Exploring Ecothrillers
Event Details
Whether protagonists are working to save their environment, or just to survive it, these stories reckon with the impact humans and
Event Details
Whether protagonists are working to save their environment, or just to survive it, these stories reckon with the impact humans and their ecosystems have on one another.

Whale Fall by Ann Lambert
Second Story Press
Marie Russell and Detective Roméo Leduc are finally getting married, but the joyous occasion is overshadowed by the unexpected arrival of Magnus Sørenson, renowned eco-warrior and Marie’s first great love. When Magnus’ plans for a dramatic environmental protest take a dark turn, Roméo and Marie are forced to abandon their honeymoon in the Laurentians in order to catch a killer, unearthing long-buried secrets along the way. Fast-paced and chilling, Whale Fall is a riveting tale of love, vengeance, and climate justice.
Wreck Bay by Barbara Fradkin
Dundurn Press
While exploring the rugged landscape of Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim, Amanda Doucette is drawn to a reclusive old artist known only as Luke, who lives off the grid on a remote island. His vivid paintings hint at a traumatic secret from his past that brings to mind her own struggles with PTSD, and she begins to bond with him.
But when the body of a surfer washes up on the beach, Luke flees deep into the interior. What is the connection between Luke and the victim, and what does it have to do with Vietnam and a hippie commune from fifty years ago? Fearing Luke might do something desperate, Amanda searches for answers and races to find him before the police or the victim’s family get to him first.


A Tidy Armageddon by BH Panhuyzen
ECW Press
The world is utterly transformed: every product of human creation has been organized by an unknown hand into a vast grid of nine-story blocks, each comprised of a single item type: watering cans, lighthouses, fake Christmas trees, helicopters, plastic spoons, and everything else Earth’s culture and technology have ever produced, stacked in homogenous towers and separated by a maze of passageways.
Navigating this depopulated environment, a small contingent of diverse soldiers tries to make sense of this enigmatic apocalypse while desperately searching for survivors. They are led by Elsie Sharpcot, a Cree woman who has endured the military’s rampant racism and misogyny, and Dorian Wakely, her PTSD-afflicted second-in-command. Both veterans of the war in Afghanistan, they lead a group of army misfits while they all struggle — against the elements and each other — to survive.
The Marigold by Andrew F. Sullivan
ECW Press
The Marigold, a gleaming Toronto condo tower, sits a half-empty promise: a stack of scuffed rental suites and undelivered amenities that crumbles around its residents as a mysterious sludge spreads slowly through it. Public health inspector Cathy Jin investigates this toxic mold as it infests the city’s infrastructure, rotting it from within, while Sam “Soda” Dalipagic stumbles on a dangerous cache of data while cruising the streets in his Camry, waiting for his next rideshare alert. On the outskirts of downtown, 13-year-old Henrietta Brakes chases a friend deep underground after he’s snatched into a sinkhole by a creature from below.
All the while, construction of the city’s newest luxury tower, Marigold II, has stalled. Stanley Marigold, the struggling son of the legendary developer behind this project, decides he must tap into a hidden reserve of old power to make his dream a reality — one with a human cost.

Speakers for this event
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Andrew F. Sullivan
Andrew F. Sullivan
Moderator
Andrew F. Sullivan is the author of novels The Marigold; The Handyman Method (co-written with Nick Cutter); Waste, a Globe and Mail Best Book; and the story collection All We Want Is Everything, a Globe and Mail Best Book and finalist for the Relit Award. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario.
Moderator
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Ann Lambert
Ann Lambert
Author
Ann Lambert is the author of the critically acclaimed Russell and Leduc Mystery Series, The Birds That Stay, The Dogs of Winter and Whale Fall. She has been writing, directing and producing for the theatre for 40 years, most recently with her Montreal-based company, Theatre Ouest End.
Author
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Barbara Fradkin
Barbara Fradkin
Author
Child psychologist Barbara Fradkin is fascinated by why we turn bad. In addition to numerous short stories, she has published twenty novels in both her long-running Inspector Green series, and her Amanda Doucette series. Many of her works have been shortlisted or won Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence.
Author
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BH Panhuyzen
BH Panhuyzen
Author
BH Panhuyzen has previously published a collection of short stories and two novels, along with stories in literary and speculative fiction magazines. He wrote for the Just for Laughs Festival, and has penned and performed stand-up comedy. A passionate, amateur musician (piano/ guitar/drums/uke), he lives in Toronto. He writes in the morning and dedicates afternoons to his company Neutrino Data Systems, where he is senior FileMaker Pro developer. He has taken the Giving What We Can Pledge, and donates 10% of all pre-tax income to effective altruism charities.
Author
Partners
