful of its past, where opulence and corruption live side by side with hood inspires him to this day. Cross- rural poverty. A civil servant, but first and foremost a human being, this son ing the Atlantic in 1988, he arrived in of an outcast of the Cultural Revolution, who silently indulges in the forbidden Quebec, where he has remained ever love of words, will not be able to cast his doubt aside. His emotional state will since, practicing several trades. He eventually override his sense of duty, though it will take both an existential lives in the Old Capital. Monsieur Ho and mechanical breakdown in the Mongolian Interior, where his own father is his first novel. disappeared forty years earlier, for this accountant to truly learn to count to one. At once a surrealist story and a bitter caustic fable on the hidden face of the Secret Empire, Monsieur Ho erects a rampart against ignorance by contrast- ing it with the subtle poetry of bitter-sweet lucidity.

Rights held : World «How could you not like Monsieur Ho? [...] Like any self-respecting tale, Monsieur Ho presents a cast of eccentric characters, lessons to be learned, a quest for the absolute and an existential moral of sorts. Its humour and spirited analogies beckon to the reader. I hasten to add that the second novel by Max Férandon, a recent immigrant to Quebec, is eagerly awaited.»

Nuit Blanche

«Besides being extremely well-written, Monsieur Ho allows us to reflect upon the plurality and the divisions confronting the Empire of the Sun.»

Le Soleil Serge LAMOTHE

Finalist - Prix des libraires du Québec

Tarquimpol Haunted by the possibility that Franz Kafka may have stayed at the famous occultist Stanislas de Guaita’s château in 1911, a researcher decides to go to Lorraine, in the tiny village of Tarquimpol, a den of mystery perpetually shrouded in mist. But the truth will not yield itself willingly, and, just like the famous novelist’s characters, the researcher will be confronted by strange happenings that defy logic.

Kafka is never very far. Serge Lamothe From Quebec to France, along the path of the heart innumerable, Serge A polygraph who defies description, Lamothe weaves the tale of a quest for love and literature with great finesse. Serge Lamothe has quickly become He wonders with humour whether we can truly love several people at once, one of the voices of his generation. with equal affection and tenderness, without resorting to lies. Alya, Laurie, Since 1998, he has published novels, René and Li Wei have neither a ready answer nor a manual to survive this short stories, poetry and plays. He is also a screenplay consultant and an monstrous passion, this multiple love; but they’re open to the possibility. opera dramaturge. Nights of wild rapture, their bodies entangled in a smouldering embrace, will leave them reeling with pleasure, ravaged by joy and devastated by love. Veiled in fog, the mystery of Tarquimpol remains.

«It’s always hard to forget Lamothe’s writing, but in this story of an ideal yet impos- sible love it is both deft and highly admirable. The sentences go straight to the heart and get under your skin. You want to hang on to them to gain some understanding Rights held : World of life, love and death...»

Ici

«Lamothe’s writing envelops you to the point where you cannot remain indifferent. Once you’ve read and enjoyed a few pages, you want more and you just can’t get enough. What verve!»

Canada français Sophie BEAUCHEMIN

Une basse noblesse At age 50, the time has come for Robert d’Amri to take stock of his life as a poser. Had it not been for a garden fling with the fabulously wealthy Esther Roquemaure de Villemure, alias Mademoiselle Échassier, he would have peacefully whiled away the days. This young blue blood, devoid of ambition and preferring fast cars to the company of men, blindly conformed to the wishes of two families who agreed on a hasty but necessary wedding. Employed at Plastron inc., his father-in-law’s company, Robert simply let life run its course. Then one cold December morning, he strays from the beaten path, tempting Fate by committing a desperate act and, he hopes, a liberating one. That day, Robert Amri becomes a man. Sophie Beauchemin What defines (petty) nobility? On what values does this species known for its Born in Montréal in 1972, Sophie blind acceptance of absurd conventions stand? Weaving a web of truth and Beauchemin lives in Saint-Antoine- lies, of adultery and thinly veiled contempt, this first novel by Sophie de-Tilly. Trained as a political Beauchemin paints the portrait of a man, who, in spite of himself, has played commentator, she works as a research into the hands of others for the better part of his life. agent in the Québec civil service. An essential complement to her exciting life as a civil servant, fiction writing allows her the freedom to take a caustic view of society.

«Une basse noblesse is a sparkling and mischievous novel that cheekily pokes fun at the misery of the rich.» Rights held : World

Québec français

«The story flows along briskly, without a fault, right up until the final brilliant turning point.»

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