April 20, 2026
Cool New Reviews!
“Definitely Thriving looks at what can happen if we step outside our comfort zone — whether purposefully or not — and begin anew. It’s a funny, lighthearted read that isn’t trying too hard to be anything else. Clare’s characters are ridiculous but endearing for all their quirks, and Clemence herself, a lovable hot mess, still manages to inspire.” —Lindsay McKnight, Winnipeg Free Press
“Clemence’s story is utterly charming, funny, and surprising at every turn. Definitely Thriving is a great read that I won’t call women’s fiction (IYKYK). I highly recommend it.” —Pamela Sinclair, The Seaboard Review of Books
“There were mishaps, kooky characters and crazy situations that were not expected but relatable and they all made this story a delightful and addictive read. With love affairs, raunchy moments and memorable closet moments, Clemence teaches us all that starting again can be all that is needed.” —Sarah Butland, The Miramichi Reader
April 17, 2026
36 Hours in NYC
One day on my own in New York City to do whatever I want to do: what a gift! It began fortuitously when I got to the airport early enough for my 9am flight to be switched to the 7:45. My first stop was the central branch of the New York Public Library which proved even more awe inspiring than I’d imagined.
Next up I went to see my novel in a NYC bookshop, and it wasn’t only on display at McNally Jackson at Rockefeller Centre, but a lovely human bought a copy while I was there, making my day AGAIN.
And then I went to visit Sweet Pickle Books, because as author of a book blog called Pickle Me This, I’ve had people tell me over and over about this place where books can be exchanged for jars of pickles.
And then to Chinatown, where I had a pineapple pork bun and visited Yu & Me Books on the recommendation of my friend Denise.
And then to Greenwich Village, where Lauren gave me all the intel. I walked Cornelia Street and did not bless the rains, because it was sunny and 30 degrees, but there were kaleidoscopic heartbeats. I walked past Stonewall, found Ellen Raskin’s house, went to Three Lives Co, and visited the beautiful Jefferson Market Library.
And then came uptown to meet friends for dinner, and afterwards we stopped at Book Culture which was supposed to have two copies of #DefinitelyThriving, but only one was left (the other had sold) and I got to sign it!
I didn’t take many photos at the Totally Booked with Zibby live podcast recording the next day, as I was too steeped in the atmosphere and experience. I stayed for the morning session and was riveted by conversations with Morgan Radford and Jess H. Gutierrez about their books, the novel NOW THEN and memoir in essays ADULTING FOR AMATEURS. And what an honour to be among them and to get to talk about #DefinitelyThriving with esteemed reader Zibby Owens who brings real insight and curiosity into each conversation and does it all with ZERO NOTES. (!)
Afterwards, we had the opportunity to sign books and then to meet and speak with attendees, who were so interesting, kind, and bookishly inclined (of course!).
And then I emerged into the sunshine with Jess, and we quickly found ourselves fast friends, walking down 6th Avenue, taking Manhattan like a pair of loveable muppets, and she was very understanding when I lost my mind at seeing Radio City Music Hall, the very place where Daddy Warbucks had bought out the 8 o’clock show.
It was the most beautiful day yesterday, New York City perhaps the prettiest place on the planet. I got to Newark Airport far earlier than I needed to with blisters on the bottom of my feet. I kind of regret not buying the oversized souvenir t-shirt that read MOMMY’S LITTLE MEATBALL.
Such a whirlwind! I could not have had a more exciting or delightful 36 hours. I am the luckiest. What a time!
April 10, 2026
Definitely Thriving is a Bestseller
On April 1, the day we arrived in England, I learned that Definitely Thriving had made the indie bestseller’s list for Canadian fiction for the week of March 21, certainly thanks to record sales via my events that week at Blue Heron Books and Take Cover Books, as well as to every other copy sold that week at a Canadian indie bookstore. I’ve made this list in the past, but it never felt as significant as it did this time, not least because I’d made peace with making no list at all the week my book came out, because it’s hard to get on any list these days unless your name is Rachel Reid, and also because I’ve figured out the trap of never-enoughness in publishing, and I’m just not playing that game. So I was overjoyed, and so pleased to be celebrating this milestone, and even doubly pleased to be celebrating the milestone while I was on vacation, so it didn’t even feel like this wonderful success was the best thing in my life. I’m so pleased with this little book that can, and grateful for the opportunities it’s bringing me as its author.
