Brent Butt's debut novel HUGE to be published by Doubleday Canada in October 2023
TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2023 /CNW/ - Doubleday Canada is proud to announce the publication of HUGE: A Novel by Canadian actor, comedian, and screenwriter Brent Butt. HUGE will be published in original trade paperback, ebook and audio formats on October 3, 2023, and is available for preorder now. Ron Eckel of CookeMcDermid arranged the deal.
From the beloved family-friendly entertainer comes an unexpectedly dark and twisted thriller. It's 1994, and three stand-up comedians have embarked on a run of show across a remote stretch of rural Canadian countryside. Dale is a 40-something comic from Chicago who's on the back half of a mediocre career and thinking about quitting the business. Rynn is a 20-something fast-rising star from Dublin with a big Hollywood break on her horizon. The third performer, Hobie, is a local act, a late addition to the bill who has agreed to open the shows and do all the driving. He is physically enormous, but his comedic talent is not. He's strangely enthusiastic and brutally unfunny. Unfortunately, his strangeness and brutality don't end there. By the time Dale and Rynn realize Hobie's true, terrifying talents, it may be too late—and the tour becomes less about getting laughs and more about getting off the road alive.
Brent Butt says: "I am beyond excited about this book coming into the world, and incredibly grateful to Doubleday Canada for being open-minded to the notion that 'TV joke-boy' wrote a dark and violent psychological thriller. They understood that comedy and horror often crawl out of the same seed. The two are really not-so-distant cousins."
Doubleday Canada publisher Amy Black says: "As one of Canada's best-loved entertainers, Brent Butt's name as a novelist will spark immediate notice. But it will be a revelation to readers, as it was to us, to discover that Brent's undeniable talent on the page has resulted in one of the most chilling, immersive, and tension-filled thriller debuts we can remember encountering. We can't wait to introduce HUGE to readers in October."
BRENT BUTT has made his home in Vancouver for thirty years, but was born and raised in Tisdale, Saskatchewan. After high school he worked as a drywaller, sales person, comic book artist, and darkroom tech, before deciding to pursue his real dream, and in February of 1988, Butt performed stand-up comedy for the first time on an amateur night at a Saskatoon comedy club. He is now considered one of the funniest people in Canada, with a career in stand-up comedy that stretches into five decades, including numerous appearances at major festivals in multiple countries and being voted Best Male Stand-Up in Canada by his peers in the profession. He also created and starred in two successful sitcoms—Corner Gas ("Funniest Show on TV" as voted by TV Guide readers, currently showing in 60 countries) and Hiccups (multiple Leo and Writers Guild Awards). When you add in two theatrical comedy films (No Clue and Corner Gas: The Movie) and four seasons of an animated Corner Gas spinoff, it may seem surprising that Brent's latest venture—literature—has taken a rather dark turn. Learn more at brentbutt.com and on Twitter and Instagram @BrentButt.
One of Canada's most prominent publishers for eighty years, Doubleday Canada is known for the critical and commercial successes of its program, publishing many bestselling writers of both fiction and non-fiction. The imprint is proud to have nurtured some of the country's most exciting talents and is also home to many celebrated international writers.
SOURCE Penguin Random House Canada Limited
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