Eliza Donovan learns the journalism trade from her father, who leads a rural Oregon newsroom. When he develops a mysteriously debilitating condition and flees to a healing center, Eliza and her mother move to Alaska to start fresh. After college, Eliza takes a job at Juneau’s largest daily, working for her father’s former protégé, Mina Breckenridge. Together they navigate sea changes in their industry: The rise of the internet and social media, politicians’ accusations, the murders of journalists across the globe, and violent bloodshed closer to home. Trying to prove herself at The Tribune, Eliza becomes obsessed with a feature story about charismatic Christian parents whose adopted daughter is a flute prodigy, a story Mina inexplicably kills. As fact gets sifted from fiction, Eliza uncovers testimony that threatens to upend her relationship with Mina and tarnish her memories of her father. Sunshine Girl, a page-turning tale of family secrets set in a world of truth-telling, explores the art of regional journalism through the lens of an intrepid reporter who discovers more than she expects—once she starts investigating her own life.

“Resonant and compelling, this multigenerational novel puts reporters on the page—their family dynamics and friendships, their misunderstandings and mistakes, and their absolute dedication to the profession.”

—Laura Stanfill, author of Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary

“I was charmed by Sunshine Girl’s nostalgic peek into newsrooms of the past, its interrogation of the state of media today, and its moving story of a multigenerational family of newshounds.”

—Sari Botton, editor of Oldster Magazine and author of And You May Find Yourself … Confessions of a Late-Blooming Gen-X Weirdo

“A rare, up-close view of mass media, the financial collapse of print journalism, and the post-truth era of clickbait news. Sunshine Girl is a deftly written debut by an exciting new voice.”

—Suzy Vitello, author of Bitterroot

“Nancy Townsley’s Sunshine Girl is a generous and warm-hearted novel. A sparkling debut!”

—Miriam Gershow, author of Survival Tips and The Local News

“…a family journey of loss and healing, framed by local and national news of over four decades. As [they] report on the changing world, we come to love and care deeply about these journalists and the important work of truth-telling.”

—Jackie Shannon Hollis, author of This Particular Happiness: A Childless Love Story

“A touching family saga of betrayal, loss, and forgiveness wrapped inside a cautionary tale about the decline of traditional community journalism. An important and timely debut.”

—William Loving, author of City of Angles

“Such a vivid tour of the last half century in newsrooms, I can practically hear the keyboards firing through every era. A swift, affecting narrative against a backdrop that is equal parts alarm, nostalgia and homage for what newspaper journalism has lost, and still stands to gain.” 

—Lee van der Voo, author of As The World Burns and The Fish Market

“Leveraging a multigenerational narrative frame and unforgettable characters, Sunshine Girl exhibits the rigor of true journalism through the lens of fiction to explore the implications of informational access, consumption trends, and the changing ways we understand—and misunderstand—our shared world.”

—Jen Knox, author of Chaos Magic and We Arrive Uninvited