EXCITING DEBUT FROM A YOUNG WRITER ON THE RISE: Lara Williams has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and her short story collection, A Selfie as Big as the Ritz, received much critical acclaim and was featured in Entertainment Weekly, Elle, Huffington Post, and New York Magazine, among others. Her writing has also been featured in The Guardian, McSweeney’s, and Best British Short Stories.

THE NATURAL SUCCESSOR TO “CAT PERSON”: A shockingly relatable and brutally funny account of modern womanhood—also for fans of Lady Bird.

A CALL TO ARMS FOR THE #METOO MOVEMENT: Supper Club examines assault culture and victims’ resultant anxiety / depression, but it’s also about how to speak up, fight back, and reclaim space. Between the #MeToo movement and the rise of female empowerment stories, Supper Club arrives at the perfect publication moment and will stir conversation about deeply important issues such as female body image and women’s reclaimation of space, both physical and social.

FEMALE FRIENDSHIPS: There’s ongoing cultural interest in complex female friendships as seen in Sally Rooney’s Conversations with Friends, Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels, and Zadie Smith’s Swing Time. With insight into the ways in which women have been taught to not take up space and the importance of the friendships of youth, both in their intensity and their transience, Williams writes about young womanhood in a way that is both startlingly perceptive and deeply accessible.

A SINGULAR COMING-OF-AGE STORY: Focusing on Roberta’s life in her late 20s and her burgeoning adulthood while at university, Supper Club is a unique take on women, desire, and the power of relationships at different, yet equally formative, stages of life.

FICTION FOR FOODIES: Supper Club offers a stunning take on the power of food, with beautiful descriptions that capture the richness and sensuality of a feast to the practicality and complex psychological resonances of one’s day-to-day relationship with it.

THE NEXT BEST READ: For fans of Conversations with Friends, The Idiot, Sweetbitter, The Vegetarian, and 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl.

INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS: We’re excited to partner with Putnam and Hamish in the UK, allowing for additional opportunities for promotion, marketing, and buzz building.

ORIGINAL TRADE: We will publish in the OTPB format.

LARA WILLIAMS is the author of the short story collection A Selfie as Big as the Ritz, and her writing has been featured in The Guardian, The Independent, Vice, the Times Literary Supplement, McSweeney’s, and elsewhere. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and is featured in Best British Short Stories 2017. She writes and teaches Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. She lives in Manchester, England.

Author Residence: Manchester, England