I Could Be Famous
Description
Named a Best Book of the Year by Vogue. Named a Most Anticipated Book of the Year by Debutiful.
"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.
Product Details
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing
Publish Date January 13, 2026
Pages 272
Language English
TypeHardcover
EAN/UPC 9781639735860
Dimensions 218.4 X 5.9 X 24.1 mm | 0.8 pounds
BISAC Categories: Literary Fiction, Literary Fiction, Popular Fiction, Popular Fiction
About the Author
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.
Reviews
“The stories feature characters fumbling for real life amid porn and reality TV, and a prose register that includes both pathos and satire. What's not to like?” —The Boston Globe
“Sydney Rende's debut shines a light on what we're all most concerned about these days: how we're perceived. I Could Be Famous is a collection of eleven quippy and relatable anecdotes from ten female narrators, with one twisted, hotshot male actor connecting them all. Each woman shares-in their own way-their various desires and dreams, yet are so hung up on the potential of failure, or what other people might think about them. Rende's short stories are brilliant, and convince readers that, with enough confidence (or potentially lack thereof) and delusion, that we all, one day, could be famous.” —Vogue, "Best Books of the Year"
“Rende deftly shows the balancing act between the online and performative world in which we increasingly live and the rich, complicated interior lives of her characters. These impressive stories lay bare the hidden worlds of both the very online and those living adjacent to the spotlight or earning for it, for better or worse . . . Entertaining and readable stories offering a unique view into this moment of the Anthropocene.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Rende has a knack for conveying ribald humor . . . The dialogue is snappy and propulsive and these stories have a fluidity and contemporary quality, a fleetingness characteristic of our time . . . Although this collection is centered on women of a certain age, the arc of Arlo Banks, swinging from teen heartthrob to post-fame confusion and loneliness, provides a thematic impetus. The desire to be seen and recognized all too often comes with a cost.” —California Review of Books
“Darkly funny and emotionally searching . . . Throughout, Rende demonstrates a fond regard for her characters, despite their dubious choices. Readers won't be able to help cheering them on.” —Publishers Weekly
“The stories are easy in all the right ways--easy to laugh, easy to love, easy to want to re-read--and challenging in all the right ways. Rende writes about women in such a smart way, allowing their strengths and flaws to shine equally.” —Debutiful, "Most Anticipated"
“Fame, or an obsession with it, defines Rende's first book, a collection of 11 funny-sad, celebrity-informed, and overall entertaining stories of people trying to find fulfillment where it may not exist . . . While Rende's title could be true of all of us, it especially applies to her characters, who will easily slide into readers' minds and stay there.” —Booklist
“A witty and pointed reflection on ambition, disappointment, and our obsession with fame.” —Alta Journal
“Eleven related stories muse on the nature of love and fame by deconstructing the nature of the attention economy, social media feeds, longing, and parasocial relationships between young women fans and celebrities. There's dark humour, fresh insight, poignancy, and characters like a former child actor and a reality star who joins a dating app.” —Zoomer Magazine
“A terrific debut: fresh, original, and surprising. Eleven fast, sharp, funny stories laced with a deep understanding of the corrosive effect our fame-hungry attention economy has on real connection between people. Rende is such a witty, engaging writer, with an intuitive understanding that the short story is in the world to delight, engage, and enlarge the reader.” —George Saunders, Booker Prize-winning author of LINCOLN IN THE BARDO
“Sydney Rende's debut collection spoke to me from the first line, where a receptionist cold messages a celebrity to say they'd be a 'good match.' In these propulsive stories, the tattoo of a dead mom comes to life, a woman contemplates dumping her boyfriend after he gives her a kidney, and an infomercial actress is desperate to land the role of an unnamed junkie girlfriend. Lurking throughout is a disgraced leading man accused of cannibalism and up for the role of Dracula, a twisted thread linking them all. I Could Be Famous is sharp, darkly funny, and, in the words of the reality TV star from my favorite story, 'very anthropological.'” —Anna Dorn, author of Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist EXALTED
“Sydney Rende's funny, sweet, stinging voice is made for this moment, and for those coming of age within it. An important debut and an invaluable tip-sheet to the way we live now, I Could Be Famous captures perfectly the hazards of young womanhood in a world where everyone is desperate to be looked at, but wary of being seen.” —Jonathan Dee, author of Pulitzer Prize Finalist THE PRIVILEGES
“Sydney Rende's genius for the absurd is underpinned by her great comic timing. Even in her characters' darkest moments, salvation is found through an ever-present wit. Her sharply funny and fearless stories deftly satirize our too online, celebrity-obsessed cultural abyss. And if you cock your head and look closely, there is something so tender (and lonely) at the heart of them. I Could Be Famous is a wonderful debut.” —Dana Spiotta, author of National Book Award Finalist EAT THE DOCUMENT
“I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a book this much. Sydney Rende is a fearless, original writer with a crushing wit. I Could Be Famous shines a scathing light into the battleground of young, beautiful, ambitious, women, their impulses often unchecked, as they teeter around celebrity. If you don't understand modern relationships, reality TV, or internet porn relations, you will by this book's end. And you'll laugh the whole way there.” —Jessica Anya Blau, author of MARY JANE and SHOPGIRLS
“Shot through with a crystalline wit and mordant surprise, I Could Be Famous is an outstanding collection of short fiction by one of my new favorite writers. Whether navigating the precipitous stakes of reality television or the stark ambitions of social media influencing, the characters in Rende's fiction at once shocked and delighted me. With the same insatiable desire that animates Rende's prose, I devoured these stories.” —Megan Kamalei Kakimoto, author of EVERY DROP IS A MAN'S NIGHTMARE
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