• Syncopation: A Novel in Verse

Syncopation: A Novel in Verse

November 4, 2025 | ISBN 978-1-998408-28-3 | 300 Pages

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In the aftermath of a Memory War, society is fragmented into strange new cultures, castes and coalitions. Set against a backdrop of retrofitted food garages, microchip-sorting factories and hyperloop terminals, Whitney French brings us a dazzling novel in verse where memory is the highest currency and love, like all revolutions, is dangerous, unruly and singed with hope. O and Z are two young women searching for purpose in a world where a decades-long earthquake reverberates through the Earth’s crust, and the population scrambles to hide from deadly acid rain. Descended from space pirates, O is drawn to the sky, while… Read more

"A vivid, compelling, active novel in verse. The world is divided into four quadrants, each plagued by its own unexpected weather. O and Z adore each other through the ruins of memory loss, earthquake, and world collapse, as they travel together towards a new way of being. Whitney French has a wonderful sense of image and true ear for beauty. I loved especially the play with déjà vu, the society of beings who eschew names as a way to stay together, and how Hogan's Alley appears anew as roadway of the future. This is an extraordinary book – original and strange." – Larissa Lai, author of The Tiger Flu and The Lost Century

  • Whitney French (she/her) is a writer, educator and publisher. She is the editor of the award-winning anthology Black Writers Matter (University of Regina, 2019) and Griot: Six Writers' Sojourn into the Dark (Penguin Random House, 2022). Whitney is a Black futurist who explores memory, loss, technology and nature in her work. She is a certified arts educator and an Assistant Professor in Creative Writing at the University of British Colombia. She is also the co-founder and publisher of Hush Harbour, the only Black queer feminist press in Canada.