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  • $24.95

    ISBN: 9781772012590 | Paperback

    336 pages | Pub. Date: 20200826
    5.5 W × 8.5 H × 0.82 D inches
    Frontlist | Non-Fiction | Bisac: LAW117000
    Rights: WORLD

    Or find Mégantic in your local bookstore

Mégantic
A Deadly Mix of Oil, Rail, and Avarice
By Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny
Translated by W. Donald Wilson

In this exhaustively researched work of investigative journalism, Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny examines the causes and after-effects of the 2013 Lac-Mégantic rail disaster. When a driverless, out-of-control train carrying highly volatile crude oil decimated the downtown area of the picturesque town of Lac-Mégantic, it immediately killed forty-seven people and lead to the suicides of several others. Saint-Cerny reveals how the tragedy was not an accident, but rather was knowingly caused by powerful people and institutions far removed from the town itself. Her moving and passionate book asks probing and vital questions: Who are the tragedy’s real culprits? Who took control of the crime scene? Who rebuilt the town, and in whose interest?

The fruit of five years of work and interviews with nearly a hundred people from various backgrounds, including victims and their relatives, Mégantic tells the story of the disaster in three acts – before, during, and after – in a scathing critique whose ultimate goal is to prevent the preventable.

Winner of 2018 Prix Pierre-Vadeboncœur

Finalist for 2018 Governor General’s Award for French-Language Non-Fiction

Finalist for 2019 Prix des libraires

“Required reading.”
—Marie-Louise Arsenault, Radio Canada Première

“In this well-documented book, the reader will discover the concealed motives of a greedy and politically well-protected industry whose quest for profit at any cost retains the smell of burnt flesh and human sacrifice – this is neoliberal capitalism, where collateral damage continues to make innocent victims.”
—Lac-Mégantic coalition of citizens and organizations for railway safety

“Drawing on eloquent testimonies and solid analyses, Saint-Cerny not only takes a look at the questions that have arisen since this railway disaster, but also goes deep, with infinite respect, by listening and giving voice to the women and men who survived Mégantic.”
—CSN

“An extraordinary, multifaceted investigation.”
Le Devoir

By Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny

Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny has been a social and environmental activist in various NGOs for over thirty-five years. Videographer, essayist, and novelist, her book-length piece of investigative journalism Mégantic, Une tragédie annoncée (Éditions Écosociété, 2018) was in its original French edition the winner of the 2018 prix Pierre-Vadeboncoeur, a finalist for the 2018 Governor General’s Literary Awards for Non-Fiction, and was listed for the 2019 Prix des libraires.

Author photo credit: Maximilien Faubert.

Read more about Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny


Translated by W. Donald Wilson

W. Donald Wilson has taught at universities in the West Indies, the United Kingdom, and at the University of Waterloo. In 2011 and 2013, two of Wilson’s translations were long-listed for the Best Translated Book Award in the United States, and in 2013 he was a finalist for the French-American Foundation translation prize.

Read more about W. Donald Wilson


news | 2023-08-23
Women in Translation Month

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news | 2022-11-15
New Graphic Novel from Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny

…Fans of Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny Mégantic have something new to look forward to: a graphic … of the 2013 train derailment that flattened Lac-Mégantic. With art from Christian Quesnel and translated …


news | 2022-03-08
International Women's Day

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news | 2021-08-10
Le 12 août, j’achète un livre québécois / Buy a Quebec Book Day! August 12

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news | 2021-06-14
Five Father's Day Gift Ideas from Talonbooks

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news | 2020-09-22
Oana Avasilichioaei, Sophie Bienvenu, Mercedes Eng, Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny at the Winnipeg Thin Air Festival

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news | 2020-09-16
Mégantic has arrived!

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