Samantha Garner is a mixed-race writer living in Mississauga, Ontario. Her debut novel, The Quiet is Loud, draws upon her Filipino Canadian and mixed-race ancestry. She also writes poetry and short fiction. Beginning in April 2023, Garner became a columnist with the online site Open Book.
Fiction
The Quiet is Loud
Halifax: Invisible Publishing, 2021.
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
When Freya Tanangco was ten, she dreamed of her mother’s death days before it happened. Freya’s life since has been spent in hiding: from the troubled literary legacy created by her author father, and from the scrutiny of a society that is hostile to vekers—people who, like her, have enhanced mental abilities.
When her prophetic dreams take a dangerous turn, Freya finds herself increasingly forced to sacrifice her own anonymity—and the fragile safety that comes with it—in order to protect those around her.
Interwoven with themes of Filipino Canadian and mixed-race identity, fantastical elements from Norse and Filipino mythology, and tarot card symbolism, The Quiet Is Loud is an intergenerational tale about the consequences of secrets and what happens when we refuse to let others tell our stories for us.