NEW YEAR BRINGS NEW NOVEL FROM NICOLE GALLAND Berkeley Rep’s Literary Manager Makes Literary Debut BERKELEY CA, JANUARY 4, 2005 She’s been the literary manager of Berkeley Repertory Theatre for 17 months, but now Nicole Galland is making her own literary debut. Today marks the release of the Oakland resident’s first novel, The Fool’s Tale, which is published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Spinning a story about a king, his queen and their jester, The Fool’s Tale is an impressive novel encompassing themes of sovereignty, love, power and betrayal in the wilds of 12th-century Wales. It has all the elements of the best historical fiction: a rich, real-life foundation, fascinating characters, political intrigue and a passionate story of love, loyalty and deceit. “The Fool’s Tale took nearly 15 years to write,” Galland admits. “It had been lying dormant in my computer for more than six years, and one insomniac night I decided to purge my computer of all old files in the hopes of purging myself of writer’s block. I was just about to hit ‘empty trash,’ when I decided to take one last look at the manuscript. I stayed up all night reading—and, as the sun rose, I decided not to delete the pages, but to forge ahead. I completed a first draft four months later, and the final draft was ready less than a year after I’d almost hit the ‘trash’ button.” That dark night of creation hasn’t dimmed the book’s reception. Advance reviews of The Fool’s Tale have been uniformly positive: • “Galland creates memorable characters…who sound authentically regal and yet earthy,” declares Publishers Weekly. “Readers will relish the energetic emotional back-and-forth of the protagonists’ ceaseless trysting.” • “Compulsively readable,” proclaims Kirkus Reviews. “Very entertaining.” • And Booklist promises, “Galland’s first novel is an entertaining saga adeptly weaving together political intrigue and deceit, love that both unites and divides, loyalty that teeters on treason, and the desire for freedom, which comes with a hefty price.” “Naturally we congratulate Nicki on her latest achievement,” remarks Tony Taccone, artistic director of Berkeley Rep. “When we invited her to become our dramaturg in 2003, we knew we were adding a tremendous talent to our highly creative staff.” Before coming to Berkeley Rep, Nicole Galland served on the artistic staff of the Eureka Theatre in San Francisco and Circle Repertory Theatre in New York City, with additional credits at the California Shakespeare Festival and Williamstown Theatre Festival. A prize-winning screenwriter, she has also worked as an actor, director and teacher. The Fool’s Tale is available wherever books are sold, including the Berkeley Rep gift shop. The Fool’s Tale by Nicole Galland On sale January 4, 2005 ISBN: 0060721502 $25.95 William Morrow/An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Media contact: Terence Keane 510.647.2917, tkeane@berkeleyrep.org BACK TO TOP