A HOLIDAY TREAT OF A NOVEL: With appealing settings, a high-concept hook, a sparkling narrative voice, and a healthy dose of Christmas charm, The Holiday Swap is a warm, feel-good read perfect for those looking for a seasonal escape.

AN EXCITING AUTHOR DUO: Bestselling authors Karma Brown and Marissa Stapley are well-known names in the commercial women’s fiction arena. (Karma’s Recipe for a Perfect Wife was #1 on the G&M BSL last year, selling over 30K copies.) As individual authors, Karma and Marissa are reader and bookseller favorites; as the brand new Maggie Knox author duo, they’ll use the combined might of their respective writing chops, impressive networks, and promotional savvy to position The Holiday Swap for success. The Maggie Knox pen name is an open secret, allowing both authors to promote The Holiday Swap from their robust individual platforms under their real names.

A WINNING CATEGORY, FORMAT, AND PRICE: Readers love Christmas romance novels, as can be seen by the sales of Karen Swan, Sarah Morgan, and Josie Silver. Our trade edition is smartly priced and designed to appeal to consumers looking for a cozy seasonal read or for a fun stocking stuffer for friends and family.

CO-PUBLISHING WITH PUTNAM: We have a strong partner in Putnam, which will allow for great opportunities for promotion, marketing, and building buzz. Hodder & Stoughton will publish simultaneously in the UK.

WE OWN TWO BOOKS: We will publish a second standalone holiday rom-com in Fall 2022, further cementing the duo’s brand in the rom-com arena.

OTPB: We are publishing in original trade.

Maggie Knox is the pen name for bestselling Canadian writing duo Karma Brown and Marissa Stapley. Brown is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author of five novels, including the #1 national bestseller Recipe for a Perfect Wife, as well as the non-fiction bestseller The 4% Fix: How one hour can change your life. Her writing has appeared in publications such as Self, Redbook, Today’s Parent, and Chatelaine. She lives just outside Toronto with her family and a labradoodle named Fred. Stapley is a former magazine editor and New York Times bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club Pick Lucky, as well as international bestsellers Mating for Life, Things to Do When It’s Raining, and The Last Resort. Many of her novels have been optioned for television and her journalism has appeared in The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Elle, Today’s Parent, and Reader’s Digest. She lives in Toronto with her family and a pre­cocious black cat named Oscar. The Holiday Swap was their first novel writing together as Maggie Knox and is a Canadian bestseller.



Author Residence: Toronto

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

One of:
The Globe and Mail's "14 books from 2021 that will bring comfort and joy to your holiday reading"
CBC's "13 books for the romantic comedy lover on your holiday shopping list"
CBC's "24 funny books for your holiday shopping list”
Toronto Star's "25 books for the readers on your holiday list"
Elle’s "10 Books You’ll Want to Read This Fall”
Loan Stars' "Best of the Brightest 2021"
Yahoo’s "15 Books Guaranteed to Get You in the Holiday Spirit"
Yahoo’s “Festive Books That Are Like Hallmark Movies on Paper”
Paste Magazine’s “10 Best Holiday Rom-Com Books”

“An utterly adorable, pitch-perfect romance with just the right amount of Christmas cheer. The Holiday Swap is a pure delight, I couldn’t stop from smiling.”
—Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six

“I love this book! It is deliciously fun and wildly romantic, and the dual settings of a baking show set in LA and a family-run bakery in a small snowy town feels like Great British Bakeoff meets Gilmore Girls.… I wanted to befriend the twins, throttle the villains, fall in love with the heroes—and bake up some sourdough.”
—Jennifer Robson, international bestselling author of The Gown

“It’s double the treats and double the trouble as twins swap holidays and dramas in this delightful yuletide romance from Knox…There’s both tenderness and comedy as the sisters rediscover their priorities and sibling bond while hilariously struggling to draw the line between their roles and reality. This light romantic romp is delicious fun, perfect for rom-com fans in need of some Christmas cheer.”
—Publishers Weekly

"[T]his is smart women’s fiction with an unabashedly festive theme. A book to curl up with during the holidays."
—Toronto Star

“I devoured this delightful romantic comedy in two nights. It's like Gilmore Girls meets The Parent Trap meets Cake Wars. In other words, it's perfect.”
—Colleen Oakley, USA Today bestselling author of You Were There Too

“The Holiday Swap dishes up a double dose of fun-loving, feel-good, Christmas cheer, with a recipe for love that’s deliciously irresistible.”
—Karen Schaler, author of Finding Christmas

“The Holiday Swap is the cozy holiday rom-com you crave, complete with double the swoony meet-cutes, scrumptious desserts, and happily-ever-afters. With small-town gossip and reality-TV drama, Maggie Knox serves up a treat that will have foodie fiction fans begging for seconds.”
—Amy E. Reichert, author of The Coincidence of Coconut Cake

“This debut from Maggie Knox about twins who swap places for 12 days at Christmas is twice the fun, double the trouble and all the feels. Warm cozy bakeries, cold snowy nights, holiday traditions and two-TWO!-romances to steal my heart—what’s not to love? The smart, quick-paced writing, witty dialogue and swoon-worthy date scenes had me up all night, turning the pages to see what would happen next. I absolutely adored this book—and I can’t wait for more rom-coms from Maggie Knox!”
—Chantel Guertin, bestselling author of Instamom

“The cheery romcom has a premise worthy of a Netflix movie.”
—Elle

“Every bit as warm and cozy as a Hallmark Christmas movie."
—PopSugar

“Fun and quick-witted. . . . Knox assembles a memorable cast and whips up inventive switched-lives scenarios filled with a host of mishaps that double the fun. Delightfully romantic plot twists further sweeten this lighthearted, feel-good story--with a message--that is sure to make rom-com readers hunger for whatever Knox decides to dish up next.”
—Shelf Awareness

"This is just what I was looking for: a light but sophisticated romance, a much-needed escape. When a baking reality show co-host competing for a promotion and her also-culinary-minded twin swap places, hilarious (and more serious) events transpire."
—Deborah Leiderman, The New York Times

“Perfect for readers who grew up watching The Parent Trap.”
—Paste Magazine