Author Description

"From the Giller Prize-nominated author of Stanley Park comes a novel about the clash of art and advertising, the cultish grip of celebrity, and the intense connections that form in times of crisis. An unidentified man storms a television studio where KiddieFame, a controversial youth talent show, is being filmed. He is armed with an explosive device, and issues only a single demand, an interview with Thom Pegg, a disgraced former investigative journalist, down on his luck and working for a tabloid. The demand surprises everyone, Pegg most of all. So it is that Pegg finds himself inside the studio, in a position to uncover the truth. Outside, as the hostage taking heads into its third day, enthralled and horrified onlookers watch the drama unfold through a constant stream of media and rumours. In the throes of this crisis two characters -- one running from former glory and the other from corporate burnout -- meet and instinctively connect. Eve is an Olympic gold medalist and much-loved local daughter. Rabbit is a secretive street artist who has just completed a massive project involving mysterious installations on the rooftops of hundreds of buildings throughout the city. It's a fearful time, when people have grave doubts about the future and about each other. Yet when events collide, and Rabbit's installation is activated, people are shocked into seeing the power of beauty in the world, and the real possibility of hope. The Blue Light Project is a hard-hitting and emotionally wrought commentary on the forces that attract and repel us, and the faith that enables us to continue."--Pub. website.