How the It Girls of literature are redefining the book launch.
In the last few years, the traditional literary world has gotten a lot more fun. Parties aren’t just thrown at bookstores that close at 9 pm but at punk bars and hotel ballrooms. They have custom merchandise, relevant DJs, and Botox. They’re photographed like celebrity parties. Publications likeare publishing newer writers and hosting events that feel accessible to people outside of the MFA circuit.
“I think might've been the one who told me you should celebrate your debut novel in the same way you might celebrate a wedding or something,” Cai says. “I was like, okay, that's a lot. But I did really like the idea of publishing a book as a personal milestone.” “I had my own style and humor in the way that I wanted to present the book and frame it,” Granados says. “I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I just don't trust publishers with their own take.”“I think the publishing industry wasn't really thinking about those young women who buy books. They think about critics and Twitter,” she says.
But that’s changing. The girls aren’t just hangers on. In fact, they’re kind of carrying everything. , and crossing over.” “I have a big personality, and I've always been social. I've always gone out and I've always had opinions,” says Granados. “I guess, for me, it's less of a persona and more an amalgamation of the years that I've spent in the world.”