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Liepman Literary Agency
Marc Koralnik
Original language
English
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WE SPREAD

Iain Reid

The author of the “evocative, spine-tingling, and razor-sharp” (Bustle) I'm Thinking of Ending Things that inspired the Netflix original movie and the “short, shocking psychological threehander” (The Guardian) Foe returns with a new work of philosophical suspense.
Penny, an artist, has lived in the same apartment for decades, surrounded by the artifacts and keepsakes of her long life. She is resigned to the mundane rituals of old age, until things start to slip. Before her long-time partner passed away years earlier, provisions were made, unbeknownst to her, for a room in a unique long-term care residence, where Penny finds herself after one too many “incidents.”
Initially, surrounded by peers, conversing, eating, sleeping, looking out at the beautiful woods that surround the house, all is well. She even begins to paint again. But as the days start to blur together, Penny, with a growing sense of unrest and distrust, starts to lose her grip on the passage of time and on her place in the world. Is she succumbing to the subtly destructive effects of aging, or is she an unknowing participant in something more unsettling? At once compassionate and uncanny, told in spare, hypnotic prose, Iain Reid's genre-defying third novel explores questions of conformity, art, productivity, relationships, and what, ultimately, it means to grow old.
Iain Reid is the author of four previous books, including his New York Times-bestselling debut novel, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, which has been translated in more than twenty languages. Oscarwinner Charlie Kaufman wrote and directed the film adaptation for Netflix. His second novel, Foe, is being adapted for film, starring Saoirse Ronan, with Reid co-writing the screenplay. His latest novel is WE SPREAD. Reid lives in Ontario, Canada.
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Published by Scout Press

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Curtea Veche

Curtea Veche Publishing

Aging artist Penny, the unreliable narrator of this exquisite novel of psychological suspense from Reid (Foe), becomes less able to manage her life after the death of her longterm romantic partner, a prolific painter whose success contrasted with Penny's timidity in showing her own work. After a bad fall, Penny's landlord drops her at Six Cedars, a small, isolated retirement home in the woods of a larger setting that's left ambiguous. The owner, Shelley; the other three residents; and the lone employee seem to be waiting for Penny to complete their group—they insist that Penny chose Six Cedars for herself before her partner's death, despite her not remembering doing so. Penny becomes disoriented in time and increasingly disturbed as she bristles against Shelley's strange group meetings, control of daily life, and push to keep the residents “positive and productive” while preventing them from going outside. Reid teases at the secrets of Six Cedars without ever fully resolving them, amid Penny's confused but salient perceptions, leaving readers contemplating their own mortality and primed to see the sinister behind the mundane. Despite the lack of resolution, the story feels complete as it closes with a disturbingly upbeat and peaceful scene. This deep plunge into fears about growing old and losing control is unforgettable. Read more...

Simon&Schuster Canada

Anonymous Content, Reed Morano attached to direct. Minhal Baig has come on-board to co-write and direct WE SPREAD with Iain Reid and Anonymous Content prouducing. Here is an article on her – she's a hot Hollywood director on the rise: https://blog.finaldraft.com/how-sundances-hala-made-minhal-baig-an-honest-storyteller?utm_term=&utm_campaign=GRVE+2021+US+Search+-+Full&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_tgt=dsa-19959388920&hsa_grp=123460552230&hsa_src=g&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_mt=&hsa_ver=3&hsa_ad=507550958147&hsa_acc=7877895225&hsa_kw=&hsa_cam=12572746987&gclid=CjwKCAiAnO2MBhApEiwA8q0HYelvcS7TmAeUWoQDWd2Rz9wbqC0PMJK1grNLJQ-_Ou1Xg68hmE19thoCK08QAvD_BwE

Alianza Editorial S.A.

Scribner

Rizzoli

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