PRIDE Montréal Book Launch: PALM MERIDIAN by debut author Grace Flahive

Join novelist Grace Flahive for the Montréal release party for her stunning debut novel Palm Meridian, which offers a rare combination of timely themes, Montréal ties, and incredible storytelling.

Doors open at 5 pm. Speeches to start by 6 pm.

Don’t miss this unforgettable book launch during Pride Month—a celebration of LGBTQ+ stories, voices, and community.

Set in 2067 in Florida, the novel imagines a retirement resort for queer women. The story unfolds between Florida and Montréal, spanning a single day and also seventy-seven years, as resident Hannah Cardin celebrates the final night of her life with an epic party. With themes of queer joy and love in later life, Palm Meridian will resonate with readers looking for inclusive, uplifting stories. Grace Flahive was inspired to write the novel as a way to explore the beauty of queer relationships in old age — a perspective rarely seen in literature.

LOCATION: Librairie Paragraphe Bookstore (Sherbrooke St. W and McGill College Ave)

ADDRESS: 2220 McGill College Ave, Montréal, Quebec H3A 3P9

Praise for PALM MERIDIAN:

“Flahive is unflinching in her depiction of a future ravaged by climate change, where former towns are overgrown and flooded, and Disney World has fallen into ruin. It’s a stirring tale of living and dying on one’s own terms.” –Publishers Weekly

“A riotous novel about a farewell party that celebrates all of life’s emotions—big and small—while marking the arrival of an exciting new voice in fiction.” —Steven Rowley, New York Times bestselling author of The Celebrants

About PALM MERIDIAN: A rollicking, big-hearted story of long-lost love, friendship, and a life well-lived, set at a Florida retirement resort for queer women, on the last day of resident Hannah Cardin’s life—perfect for readers of Less and The Wedding People.

It’s 2067 and Florida is partially underwater, but even that can’t bring down the residents of Palm Meridian Retirement Resort, a utopian home for queer women who want to revel in their twilight years. Inside, Hula-Hoopers shimmy across the grass, fiercely competitive book clubs nearly come to blows, and the roller-ski team races up and down the winding paths. Everywhere you look, these women are living large.

Hannah Cardin has spent ten happy years under these tropical, technicolor skies, but after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis, she has decided that tomorrow morning she will close her eyes for the very last time. Tonight, however, Hannah and her raucous band of friends are throwing one hell of an end-of-life party. And with less than twenty-four hours left, Hannah is holding out for one final, impossible thing…

Amongst the guest list is Sophie, the love of Hannah’s life. They haven’t spoken since their devastating breakup over forty years ago, but today, Hannah is hoping for the chance to give her greatest love one last try.

As Hannah anxiously awaits Sophie’s arrival, her mind casts back over the highs and lows of her kaleidoscopic life. But when a shocking secret from the past is revealed, Hannah must reconsider if she can say goodbye after all.

Spanning the course of a single day and seventy-odd years, and bursting with irresistible hope, humor, and wisdom, this one-of-a-kind novel celebrates the unexpected moments that make us feel the most alive.

About the author: GRACE FLAHIVE was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. She studied English literature at McGill University in Montréal before moving to London, UK, in 2014, where she’s lived ever since. Palm Meridian is her debut novel.

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