Press release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Toronto; December 4, 2018)

Suzanne Sutherland, Children’s Editor at HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, has acquired Canada English rights to Canada Reads finalist Brian Francis’s YA debut, Break in Case of Emergency, to be published in fall 2019. Sutherland said of the acquisition, “This is exactly the kind of project that makes me grateful to do the work I do. Brian’s writing shows his tremendous respect and love for his characters—bringing a careful touch to complex issues, and humour to even the darkest situations.”

A timeless family saga with Francis’s signature twist of wit and tenderness, Break in Case of Emergency follows fifteen-year-old Toby Goodman, whose plans to escape her small farming town are thrown off by the sudden return of her absentee father, a world-renowned female impersonator on the downswing of fame. “I’m very excited to share this story with younger readers,” Francis said. “Break in Case of Emergency is a novel about resilience, celebrating difference and the importance of good cheekbones.”

Brian Francis’s book deal was brokered by Dean Cooke, Proprietor and Literary Agent at CookeMcDermid Agency Inc.

Brian Francis is the author of two previous novels. His most recent, Natural Order, was selected by the Toronto Star, Kobo and the Georgia Straight as a Best Book of 2011. His first novel, Fruit, was a 2009 Canada Reads finalist and was selected as one of 100 Novels That Make You Proud to Be Canadian by CBC Books. He writes a monthly advice column, “Ask the Agony Editor,” for Quill & Quire magazine and is a regular contributor to CBC Radio’s The Next Chapter. His most recent work, a performance piece titled Box 4901, debuted at the 2018 SummerWorks Performance Festival.