National Bestseller

Winner of the 2019 OLA Forest of Reading Evergreen Award

Shortlisted for the 2019 John W. Campbell Memorial Award

Shortlisted for the 2019/20 First Nation Communities READ Indigenous Literature Award

2020 Burlington Library Selection; 2020 Hamilton Reads One Book One Community Selection; 2020 Region of Waterloo One Book One Community Selection; 2019 Ontario Library Association Ontario Together We Read Program Selection; 2019 Women’s National Book Association’s Great Group Reads; 2019 Amnesty International Book Club Pick

January 2020 Reddit r/bookclub pick of the month

“This slow-burning thriller is also a powerful story of survival and will leave readers breathless.” — Publishers Weekly

“Rice seamlessly injects Anishinaabe language into the dialogue and creates a beautiful rendering of the natural world … This title will appeal to fans of literary science-fiction akin to Cormac McCarthy as well as to readers looking for a fresh voice in indigenous fiction.” — Booklist

A daring post-apocalyptic novel from a powerful rising literary voice

With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. Cut off, people become passive and confused. Panic builds as the food supply dwindles. While the band council and a pocket of community members struggle to maintain order, an unexpected visitor arrives, escaping the crumbling society to the south. Soon after, others follow.

The community leadership loses its grip on power as the visitors manipulate the tired and hungry to take control of the reserve. Tensions rise and, as the months pass, so does the death toll due to sickness and despair. Frustrated by the building chaos, a group of young friends and their families turn to the land and Anishinaabe tradition in hopes of helping their community thrive again. Guided through the chaos by an unlikely leader named Evan Whitesky, they endeavor to restore order while grappling with a grave decision.

Blending action and allegory, Moon of the Crusted Snow upends our expectations. Out of catastrophe comes resilience. And as one society collapses, another is reborn.

Sales and Market Bullets

• A post-apocalyptic thriller set in Northeastern Ontario west of James Bay
• Author is a high profile CBC journalist influential on Twitter with 24.8K followers (@waub)
• The book centers around a First Nation community of Anishinaabe
• Historically, post-apocalyptic stories and themes haven’t been thoroughly explored from an Indigenous perspective in literary fiction
• Examines the ongoing impacts of settler colonialism on Indigenous communities
• A unique and compelling story about an Indigenous community by an Indigenous author

Audience

For readers of Richard Wagamese’s Medicine Walk

Promotional Plans

• Pitch author to literary festivals across North America, esp. IFOA.
• Liaise with the author’s contacts at CBC (he is a high profile and influential journalist there with name recognition).
• Send to trade review publications for increased US exposure (Quill & Quire, Library Journal, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, etc.)
• Pitch reviews at major dailies (New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, National Post)
• Pitch reviews at literary journals (The Malahat Review, Literary Review of Canada, Canadian Notes & Queries, The New Quarterly, Geist)