I Could Be Famous: Stories - Hardcover

by Sydney Rende (Author)

"A terrific debut: fresh, original, and surprising." --George Saunders, Booker-Prize winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo

From a magnetic new voice in fiction "made for this moment and for those coming of age within it" (Jonathan Dee), a debut story collection following ten ambitious women and one male superstar as they pursue their desires--however deluded--for more.

A listless woman befriends an influencer at a rooftop party, only to discover her lifestyle is not as glamorous as it seems. A college freshman gives the world's longest blow job to a boy whose name she's forgotten. A fan-favorite reality TV star joins a dating app after an explosive breakup, ready to move on, but finds she's in control only when cameras are rolling. While working in a hot tub showroom, a struggling actress goes method so she can nail an audition for the role of High School Junkie Girlfriend. Threaded throughout these explorations of neuroses and aspirations is one Arlo Banks, a hotshot actor who faces his own downfall when he's accused of cannibalism.

From the dazzling to the mundane, Rende's unnervingly astute stories hold a mirror to our obsession with how we're perceived and our ache to be adored. Above all else, I Could Be Famous is a love letter to big ambitions and bigger dissatisfactions, belief in ourselves, and the fascination we hold with the idea that we could--somehow, someday--be famous.

Author Biography

Sydney Rende has lived in New York City and Southern California, where she had her own odd brushes with celebrities. Her fiction has appeared in Joyland, Carve Magazine, and elsewhere, and she's dabbled in travel and fashion writing for T: The New York Times Style Magazine and Who What Wear. She has an MFA in fiction from Syracuse University.