PU

What We Would Be
Lisa Kaisen
Ship Date: Spring 2017
Pub Date: Winter 2016

SALES HOOK

Price: $15.95 US,

$17.95 CAN

Raised by ex-hippie artists in a house that recalls Picasso, Olivia may as well have

ISBN-13: 978-1-932010-794

acrylic paint running through her veins. Then she begins her Masters in Fine Arts at
St. Angelas, and can no longer bring paintbrush to page.
DESCRIPTION
Olivias muse is gone, and Olivia doesnt know where she went or why she left.
Adrift socially and artistically, Olivias plight is made worse by the fact that St.
Angelas is an all-girls campus, making her impending transition from female to
male that much more challenging.
In the meantime, Olivia lands a job at the campus library, working in the

Trim: 6 x 9
Format: Print
Pages: 305
Carton Qty:
# and type of illustrations:
n/a
Series: n/a
BISAC Category: YOUNG
ADULT FICTION/LGBT

underground office of creatives, a group of twenty-and-thirty-somethings who

BISAC Code: YAF031000

believe in personal and digital revolutions. They are passionate, accepting, and

BISAC Category: YOUNG

ADULT FICTION/Coming of
Age

inspiring. They take her in and involve her in their plans. Just when Olivia starts to
feel at home, strange things start happening...
This book hinges on mystery and magical realism while addressing some haunting

BISAC Code: YAF011000

Previous Edition ISBN:
n/a

and important questions. What role does art play in identity? Who is Olivia without
her muse? Does her creative block have something to do with the ways in which
her body is changing? The paths she takes towards these private destinies curve in
unexpected ways, and not even Olivia knows what shell find at their center.

KEY SELLING POINTS

Lisa is an artist, and has used herself and her own experience as
inspiration for Olivias character
Lisa has a personal connection to all of her books themes; Her brother,
born female, came out to their family as transgender. His story is woven

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into the book

The books themes of coming-of-age, fine arts and academia, and
transgender representation are relevant and timely

AUDIENCE
Teens and young adults; primarily LGBT individuals
Readers interested in coming-of-age stories
Readers interested in novels with a focus on LGBT issues
Readers interested in university life and the academic sphere
AUTHOR BIO
As an artist herself, Lisas protagonist is largely inspired by her own experiences. In
addition, Lisas brother is transgender, and his search for identity is intricately
woven into the story shes written.
Lisa works at the Quincy Gallery of Contemporary Art and holds a MFA in Drawing
and Painting from The Art Institute of Boston.

AUTHOR RESIDENCE
1721 E. Park St. Quincy, MA 02170
COMPARATIVE TITLES
The Paying Guests, Sarah Waters, $15.30, paperback, 592 pages, ISBN
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It is 1922, and London is tense. Ex-servicemen are disillusioned;
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impoverished widow Mrs. Wray and her spinster daughter, Frances, are
obliged to take in lodgers. With the arrival of Lilian and Leonard Barber, a
modern young couple of the clerk class, the routines of the house will be
shaken up in unexpected ways. Little do the Wrays know just how
profoundly their new tenants will alter the course of Francess lifeor, as
passions mount and frustration gathers, how far-reaching, and how
devastating, the disturbances will be. (Barnes and Noble summary)
Nevada, Imogen Binnie, $15.07, paperback, 262 pages, ISBN
970983242239, 3/5/2013, Topside Press
Nevada is the darkly comedic story of Maria Griffiths, a young
trans woman living in New York City and trying to stay true to her punk
values while working retail. When she finds out her girlfriend has lied to
her, the world she thought she'd carefully built for herself begins to unravel,
and Maria sets out on a journey that will most certainly change her forever.
(Barnes and Noble summary)
A Great and Terrible Beauty: Gemma Doyle Trilogy #1, Libba Bray, $9.99,
paperback, 432 pages, ISBN 9780385732314, 3/22/2005, Random House
Childrens Books
Its 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma
Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper
boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of

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the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemmas

reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, shes been followed
by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why?
What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spences most
powerful girlsand their foray into the spiritual worldlead to?
MARKETING AND PUBLICITY HIGHLIGHTS

Solicit reviews from targeted national and regional media

Review copies to major media (Publishers Weekly, ALA, etc.)
Regional magazines and newspapers
East coast publications
Book blogs: LGBT, YA, and NA
Coordinated social media campaign
Book giveaways
E-book pricing discounts with associated holidays
Designated hashtag: #whatwewouldbe
Co-promote with LGBT events and organizations
Handout w/ book cover, synopsis, resource pamphlet

Tipsheet Updated 12/5/15

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