Rod Carley has concocted another hilarious romp behind the theatre curtain - a showdown between artistic freedom and censorship in rural Ontario. Kinmount is the last place down-and-out director Dave Middleton wants to revisit yet there he is directing an amateur production of Romeo and Juliet for an eccentric producer in farm country. And there his quixotic troubles begin. From cults to karaoke, anything that can go wrong does. In one hilarious chapter after another, Dave becomes the reluctant emissary of truth in a comic battle between artistic integrity and censorship. Add in a pesky ghost and a precocious parrot and the stage is set for a summer Kinmount won't soon forget.

Rod is the award-winning author of three previous works of literary fiction: Grin Reaping (long listed for the 2023 Leacock Medal for Humour, 2022 Bronze Winner for Humour from Foreword Review INDIES, a Finalist for the 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Award for Humor/Comedy, and long listed for the ReLit Group Awards for Best Short Fiction of 2023); Kinmount (long listed for the 2021 Leacock Medal for Humour and Winner of the 2021 Silver Medal for Best Regional Fiction from the Independent Publishers Book Awards); A Matter of Will (Finalist for the 2018 Northern Lit Award for Fiction).His short stories and creative non-fiction have appeared in a variety of Canadian literary magazines including Broadview (winner of the 2022 Award of Excellence for Best Seasonal Article from the Associated Church Press), Cloud Lake Literary, Blank Spaces, Exile, HighGrader, and the anthology 150 Years Up North and More. He was a finalist for the 2021 Carter V. Cooper Short Fiction Prize. Rod was the 2009 winner of TVO’s Big Ideas/Best Lecturer Competition for his lecture entitled “Adapting Shakespeare within a Modern Canadian Context. He is a proud alumnus of the Humber School for Writers and is represented by Carolyn Forde, Senior Literary Agent with The Transatlantic Agency. www.rodcarley.ca.

Rod Carley's profile page

• Long-listed, Stephen Leacock Award
• Runner-up, Independent Publisher Book Awards - Silver Medal for Best Regional Fiction

"Rod Carley's Kinmount is a hit that kept me laughing and turning the pages from curtain to curtain. It's funny, thoughtful, compelling, and filled with humane insights about people and their passions. Not since Robertson Davies' Tempest-Tost has a community Shakespeare production been so much fun." Terry Fallis, two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour.

If you work in theatre, you'll love this book. If you've spent any serious time in small town Ontario, you'll get this book. If you simply like fun writing that makes you smirk and quite possibly snort out loud, this is definitely your book. Carley's view of all these things is truly a delight to witness. Shadflies, Shakespeare, and megalomaniac community censors don't seem as terrify- ing as I remember. All I can say is it's a tale of sound and fury signifying a delightful homage to community theatre.-Drew Hayden Taylor, Author/Playwright

Kinmount is a blast to read. It's fast-paced, engaging, and laugh out loud- funny. If you're not a theatre person, be prepared to enter the crazy world of small town drama in all it's hilarious glory. And if you ARE a theatre person, beware: you'll be wincing (and cheering on) a lot of familiar faces. Get thee to a bookstore and order!-Vern Thiessen, Playwright

The story is both entertaining and enlightening for anyone with a love of the classics, Shakespeare or simply a desire for madcap adventure. A wonderful read!!!-Andrew Jackson, Actor

Kinmount is going to make you howl with laughter.-Dave Carley, Playwright - Taking Liberties

Rod Carley's romp through the world of small town theatrical life will be a delight for anyone interested in theatre, small towns, eccentric characters, laughing or finding a way to painlessly gain an insight into Shakespeare and the people who attempt him, keeping in mind the adage that 'we all fail Shakespeare'.-Miles Potter, Director, Stratford Festival

To open the covers of Kinmount, is to enter a world of theatre, mayhem, magic and small-town hijinks. Rod Carley's masterful novel moves at a page-turning turbo-speed, fueled by razor-sharp wit, unexpected twists and turns, and a cast of characters that leap right off the page.-Heidi von Palleske, author, Two White Queens and the One-Eyed Jack

It is a laugh out loud comedy with enough bizarre and even some paranormal twists to keep you breathlessly turning the pages.-Carrie Schiffler, Actor/Poet

In the lively, humorous style of Tom Sharpe and Terry Pratchett, Rod Car- ley's story of a professional theatre director's struggle to produce a communi- ty Shakespeare production in small town Ontario was a wonderfully funny and engaging read.-Ian Farthing, Artistic Advisor, Pacific Theatre, Vancouver, B.C.

Kinmount has a high level of sophistication and at the same time pulls the curtain back on the topsy turvy world of amateur theatre. It is well-drawn, full of interesting characters with clever dialogue, funny, and at times, sur-prisingly deep.-Norm Foster, Canada's Most-Produced Playwright