Tao Lin

An autobiographical novella reflects the creative influences and personal challenges of an existentially minded writer who struggles with his relationships, vices, and failures while interacting with famous authors in a variety of cultural arenas. Original.

Shoplifting from American Apparel

Donald

He wasn't really thinking anything, he thought.

Robert Vetter

Steph

Brad Mitchell

✨Tyler ✨

Kevin Bertolero

Dan Govier

Nikolay Bachiyski

Leafling

Set mostly in Manhattan—although also featuring Atlantic City, Brooklyn, GMail Chat, and Gainsville, Florida—this autobiographical novella, spanning two years in the life of a young writer with a cultish following, has been described by the author as “A shoplifting book about vague relationships,” “2 parts shoplifting arrest, 5 parts vague relationship issues,” and “An ultimately life-affirming book about how the unidirectional nature of time renders everything beautiful and sad.” From VIP rooms in hip New York City clubs to central booking in Chinatown, from New York University’s Bobst Library to a bus in someone’s backyard in a college-town in Florida, from Bret Easton Ellis to Lorrie Moore, and from Moby to Ghost Mice, it explores class, culture, and the arts in all their American forms through the funny, journalistic, and existentially-minded narrative of someone trying to both “not be a bad person” and “find some kind of happiness or something,” while he is driven by his failures and successes at managing his art, morals, finances, relationships, loneliness, confusion, boredom, future, and depression.

Shoplifting From American Apparel

Dan Turkel