The Melting Queen, The by Bruce Cinnamon

The Melting Queen, The by Bruce Cinnamon

Shortlisted for the Sixth Annual Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize - Literary Fiction Category

Shortlisted for Best Speculative Fiction at the 2020 Alberta Book Publishing Awards

Shortlisted for Best Book Design at the 2020 Alberta Book Publishing Awards

Every year since 1904, when the ice breaks up on the North Saskatchewan River, Edmonton has crowned a Melting Queen--a woman who presides over the Melting Day spring carnival and who must keep the city's spirits up over the following winter. But this year, something has changed: a genderfluid ex-frat brother called River Runson is named as Melting Queen. As River's reign upends the city's century-old traditions, Edmonton tears itself in two, with progressive and reactionary factions fighting a war for Edmonton's soul. Ultimately, River must uncover the hidden history of Melting Day, forcing Edmonton to confront the dark underbelly of its traditions and leading the city into a new chapter in its history.

Balancing satire with compassion, Bruce Cinnamon's debut novel combines history and magic to weave a splendid future-looking tale.

Bruce Cinnamon was born in Edmonton and grew up just downstream in FortSaskatchewan, along the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. He holds a BA inEnglish and Creative Writing from the University of Alberta and a Master of GlobalAffairs from the University of Toronto. His favourite authors and literary influencesinclude Garth Nix, Haruki Murakami, Jorge Luis Borges, Rachel Carson, ThomasKing, Tomson Highway, and Italo Calvino. The Melting Queen is his first novel.