August 30, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:Scott Sellers
Phone no.: (416) 957-1564
ssellers@randomhouse.com

RANDOM HOUSE OF CANADA LIMITED TO PUBLISH
AN E-BOOK ORIGINAL INSPIRED BY THE VISION OF JACK LAYTON.

(Toronto) Random House of Canada Limited is pleased to announce that it will be publishing an e-book original inspired by the vision of late New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton.

HOPE IS BETTER THAN FEAR: Paying Jack Forward will feature a collection of short, personal essays from a diverse line-up of contributors that will reflect upon and look forward on a number of issues that Jack Layton championed over the course of his extraordinary career as an activist, city councilor and federal politician. Civic engagement, poverty and homelessness, the arts, Native rights, feminism and the environment are some of the issues that will be explored in the essays. The roster of contributors includes Rex Murphy, David Miller, Steven Page, Brad Fraser, Jane Doe and Pierre –Luc Dusseault, to name but a few.

“The idea of the project is to ask people who are active in areas Jack was passionate about to help inspire us to keep pushing forward,” says Anne Collins, vice-president of Random House of Canada. “The challenge that we have set for the writers, thinkers and activists we’ve approached is to tap into Jack’s energy, optimism and drive, to reflect on where Jack made an impact and then set us all a challenge as to where we need to go next. In essence, if we were lucky enough to have Jack still with us, what would he be kicking our butts to do?”

All proceeds from the sale of HOPE IS BETTER THAN FEAR will be donated to aboriginal youth initiatives, as designated by Jack Layton’s widow Olivia Chow.

HOPE IS BETTER THAN FEAR will be available through all e-retailers at the end of September.

For more information, please contact Scott Sellers at (416) 957-1564 or ssellers@randomhouse.com