Edward Willett’s debut novel, Soulworm, now available from Shadowpaw Press Reprise
New edition of award-winning authorEdward Willett’s debut novel, Soulworm,
now available from Shadowpaw Press Reprise
Soulworm,the debut novel of Edward Willett, now the award-winning author of more thantwenty novels and twice that many nonfiction books, has just been madeavailable once more in a new edition from Shadowpaw Press Reprise.
A young adult fantasy novel, Soulworm was originallypublished by Royal Fireworks Press in 1997, and was shortlisted for the BestFirst Book award at that year’s Saskatchewan Book Awards. It was written in the1980s while Willett was news editor of the Weyburn Review newspaper, andis set in Weyburn in 1984—which nowadays gives it a Stranger Things vibe,although at the time it was a present-day tale.
“I’mthrilled to have my first published novel available again for the enjoyment ofa whole new generation of readers,” Willett says. “I enjoyed re-reading and(lightly) revising it—it was like visiting an old friend I hadn’t seen for awhile.”
The story
For years, Liothel has waited in vain for herpowers to manifest themselves, so that she can become a full-blown Warder,defender of the realm of Mykia from the mind-controlling spirit creatures knownas soulworms. But when a soulworm escapes from the Warden’s citadel through amagical portal into the parallel world of Earth, it is her spirit that,entirely by accident, is sent in pursuit.
She finds herself, a helpless, unsuspectedobserver, in the mind of Maribeth, a teenage girl in the small Canadian prairiecity of Weyburn, Saskatchewan, in 1984—and discovers the soulworm has possessedMaribeth’s best friend, Christine.
Somehow, she must find a way to save Earthfrom the plague of death and destruction the soulworm and its offspring willrelease if allowed to spread across the unprotected planet. Only she knows thedanger—and only she can stop it.
Critical praise
“Awonderfully entertaining, imaginative, and well-crafted book for young adults .. . This book is well-paced and controlled and never becomes moralistic . . . Agreat read! Highly recommended.” – Saskatchewan Book Award Judges
Aboutthe author
Edward Willett is the award-winning author of morethan sixty books of science fiction, fantasy, and non-fiction for readers ofall ages, including the Worldshapers series and the Masks of Agyrima trilogy(as E.C. Blake) for DAW Books and the YA fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur,originally published by Coteau Books. His most recent novel is the humorousspace opera The Tangled Stars (DAW Books).
Willett won Canada’s top science fiction/fantasyaward, the Aurora Award, for Best Long-Form Work in English in 2009 for Marseguro(DAW) and for Best Fan Related Work in 2019 for The Worldshaperspodcast, and a Saskatchewan Book Award for Spirit Singer in 2002. He hasbeen short-listed for Aurora and Saskatchewan Book Awards multiple times (mostrecently for his YA science fiction novel Star Song), and long-listed multipletimes for the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of theFantastic.
He lives in Regina, Saskatchewan. Website: edwardwillett.com.
AboutShadowpaw Press
ShadowpawPress, founded in Regina, Saskatchewan, by EdwardWillett in 2018,publishes new work by established and emerging authors through its Premiereimprint and new editions of notable, previously published work through itsReprise imprint. Shadowpaw Press is a member the Literary Press Group ofCanada, the Association of Canadian Publishers, and SaskBooks. For moreinformation, contact publisher@shadowpawpress.com or visit www.shadowpawpress.com.
To requestadditional review copies or an interview with Edward Willett, please contactMickey Mikkelson at Creative Edge Publicity: | 403.464.6925.
We look forward tothe coverage!
