Not Safe For Work: Author of the viral essay 'My boyfriend, a writer, broke up with me because I am a writer'

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Is it my job to tell him “you, too”? If I thank him for his congratulations and leave it at that, am I demonstrating complicity, failing to practice what I preach? But on the other hand, why should the emotional labour of calling him out fall to me? The compulsively readable novel about a young woman trying to succeed in Hollywood without selling her soul - perfect for fans of Sweetbitter , My Dark Vanessa and Exciting Times

From the outside, the unnamed protagonist in NSFW appears the vision of success. She has landed an entry-level position at a leading TV network that thousands of college grads would kill for. And sure, she has much to learn. The daughter of a prominent feminist attorney, she grew up outside the industry, better versed in gender dynamics than box office hits. But she’s resourceful and hardworking―what could go wrong? I put this book on my TBR simply for the title alone. If you are new here, one of little joys I get out of life is carrying around my own selection of “NSFW” book titles and covers so this one automatically hit the sweet spot simply for the outside. Then the Center for Fiction debut novel nominees were announced and – yay me – I already had this on hold at the library. Unfortunately for this novel, I think it has zero chance at winning thanks to said nominations also including the brilliant Nightwalking, but I thought this was great too.

Not Safe For Work Book review: Playing the Hollywood game

the unnamed protagonist of this debut novel and i share a few things in common. we both grew up in LA, took self defense classes at our competitive all girls schools, and went on to ivy league universities. we both feel inexplicably drawn to LA. our obvious but relatively niche similarities and shared experiences may have ended there, but i developed a genuine attachment to this character throughout the story, easily empathizing with her thoughts and choices.

Glittering. A funny, spiky compulsive story about toxic workplaces, lean-in culture and #MeToo Evening Standard From my perch outside my boss’s office, I saw how little my personal opinion mattered, how interchangeable and dispensable I was. I told myself that someday, when I had enough power that people cared what I had to say, I would make a stand for what was right. I left my job at the TV network to go to graduate school, during which time I wrote a novel about a Hollywood assistant and the slippery slope of complicity. When I wrote the novel, I didn’t know if I would return to working in Hollywood. I wrote it as if I wouldn’t, with all the emotional honesty I could muster.And she knows too well what men are capable of. Her mother is a veteran feminist campaigner, a lawyer who now practises corporate law but who once fought a public battle for the rights of women who had been assaulted or raped.