We are thrilled to announce that World Rights to Jenny Haysom’s debut novel, KEEP, have been acquired by Shivaun Hearne at House of Anansi Press!
Home staging is an art of erasure. But in certain houses––no matter how much clutter you remove, or how many coats of white paint you apply––stains bleed through, and memories rise from the walls like ghosts. Harriet, an elderly poet whose eccentricities have been compounded by years of living alone, and must sell her beloved house. Having been recently diagnosed with dementia, she is being moved into a care facility against her wishes. When stagers Eleanor and Jacob are hired for the job, they quickly find themselves immersed in Harriet’s overstuffed and mysterious world, but as they struggle to help her, their own lives are unravelling.
KEEP explores topical issues, like property and collection, alongside timeless themes of memory and loneliness.
Jenny Haysom’s poetry collection, Dividing the Wayside (Palimpsest Press, 2018), won the Archibald Lampman prize and was shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award. Her writing has also been published in a variety of magazines and journals, including The Walrus, TNQ, The Fiddlehead, and many others. She lives on unceded Algonquin land in Ottawa.
The deal was arranged by Carolyn Forde.
Congratulations Jenny!