March 19, 2026
My New Book is Out!
Definitely Thriving is now available wherever books are sold. I’ve had a truly wonderful time welcoming Clemence and her story into the world so far. Thanks to everyone for your support. Please buy a copy or order one from your local library!
March 11, 2026
Books in DEFINITELY THRIVING
You might already know that DEFINITELY THRIVING is a bookish book, but did you know that a major plot point involves the whereabouts of a copy of Cathy Park Hong’s essay collection MINOR FEELINGS? (Follow me for more hot tips for writing scintillating narratives…) Writing a novel set in a disorganized bookshop with a questionable cataloguing system was a lot of fun because it enabled my protagonist to come across so many of my favourite titles, and I even wrote my first edition of Carol Shields’ THE REPUBLIC OF LOVE into the text (what a find!).
DEFINITELY THRIVING is out on Tuesday, and includes so many picks to add to your reading list!
March 6, 2026
Almost Paradise!
The last movie I saw before the world shut down in 2020 was PONYO at Paradise Theatre and movie theatres (along with EVERYTHING) were one of those parts of community and city life that I missed so much in the months and years that followed, especially listening to doomsayers who droned that we’d never get them back again.
I started writing DEFINITELY THRIVING in 2021 because I wanted to write a book that would make me happy, to find a way out of such a dark and scary time, and that we all gathered last night at Paradise Theatre, the very place I was dreaming of as I was writing, only underlines how we never knew how the story might unfold, that sometimes things work out rather beautifully in the end.
And how particularly beautiful that I got to launch this book in conversation with the NYT-bestselling Marissa Stapley whose novel LUCKY has become an AppleTV series hitting screens this summer starring ACTUAL Annette Bening and Anya Taylor-Joy. (!!)
Thank you to all the beautiful people who filled the room last night!! It was such a joyful celebration and so much fun to revisit BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY on its 25th anniversary. Thank you for booing Daniel Cleaver, as you should, and being a terrifically engaged audience.
Thank you for helping Type Books sell SO MANY BOOKS last night! Thanks to the family and friends who keep showing up for these things. Thanks to people who showed up who didn’t know me at all—what a thing!! Thank you to Emma Rhodes for her calm, reassuring and awesome presence, and all her hard work to make the night happen. Thank you to House of Anansi who’ve shown this book so much support. And thank you to universe for granting us an event that did not require me to carry a sheet cake across town—WOULD RECOMMEND.
The only disappointment was that nobody crashed through a plate glass window. And that Salman Rushdie could not be there.
DEFINITELY THRIVING is officially out March 17, but slowly creeping into bookstores already! Hope you get your copy soon. And I hope you love it.
March 4, 2026
Mysteries of Pittsburgh
Due to a winter storm, my short trip to Pittsburgh for the American Booksellers Association Winter Institute was even shorter than scheduled, but oh, we made the most of it. My publisher House of Anansi Press set up meetings with delightful and inspiring booksellers across the US doing inspiring and life changing work everyday, standing up for the kind of world they believe in. Meeting so many booksellers at the Authors Reception was exciting and I was thrilled to be able to tell them about the fictional bookshop in my book.
I also loved exploring this gorgeous city, being awed by its beautiful rivers and so many bridges. (I got to cross the Rachel Carson Bridge TWICE last Wednesday!). Pittsburgh is even more stunning than it is during the opening scenes of FLASHDANCE, which is saying something because that was a tremendous promise.
