Photo: Nigentz
HOW TO LOVE A FEMINIST
is forthcoming in late 2027 from Canongate Books in the UK, Atlas Contact in the Netherlands, and Bookmark Förlag in Sweden. Stay tuned for news from additional publishing territories.
HOW TO LOVE A FEMINIST is a chronicle of the author’s experiences on Tinder as an American in Paris, the project for which she was awarded a French artist visa in 2014. A decade-long picaresque of lousy dates, crossed connections and near misses, the book folds the absurdity and tragedy inherent in the search for love into a fearless and intellectually sharp memoir. Her story begins as a voice-driven account of modern dating before opening into a profound exploration of trauma, desire, and the complexities of feminist life.
Shannon Cain, represented by William Crona of SBK Literary, together with acquiring editor Ellah Wakatama of Canongate Books
“I read this glorious book in one gulp.”
Ellah Wakatama, Canongate Books UK
What a joyful and painful ride, uniquely and masterfully done. We were moved by the language, the wit, the humor, and the story’s capacity to give life to embodied trauma. The brilliantly dramaturgical construction kept our hearts constantly beating; we found it impossible not to get deeply involved.
Ebba Bandh, Bookmark Förlag, Sweden
I read this non-stop, couldn’t put it away. I haven’t read something this breezy, sharp, witty, funny, and liberating while also being literary and utterly singluar, in quite a long time. It calls to mind I LOVE DICK, and also Annie Ernaux. But it’s very much its own beast.
Jessica Nash, Atlas Contact, Netherlands
THE NECESSITY OF CERTAIN BEHAVIORS
University of Pittsburgh Press
Drue Heinz Literature Prize
O. Henry Prize
Two Pushcart Prizes
Finalist, Lambda Literary Award
Story Prize: Notable Collection
Nervous Breakdown’s Best Books of the Year
Ms. Magazine’s Top Reads for Fall
“Cain's debut collection of nine short stories adroitly navigates the tenuous waters of human relationships. Her quietly august characters struggle to come to terms with the unpredictable nuance of tradition, sexuality, and happiness. Cain's confident and steady prose balances out the emotional tumult of stories just bizarre enough to be believable ... Utilizing painful misunderstandings to maximum effect, Cain's characters arrive at epiphanies without relying on convenient tricks and plot devices. Dark moments that give way to enlightened reflection reveal characters whose selfishness is deftly managed. Cain highlights their humanity rather than calling it into question. She is especially adept at drawing forth vulnerabilities from her female protagonists. This is a work of finely calibrated emotional registers that will set the bar high for Cain's next book.”
Publishers Weekly
“In nine short stories, Cain takes fringy characters and makes them lovable. From the bisexual dog walker simultaneously courting a man and a woman to the mayor's wife caught masturbating at the YMCA, each tale is served up with comedy and pizzazz.”
Ms. Magazine
BOOKS
MANUSCRIPT CONSULTING
& GHOSTWRITING
Books edited by Shannon have won The Next Generation Indie Book Award in Short Fiction, The Iowa Short Fiction Prize, the Elixir Press Fiction Award and a nomination for the Goodreads Choice Award.
Developmental consultation on full length manuscripts of prose, 80,000 words maximum: novels, memoirs, short story and essay collections, flash fiction, autofiction and creative prose hybrids.
In-depth feedback on structure, character development, plot, prose, story arc, narrative stance, setting, dialogue, themes, voice, pacing, tension, beginnings, middles and endings.
Copious margin notes and line edits
Thought partnership on executing the vision
Agent pitch letter review
Insights on publishing, securing grants and fellowships, literary contests and the business side of writing
One hour follow-up zoom call
3,500 USD
SHHHHHH........
The first rule of ghostwriting is that we don't talk
about ghostwriting.
BIO
Photo: Nigentz
SHANNON CAIN
Shannon’s fiction has been awarded a fellowship from the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts, the O. Henry Prize, and the Pushcart Prize. Her short story collection The Necessity of Certain Behaviors was recognized with the Drue Heinz Literature Prize in 2011.
She lived in France for 11 years, first arriving under an artist visa and subsequently awarded the residency status “person of international renown” in recognition of her attempt to preserve the former home of James Baldwin from luxury development.
She conceived and edited the anthologies Powder: Writing by Women in the Ranks (Kore Press, 2008, co-edited with Lisa Bowden) and Roadside Curiosities: Short Stories on American Pop Culture (Leipzig University Press, 2014)
Shannon has taught fiction writing to undergraduates at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University as well as in the Bennington Writing Seminars MFA program, and in 2011 was the Picador Guest Professor of Literature at the University of Leipzig. She holds an MFA from the Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College.
She is currently at work on a novel entitled The Book of Cain, an excerpt of which is online at failbetter.com