Virago to Publish High School, a memoir by Tegan and Sara

Virago is thrilled to announce the acquisition of High School, a memoir by award-winning musicians Tegan and Sara, to be published in the fall of 2019 alongside Simon & Schuster in Canada and Farrar, Straus and Giroux in the US.

 

Sarah Savitt, Virago Publisher, acquired UK & Commonwealth rights at auction from Juliet Mushens at Caskie Mushens, on behalf of Marc Gerald at Europa Content.

High School is the revelatory and unique coming-of-age story of Sara and Tegan Quin, identical twins from Calgary, Alberta, growing up in the height of grunge and rave culture in the 90s, well before they became the celebrated musicians and global LGBTQ icons we know today. While grappling with their identity and sexuality, often alone, they also faced academic meltdown, their parents’ divorce, and the looming pressure of what might come after high school. Written in alternating chapters from both Tegan’s point of view and Sara’s, the book is a raw account of the drugs, alcohol, love, music and friendship they explored in their formative years. A transcendent story of first loves and first songs, it captures the tangle of discordant and parallel memories of two sisters who grew up in distinct ways even as they lived just down the hall from one another. This is the origin story of Tegan and Sara. 

‘How did you start your band?

When did you know that you were gay?

What were you like before Tegan and Sara?

We have spent twenty years answering those complicated questions with simple answers,’ Tegan and Sara explain.

‘Writing High School gives us the opportunity to tell the intricate stories that shaped our relationship as sisters, musicians, and queer girls.’

 

‘We are so delighted and proud to be publishing Tegan andSara, who we admire both for their stellar music career and for their activism.Their wonderful memoir High School has it all, from first love to first guitar, with plenty of delicious 90s nostalgia. But most importantly it is honest, beautifully written and inspiring, a brilliant account of how two young women discovered their identities and their passions,’ says Sarah Savitt.

During the course of their twenty-year career, Tegan and Sara have sold well over one million records and released eight studio albums. They have received three Juno Awards, a Grammy nomination, a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award, and the 2018 New York Civil Liberties Union Award. They have performed on some of the world’s biggest stages, from Coachella to the Academy Awards. Outspoken advocates for equality, in 2016 Tegan and Sara created the Tegan and Sara Foundation, which fights for health, economic justice, and representation for LGBTQ girls and women. The sisters currently reside in Vancouver, British Columbia, and split their time between there and Los Angeles, California. Visit them at www.teganandsara.com or connect with them on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook: @TeganandSara.

 

High School will be published on 24 September 2019.