Imagine On Air presents Ashley Audrain & Nita Prose

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@ - MT

To kick off our new season, Wordfest is thrilled to be able to showcase 2022's hottest new book, The Maid.

Last year, we paired Ashley Audrain (whose debut thriller, The Push, topped all the 2021 International bestseller lists) with Karma Brown (author of 2019's breakout hit, Recipe for a Perfect Wife). On January 25th, Audrain will share the virtual stage with her close friend Nita Prose, author of The Maid – a whodunnit so sizzling the movie adaptation is already in the works starring Florence Pugh and everyone from the New York Times and Glamour to Good Morning America and NPR can't stop raving. 

The hour-long conversation will start at 7:00 PM MT and will be hosted by Shelley Youngblut, Wordfest’s CEO and Creative Ringleader (The pre-show will begin at 6:50 PM.) The live stream event is free – and if you RSVP, we'll send you a reminder on the day of the show, as well as our unique Digital Doggie Bag the next day with bonus extras sparked by the conversation.

We're calling this exclusive yearly showcase The Hot Book Handoff, and are delighted to be partnering with Penguin Random House Canada.

*BONUS 2022 PREVIEW*

Stay at the end of the conversation for an exclusive preview of what Wordfest is dreaming up for 2022, lead by our always enthusiastic Creative Ringleader Shelley Youngblut. 

About Nita Prose

Nita Prose is a long-time editor, serving many bestselling authors and their books. She lives in Toronto, Canada, in a house that is only moderately clean.

Follow her on Instagram @nitaprose and Twitter @NitaProse.

About The Maid

A masterful, charming mystery ... The smart, quirky, uplifting read we all need."
–Ashley Audrain

A cozy whodunit with heart, The Maid is sure to leave mystery lovers delighted."
–Karma Brown

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misinterprets the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, 25-year-old Molly has had to navigate life's complexities all by herself. No matter – she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly's orderly life is turned on its head the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself very dead in his bed. Before she knows what's happening, Molly's unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black – but will they be able to find the real killer before it's too late?

About Ashley Audrain

Ashley Audrain’s debut novel The Push was a New York Times, Sunday Times and #1 international bestseller, and a Good Morning America book club pick.  It has sold in 40 territories, and a limited television series is currently in development. She previously worked as the publicity director of Penguin Books Canada, and prior to that, worked in public relations. Audrain lives in Toronto, where she and her partner are raising their two young children. She is working on her second novel.…

Follow her on Instagram @ashleyaudrainand twitter @audrain.

About The Push

Utterly addictive.” –Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train

Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, supportive mother she never had to her new baby Violet.

But in the thick of motherhood's exhausting early days, Blythe doesn't find the connection with her daughter she expected. She's convinced that something is wrong with Violet—the little girl is distant, rejects affection, and becomes increasingly disruptive at preschool.

Or is it all in Blythe's head? Her husband, Fox, says she is imagining things. Fox doesn't see what Blythe sees; he sees a wife who is struggling to cope with the day-to-day challenges of being a mother. And the more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity.... 

Then their son Sam is born – and with him, Blythe has the natural maternal connection she'd always dreamed of. Even Violet seems to love her little brother. But when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fall-out forces Blythe to face the truth about herself, her past, and her daughter. 

The Push is a rare and extraordinary gift to readers: a novel about the expectations of motherhood we're taught not to challenge and what really happens behind the closed doors of even the most perfect-looking families. It's impossible to put down and impossible to forget.

About Host Shelley Youngblut

Shelley Youngblut is the CEO & Creative Ringleader of Wordfest. She was the recipient of the 2020 Calgary Award for Community Achievement in the Arts and the 2018 Rozsa Award for Arts Leadership. She also won the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award at the Western Magazine Awards. Youngblut was the founding editor of Calgary’s award-winning Swerve magazine and has created magazines for ESPN, Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, Nickelodeon, Western Living, and The Globe and Mail. A former pop-culture correspondent for ABC World News Now and Canada Am, she is now often unconventionally opinionated on CBC Calgary’s Eyeopener.

Follow her on Twitter @youngblut and Instagram @youngblutshelley.

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