And best of all: Pittsburgh booksellers. I got to visit Posman Books, White Whale Books, and City Books, which is pretty good coverage for a single day in town. I loved each store so much and the suitcase I brought home was SO HEAVY.
The most surprising and wonderful thing about all of it, particularly for an event that was so massive, was how intimate and human it all was. From my cab driver from the airport, an immigrant from Cote D’Ivoire, who talked to me about how much he loved Pittsburgh, the bookseller from Kentucky I had dinner with whose colleague was someone I’d been chatting with on Substack, to the friends-of-friends who I met at the Authors Reception, and the bookseller I’d met that afternoon who popped into the reception to pick up a copy of my book—it was all so magical and affirming.
Best whirlwind ever. Thank you, Pittsburgh!
March 1, 2026
Definitely Thriving on Tour!
Sunday March 22 in Uxbridge
Book Drunkard Festival Brunch with Kerry Clare and Bianca Marais, Wooden Sticks Golf Club, 11-1pm
Thursday March 26 in Peterborough
In conversation with Megan Murphy at Take Cover Books, 59 Hunter Street East
- Free event, 7pm, RSVP here!
Saturday March 28 in East Gwillimbury
Friends of the EG Library Present an In-Person Author Event with Kerry Clare: Queensville, 2pm.
- Tickets are $40, includes light refreshments and a copy of the book. Buy your tickets here!
Thursday April 16 in New York City
Humor, Self-Discovery, & Love – A Totally Booked: Live! Event at the Whitby Hotel (18 West 56th Street)
April 17/18 in Hamilton
Part of the 2026 gritLIT: Hamilton Readers and Writers Festival
- Details to Come!
Saturday April 25 in Uxbridge
Canadian Independent Bookstore Day at Book Heron Books
- Details to come!
Wednesday April 28 in Waterloo
Waterloo Public Library Event in Partnership with Words Worth Books, Eastside Branch (2001 University Avenue East), 7-8pm
Thursday April 29 in Toronto
Flying Books Author Social at 371 Queen Street West, in conversation with Julia Zarankin
- Free event, but space is limited. RSVP here.
Saturday May 2 in Port Hope
Reading at Port Hope Public Library in partnership with Furby House Books.
- Details to come!
Sunday May 3 in Toronto
Junction Reads in-person with Liz Johnston and Alice Fitzpatrick. TYPE Books Junction, 2887 Dundas Street West. 6:30pm ET.
Past Events:
Wednesday March 18 in Etobicoke
Meet and Greet at A Novel Spot Books (Thorncrest Plaza, 1500 Islington Ave., Unit 4)
- Free event, 3pm
Tuesday March 3 in Stratford
Tuesday Night Book Release Party at the Bruce Hotel
- Free to attend, RSVP required
Thursday March 5 in Toronto
Bridget Jones’s Diary at the Paradise Theatre, and a conversation with Marissa Stapley
February 6, 2026
Big Book Launch News!
(This is a pinned post! Scroll down for updates)
🎉 Celebrate the launch of DEFINITELY THRIVING, with a special 25th-anniversary showing of BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY, the iconic film starring Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, and Hugh Grant, at Paradise Theatre in Toronto on Thursday March 5. 🎉
Following the film, enjoy a conversation between Kerry Clare and Marissa Stapley, New York Times-bestselling author of LUCKY, about why Bridget Jones still resonates, and the film’s connections to DEFINITELY THRIVING, a novel about people who are perfectly imperfect, and all the love and support that’s required for one woman to make it on her own.
A night out at @paradiseonbloor, Toronto’s prime cinema venue, with books on sale from the good people at @typebooks? DING DONG. 🎥 📖 🎉
Pick up your tickets today at https://paradiseonbloor.com/movies/bridget-joness-diary-definitely-thriving-book-launch-with-kerry-clare/
January 30, 2026
some things you need to know…
Click through for a fun slide show about my upcoming novel (including news about my book launch!).
-Grateful to Quill & Quire for including Definitely Thriving on their 2026 Spring Preview!
