HAPPINESS ECONOMICS

Will Thorne is a barely-published, stalled poet. He's married to Judy, a celebrity economist who doesn't understand him or poetry at all. Even his poet peers don't understand Will's struggles with his art - as most of them are living below the poverty line while Will appears to be squandering his talent in ergonomic chairs and the rich leather finishing of his private office.

When Will's destitute, though award-winning, poet friend convinces Will to use his privilege to help other poets, Will founds The Poet's Preservation Society. In order to fund this charitable organization, however, Will makes a devil's bargain with his wife: she'll supply the cash if he will take a job writing advertising slogans so that he can, in Judy's words, "contribute to society." But when Will meets a sensual young woman named Lily White, in the strangest of circumstances, he finds a new way to contribute to society.

As the 2008 financial collapse sets in, Judy is forced to re-evaluate her faith in the economic system, Will and Lily give The Poet's Preservation Society a new mandate, and events twist toward a 'big' plan that might just foil everybody.

In keeping with her gentle wit and satirical voice, Shari Lapeña weaves another romp through the social politics of a dysfunctional family and the complicated footwork it takes to find happiness.

Shari Lapeña was a lawyer and English teacher before turning to writing fiction. Her work has been shortlisted for the CBC Literary Awards and in 2004 she won the Great Toronto Literary Project. She has been featured in The Dalhousie Review, The Globe and Mail and is an alumnus of the Humber School for Writers.