About the Author

Riel Nason is a writer and textile artist. She is the author of three novels (including one for middle-grade readers), a children's picture book, and two books on quilting. The Town That Drowned was her debut novel. It won the Commonwealth Book Prize for Canada and Europe and the Margaret and John Savage First Book Award. She lives in Quispamsis, New Brunswick.

Reviews

"A powerful contemporary examination of a girl who falls through the ice, has a vision of the future of her town, is rescued, and then finds that vision coming to life in an alarming way." - Midwest Book Review - 20211201

"[A] captivating debut novel ... many flashes of clever humour and felicitous, well-paced storytelling that keeps you engaged throughout." - National Post - 20120809

"[T]his is a vivid, intimate novel that works equally well for adult and young-adult readers. ... Nason's genius in this novel is not just to tell an important historical story that needed to be told but to find exactly the right perspective from which to tell it. ... The Town That Drowned is a warm, intimate story in which every character feels as real as someone you might meet on the street." - Compulsive Overreader - 20130624

"An impressive first novel." - Winnipeg Review - 20120809

"Charming, wry, and believable ... Nason has a particular gift for introducing supporting characters with memorable anecdotes, each of which reads like a sparkling little gem of a short story ... Ruby's voice, vibrating with contradictory desires, [delivers] shot-to-the-heart moments of real humour and pathos." - Quill & Quire - 20120809

"Riel Nason's debut novel establishes her as a writer with a bright future ... Nason's writing is warm and empathetic. She has a lovely ear for dialogue and her townspeople are well drawn. She also does a terrific job capturing the feel of a 1960s rural New Brunswick." - Chronicle-Herald - 20120809

"This is a lighthearted and well-written book that I would recommend to anyone." - Meg Forrestell-Page - Record - 20130624

"The Town That Drowned is not easily forgotten." - Scene Magazine - 20120809

"If her debut novel, The Town That Drowned, is any indication, Riel Nason is a writer to watch. This tender tale about a New Brunswick village threatened by the provincial government's plan to build a dam has a ton of soul." - Susan G. Cole - NOW Magazine - 20120809

"The writing is finely polished, the locale evocative, and her dialogue rings true. In Ruby, she nails the voice of youth." - Maple Tree Literary Supplement - 20120809