Marina Scholtz . Early Sobrieties , Michael Deagler , (Penguin, 2024), 272 pages, £16.99 .
. So obviously your title includes the term sobriety, and this book is very much literary fiction. What booksellers call ‘ quit lit ’ is such a prominent and profitable part of publishing — during the publishing process and your book tour did you feel pushed into any marketing pigeon holes? That’s a good question.
I actually hadn’t come across the term quit lit until a few months ago. You are so lucky. I hadn’t realised what a social media presence it had, and that’s because I got sober in 2013.
I never really got into any of the memoirs, which I think is mostly what occupies that space. The book was originally sold as a short story collection. Which, you know, publishers are not as excited about.
My editor talked me into putting it out without a subtitle— it wouldn’t’ say ‘stories’, but then there was some concern with the marketing people that if the book was just called Early Sobrieties with no subtitle it might be considered a memoir. It says ‘novel’ on the book right— on the cover? It doesn ’ t, but it looks like a novel and then a Percival Everett quote on the front cover says, ‘ this novel is surprising in all the best ways. ’ Interesting.
I haven’t seen the British edition yet. Oh it ’ s lovely, but the American editions are always nicer. I feel the opposite.
I wonder if the grass is always greener. So you were having this marketing quest.
