Chelsea Martin

A hilarious and incisive coming-of-age novel about an art student from a poor family struggling to find her place in a new social class of rich, well-connected peers; perfect for fans of Elif Batuman’s The Idiot and Weike Wang’s Chemistry At her San Francisco art school, Joey enrolls in a film elective that requires her to complete what seems like a straightforward assignment: create a self-portrait. Joey inexplicably decides to remake Wes Anderson’s Rushmore despite having never seen the movie. As Tell Me I’m An Artist unfolds over the course of the semester, the assignment hangs over her as she struggles to exist in a well-heeled world that is hugely different from any she has known. Miles away, Joey’s sister goes missing, leaving her toddler with their mother, who in turn suggests that Joey might be the selfish one for pursuing her dreams. Meanwhile, her only friend at school, the enigmatic Suz, makes meaningful, appealing art, a product of Suz's own singular drive and talent as well as decades of careful nurturing by wealthy, sophisticated parents. A masterful novel from an author known for her candid and searching prose, Tell Me I’m An Artist examines the invisible divide created by class and privilege, ruminates on the shame that follows choosing a path that has not been laid out for you, and interrogates what makes someone an artist at all.

Tell Me I'm An Artist

Poetry. Fiction. EVEN THOUGH I DON'T MISS YOU captures the essence of being part of a species that is prone to spending nights alone looking up photos of Heath Ledger's daughter and contemplating making pasta. Its seemingly arbitrary obsession with human evolution and many allusions to self-contempt make this book not only timeless and deeply moving, but one of those rare books to which you will develop a sickening dependence.

Even Though I Don't Miss You

"A portrait of the artist as a work-in-progress" (Sharma Shields), this hilarious and incisive coming-of-age novel about an art student from a poor family struggling to find her place in a new social class of rich, well-connected peers is perfect for fans of Elif Batuman’s The Idiot and Weike Wang’s Chemistry At her San Francisco art school, Joey enrolls in a film elective that requires her to complete what seems like a straightforward assignment: create a self-portrait. Joey inexplicably decides to remake Wes Anderson’s Rushmore despite having never seen the movie. As Tell Me I’m An Artist unfolds over the course of the semester, the assignment hangs over her as she struggles to exist in a well-heeled world that is hugely different from any she has known. Miles away, Joey’s sister goes missing, leaving her toddler with their mother, who in turn suggests that Joey might be the selfish one for pursuing her dreams. Meanwhile, her only friend at school, the enigmatic Suz, makes meaningful, appealing art, a product of Suz's own singular drive and talent as well as decades of careful nurturing by wealthy, sophisticated parents. A masterful novel from an author known for her candid and searching prose, Tell Me I’m An Artist examines the invisible divide created by class and privilege, ruminates on the shame that follows choosing a path that has not been laid out for you, and interrogates what makes someone an artist at all.

Fiction. Art. Anything is possible in Chelsea Martin's bizarre and endearingly honest collection of stories, lists, flash fictions, and revealing factoids. EVERYTHING IS FINE UNTIL WHATEVER is a poker-faced and unpredictably comic tour de force. Festooned with artwork and handwritten notes, this is a grand debut by a magical new talent. Check out her own web site for extra goodness. "Chelsea Martin offers a quirky blend of absurd erudition, hard-eyed candor, unexpected sentiment, tiny subliminal footnotes, and loopy artwork. The illustration alone for her 'to do' list is worth the price of the book. Plus she's insane."—Mike Topp "Chelsea Martin's shapeshifting debut is not only wonderful and wacko, but, goddamn, something honest, something new."—Blake Butler

Everything Was Fine Until Whatever

The Really Funny Thing About Apathy

"Mickey" is a humorous account of one young woman's attempt at figuring out life (or not) following a breakup.

Mickey

Funny, candid, and searchingly self-aware, this collection tells the story of Chelsea Martin's coming of age as an artist, from childhood and adolescence in a -trashy- isolated California town to her move to Oakland for college. A book about relationships, class, art, sex, money, and family--and about growing up weird, and poor, in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Essays from a Lowbrow Life

Caca Dolce

"Portrait of the artist as a broke and brilliant, hungry and funny young woman" (Lynn Steger Strong, author of Want), this hilarious and incisive coming-of-age novel about an art student from a poor family struggling to find her place in a new social class of rich, well-connected peers is perfect for fans of Elif Batuman’s The Idiot and Weike Wang’s Chemistry At her San Francisco art school, Joey enrolls in a film elective that requires her to complete what seems like a straightforward assignment: create a self-portrait. Joey inexplicably decides to remake Wes Anderson’s Rushmore despite having never seen the movie. As Tell Me I’m An Artist unfolds over the course of the semester, the assignment hangs over her as she struggles to exist in a well-heeled world that is hugely different from any she has known. Miles away, Joey’s sister goes missing, leaving her toddler with their mother, who in turn suggests that Joey might be the selfish one for pursuing her dreams. Meanwhile, her only friend at school, the enigmatic Suz, makes meaningful, appealing art, a product of Suz's own singular drive and talent as well as decades of careful nurturing by wealthy, sophisticated parents. A masterful novel from an author known for her candid and searching prose, Tell Me I’m An Artist examines the invisible divide created by class and privilege, ruminates on the shame that follows choosing a path that has not been laid out for you, and interrogates what makes someone an artist at all.

Chelsea Martin

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