Terry Fallis

A two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, Terry Fallis is the author of six bestselling novels. His debut, The Best Laid Plans, a satire of Canadian politics that began as a podcast and was originally self-published, won the Leacock Medal for Humour in 2008 and CBC’s Canada Reads in 2011. It was subsequently adapted as a six-part television miniseries, as well as a stage musical. Four subsequent novels – The High Road, Up and Down, No Relation, and Poles Apart – were all Leacock Medal finalists, with No Relation winning in 2015. A former Liberal Party strategist, Fallis is the co-founder of the public relations agency Thornley Fallis. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two sons.

Website: terryfallis.com
Twitter: @TerryFallis

Reading a Fallis novel is like watching The Big Bang Theory or some other well-scripted TV sitcom. You laugh, you are entertained, you return to your original life refreshed.” — Quill & Quire

FESTIVAL BOOK

Albatross

Adam Coryell is your average high-school student – well, except for that obsession with collecting fountain pens – when his life changes forever. Based on a study by a quirky Swedish professor that claims that every human being, regardless of athletic inclination, has a body that is suited to excel in at least one sport, it turns out that Adam is good – very good, in fact – at golf. Even though he’s never even picked up a golf club.

Almost instantly – and with his coach, hard-nosed Bobbie Davenport by his side – Adam and his new-found talent skyrocket to a prodigy-level stardom that includes tournament titles, sponsorship deals, throngs of fans following his every move, and fodder for tabloids. But here’s the catch: Adam hates playing golf. And as the life he once knew slips away – including the love of his life, the dream of being a writer, and everyday normalcy – he can’t help but wonder if all this success and fame is worth it… or if it’s enough for him. Albatross takes readers on a journey of mishaps and misadventure, but also self-discovery.