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Issued by Linda Drattell on October 1, 2026. Source: EIN Presswire.
Award-winning poet and author brings humor, magical realism and social commentary to a story about identity, belonging, and the pressures of conformity
October is National Book Month, and this year it also marks the release of “The Peccadilloes of Filamena Phipps,” a full-length adult novel from award-winning poet and author Linda Drattell, arriving October 15, 2026, from Stairwell Books.
Following a children’s book she co-authored and two poetry collections, Drattell makes her adult fiction debut with a satirical work of magical realism that explores individuality, social conformity, cultural acceptance, and the desire to belong.
Set in the affluent neighborhood of North Chelsea, the story follows Filamena Phipps, an immigrant woman increasingly at odds with neighbors determined to preserve their carefully curated social order. Viewed as different, and therefore threatening, she becomes the target of subtle exclusion and pressure to conform. Rather than surrender her identity, Filamena dismisses her unfaithful husband and launches a campaign for mayor, while her untamed garden grows alongside her political ambitions.
Told through the perspectives of Filamena, her chief antagonist Livia, and the town’s incumbent mayor, the novel combines wit, satire, and magical realism to examine what happens when an individual refuses to conform.
Pre-orders are available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org and other online retailers.
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Cover image courtesy of the author or publisher.
