First Love cover reveal (and preorder link!)

Hello!

I'm thrilled to share that my essay collection, First Love, officially has a cover—with an exclusive reveal at Literary Hub—and it's starting to pop up online at places like Bookshop and Amazon. 

Here's the official description of First Love, which will be published by The Dial Press next spring:

A bracing, intimate essay collection about the power and complexity of female friendship in the wake of violence, from the critically acclaimed author of Negative Space.

When Lilly Dancyger’s beloved cousin Sabina was murdered just as both girls were entering their young adult lives, the shock and grief altered her perception of what it meant to be a woman in the world, and rippled through her closest friendships. This loss becomes the springboard for this bold and refreshing exploration of the bonds between women, from the intensity of adolescent best friendships and fluid sexuality to mothering and chosen family. 

Each essay in First Love is grounded in a close female friendship in Dancyger’s life, expanding outward to dissect cultural assumptions about feminine identity and desire, and the many ways women create space for each other in a world that wants us small. Seamlessly weaving personal experience with pop culture and literature ranging from nineteenth century fairytales to true crime, Anaïs Nin and Sylvia Plath to Heavenly Creatures and the "sad girls” of Tumblr, Dancyger's essays form a kaleidoscopic story of a life told through friendships, and an incisive exploration of what it means to love each other. 

First Love elevates friendships to the love stories they truly are, giving them the deep consideration that romantic relationships have enjoyed for centuries. Though friendship will never be enough to keep us safe from the dangers of the world, Dancyger reminds us that love is always worth the risk, and that when tragedy strikes, it’s our friends who will help us survive.

I have been hard at work on these essays for the last two years, and I can't wait to share them with you. In the meantime I would so, so appreciate your help building some early buzz for the collection. Here are a few ways you can help:

✨Preorder the book! First Love won't be out until next May, so I know it's early, but strong preorder numbers will signal to the publisher and to booksellers that this is a title worth investing in. You can preorder from Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or directly from your local bookstore.

✨Mark it as "want to read" on Goodreads! This will help boost the book in GR's algorithm so that they recommend it to other users.

✨Share the preorder link and/or the cover reveal on social media! Word of mouth is still the end-all-be-all of book promotion. 

And without further ado, here’s the beautiful cover—designed by Sara Wood, featuring a photograph by Mamie Heldman of me with two of my closest friends, Leah and Liz:

Thank you so much for your support!

I’ll send another email when I have a tour schedule—after launching my last book on Zoom during the height of the pandemic, I can’t wait to travel around and share this one in person.

xo

Lilly