Now Is Not the Time to Panic

An vibrant, bighearted tale about two young misfits who dramatically clash one fateful summer, and the art they produce that transforms their lives forever, comes from the New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here.

When Frankie Budge, a sixteen-year-old aspiring writer, awkward student, and reclusive loner, meets Zeke—a gifted artist who recently moved into his grandmother's unhappy house and is just as lonely and awkward as Frankie—she becomes even more determined to survive another depressing summer in Coalfield, Tennessee. Romantic and creative sparks begin to fly, and when the two jointly make an unsigned poster, shot through with an enigmatic phrase, it becomes unforgettable to anyone who sees it. A shantytown full of gold hunters is located on the brink. We are runaways, and the law is ravenous for us.

People start to notice the posters everywhere and wonder who is responsible. The stories about Satanists and kidnappers won't stop, and before long, the mystery will have grave consequences that extend far beyond the village. Zeke and Frankie are now in danger of being torn apart by the art that first brought them together.

Twenty years later, Frances Eleanor Budge—well-known novelist, mother of a beautiful daughter, and wife of a devoted husband—gets a call that may potentially ruin everything: Mazzy Brower, a journalist, is researching the Coalfield Panic of 1996 for a story. Is there anything Frances may know about that? And will the life she's worked so hard to build be destroyed by what she knows?

Now Is Not The Time to Panic is a daring coming-of-age tale that delves deeply into the power of art, youthful love, and identity. Kevin Wilson writes it with his signature wit and flaming style. It also has to do with the secrets that plague us and what the truth will finally release us from.