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Penguin Canada To Publish The Right To Be Cold By Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Sheila Watt–Cloutier

September 10, 2012 (Toronto) — Associate Publisher Nick Garrison has acquired The Right to Be Cold by well—known Canadian champion of the environment and Inuit culture and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Sheila Watt–Cloutier. Penguin competed against other Canadian publishers to acquire the Canadian rights, and the deal was negotiated by literary agent Rick Broadhead of Rick Broadhead & Associates. The Right to Be Cold will be published under Penguin Canada’s Allen Lane imprint in fall 2013.

The Right to Be Cold is a human story of resilience, commitment, and survival told from the unique vantage point of an Inuk woman who, in spite of many obstacles, rose from humble beginnings in the Arctic community of Kuujjuaq, Quebec—where she was raised by a single parent and grandmother and travelled by dog team in a traditional, ice—based Inuit hunting culture—and became one of the most influential and decorated environmental, cultural, and human rights advocates in the world.

The Right to Be Cold will explore the parallels between safeguarding the Arctic and the survival of Inuit culture—and ultimately the world—in the face of past, present, and future environmental degradation. Watt–Cloutier passionately argues that climate change is a human rights issue and one to which all of us on the planet are inextricably linked.

"We jumped at the chance to work with Sheila Watt–Cloutier not only because of her sterling reputation or because of the urgent issues she touches on," says Associate Publisher Nick Garrison. "What struck us all immediately was the irresistible originality of her understanding of the way we are affecting the planet. The very best non-fiction answers questions you didn’t even know you have been asking, and that is exactly what Sheila does with The Right to Be Cold. We are very proud to publish it."

The Right to Be Cold will be the culmination of Watt–Cloutier’s regional, national, and international work over the last twenty—five years, weaving historical traumas and current issues such as climate change, leadership, and sustainability in the Arctic into her personal story to give a coherent and holistic voice to an important subject.

"As our beloved Arctic is plundered for the riches that lie beneath the melting ice, the need to awaken the world to these critical issues has never been more important," says Watt–Cloutier. "Writing The Right to Be Cold is also my way of giving back to the people and the culture that has served not only as my grounding foundation but also as the very anchor of my spirit as I was propelled out into the challenging world of international politics."

A Nobel Peace Prize nominee and an officer of the Order of Canada, Sheila Watt–Cloutier is one of the world’s most recognized environmental and human rights activists. Experienced in working with global decision makers for over a decade, Watt–Cloutier offers a new model for twenty—first-century leadership. She treats the issues of our day—the environment, the economy, foreign policy, global health, and sustainability—not as separate concerns, but as a deeply interconnected whole. In 2007, Sheila Watt–Cloutier was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her advocacy work in showing the impact global climate change has on human rights, especially in the Arctic, where it is felt more immediately and more dramatically than anywhere else in the world.

Based in Nunavut, Watt–Cloutier is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the Aboriginal Achievement Award, the UN Champion of the Earth Award, and the prestigious Norwegian Sophie Prize. From 1995 to 2002, she served as the elected Canadian president of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC). She was elected in 2002 to become the international chair of the ICC. Under her leadership, the world's first international legal action on climate change was launched with a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.