Emily Books

03/20/2020

ICYMI: "When I started writing this novel, it was a short story. I was knee-deep in a paycheck-to-paycheck existence, working several jobs at once and finishing my thesis for graduate school. All of the writers around me were in similar boats. We were waving to each other from our boats. I worked as a temp at a property management company. I was also teaching undergraduates, working as an assistant, and tutoring three young boys. There were certain days when I’d forget where I was supposed to be, and when. I don’t think there’s anything unique about this scenario. It feels typical. One of the best parts of writing this book has been hearing about people’s work, the varied assortment of tasks—some mundane, some extraordinary—that constitute a paycheck. And so, I wanted to write about how impermanent work impacts the soul, how a sense of belonging, as it pertains to work, had eluded me and so many of my peers. And how this sort of displacement might speak to a greater sort of displacement, a question about the necessity of people, of our existence. These questions allowed me to create a version of this world slightly shifted on its axis, where employment is the fulcrum on which a life soars or dips."

The author of the debut novel Temporary discusses how impermanent work affects the soul.

03/19/2020

ICYMI: "Chances are you've never read a workplace novel like Hilary Leichter's. The author takes numbing routines to dreamy (or perhaps nightmarish) extremes, delivering subversive entertainment in the process."

March 2020 brings new book releases from James McBride, Louise Erdrich, Hilary Mantel, N.K. Jemisin, and more.

03/18/2020

ICYMI, TEMPORARY was recommended in the New York TImes!

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

03/17/2020

"Though it exists in settings of pirate ships and blimps, TEMPORARY never becomes a madcap adventure story; an undercurrent of family and belonging grounds the novel in resonant, authentic emotion. Though temps are not expected to form lasting relationships the narrator resists this at every turn, forming close attachments to those she is impersonating and the people working around her. “And is this what it means to belong?” she asks herself, belowdecks of her temporary pirate ship." — Meg Matthias, So New | Necessary Fiction

Temporary - Necessary Fiction

03/16/2020

"Though its roots reach back to Kafka, the genre of the office farce has ballooned in the past decade or so—see such absurdist fables as Helen DeWitt’s “Lightning Rods,” Helen Phillips’s “The Beautiful Bureaucrat” and Hiroko Oyamada’s “The Factory.” While most of these send-ups are dryly sarcastic, “Temporary” has the manic, goofing energy of a lounge act. Its target isn’t only corporate drudgery or amoral profiteering but also the precarious state that makes people
feel desperately lucky to even get a shot at the terrible jobs. Being a novelist is also an insecure racket, and like her endlessly accommodating temp, Ms. Leichter works hard to keep the audience amused." - Sam Sacks, NYT

Hilary Leichter’s brisk, wildly imaginative book tracks a young woman’s experiences in 23 jobs, including one on a pirate ship.

03/15/2020

Check out this cool offer from TEMPORARY author Hilary Leichter!

“OK, here's the game: 1. Buy or preorder a debut book from an indie bookstore. (It doesn't have to be TEMPORARY!) 2. DM me the receipt. 3. Tell me a crazy job that you've had, and I will write you a song about it. 💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛”

03/14/2020

Click through to read an excerpt of TEMPORARY: "The gods created the First Temporary so they could take a break. “Let there be some spare time,” they said, “and cover for us, won’t you? Here are all our passwords and credentials.” She fell from the husk of a meteor and glowed with no particular ambition. They had to pin her down so she would not float away, so very much distracted was this new kind of soul, so subject to drift. The gods had not yet created gravity. This was back when toads without occupation soared straight up to the clouds, back when employment was the only kind of honest weight you could apply to a life."

The gods created the First Temporary so they could take a break. “Let there be some spare time,” they said, “and cover for us, won’t you? Here are all our passwords and credentials.” She fell from …

03/12/2020

Trisha Low's SOCIALIST REALISM is up for best in Bisexual Nonfiction in the 2020 Lammy's!

03/11/2020

"Temporary is a frenetic, yet nuanced study of late capitalism wrapped in layers of kooky characters, silly situations, and daft dialogue. Placed alongside Trisha Low’s Socialist Realism, Coffee House Press has delivered a stunning one-two punch of breathtaking literature." - Adam P. Newton for Bearded Gentlemen Music

Temporary is a frenetic, yet nuanced study of late capitalism wrapped in layers of kooky characters, silly situations, and daft dialogue.

03/10/2020

Click through to read this Refinery29 article by Kristin Iversen and you might just recognize a few of the literary influencers mentioned. 👀🖤

Meet all the women who are changing the literary world and making the publishing world a better place.

03/09/2020

"When I started writing this novel, it was a short story. I was knee-deep in a paycheck-to-paycheck existence, working several jobs at once and finishing my thesis for graduate school. All of the writers around me were in similar boats. We were waving to each other from our boats. I worked as a temp at a property management company. I was also teaching undergraduates, working as an assistant, and tutoring three young boys. There were certain days when I’d forget where I was supposed to be, and when. I don’t think there’s anything unique about this scenario. It feels typical. One of the best parts of writing this book has been hearing about people’s work, the varied assortment of tasks—some mundane, some extraordinary—that constitute a paycheck. And so, I wanted to write about how impermanent work impacts the soul, how a sense of belonging, as it pertains to work, had eluded me and so many of my peers. And how this sort of displacement might speak to a greater sort of displacement, a question about the necessity of people, of our existence. These questions allowed me to create a version of this world slightly shifted on its axis, where employment is the fulcrum on which a life soars or dips."

The author of the debut novel Temporary discusses how impermanent work affects the soul.

03/08/2020

"Chances are you've never read a workplace novel like Hilary Leichter's. The author takes numbing routines to dreamy (or perhaps nightmarish) extremes, delivering subversive entertainment in the process."

March 2020 brings new book releases from James McBride, Louise Erdrich, Hilary Mantel, N.K. Jemisin, and more.