About The Missing Frame

One bag. Five rolls of film filled with grief. One chance to develop what's left.

When Leo dies, he leaves behind more than grief. He leaves a camera bag — and inside it, undeveloped film, a journal, and a note: Trust the blur. Liz Ferguson gave up photography when she gave up on feeling. Now, reluctantly, she's developing the last rolls of film her best friend — and almost something more — ever shot. Frame by frame, she follows the trail he left her back toward the life she abandoned.

The Missing Frame is a lyrical debut novella about grief, friendship, and the photographs we take before we know we've accidentally said goodbye. Visual and emotional in equal measure, it sees the world the way Liz does — in frames. Precise, witty, and quietly devastating, it's the kind of book that stays in the room long after the last page — and will resonate with readers of Jill Santopolo's The Light We Lost and Fredrik Backman.

Published February 2026 by FriesenPress.

​

Awards & Recognition

• Gold Medal, Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY) — Canada West, Fiction, 2026

• Shortlisted, Whistler Independent Book Award (WIBA), 2026

​​

About the Author

Eli Lazar is a debut novelist based in Edmonton, Alberta. Drawing on a background in psychology, she writes literary fiction that pairs heavy emotional subject matter with wit, restraint, and precise imagery. The Missing Frame is her first novel.​​

​

Downloads

• Book Cover

• Author Photo (credit Marcu Fotography)

• Sell Sheet and Book Information

Contact

For interviews, review copies, or press inquiries: elilazar.ca@gmail.com