In this week's edition of Endnotes, we take a look at Stephanie Wambugu's debut novel Lonely Crowds, about a volatile friendship between two outsiders who escape their bleak childhoods and enter the glamorous early ’90s art world in New York City.
Here's how the book came together:
Stephanie Wambugu
“Lonely Crowds came from the idea that someone could grow up working-class and become upwardly mobile from a career in art while being dissatisfied by and even bitter about their career and success. While Ruth doesn’t miss her religious and insular childhood, she resents the mores of her adult life.”
PJ Mark
“I was tipped off to Stephanie’s work by a client who’d read her work in the MFA program at Columbia and thought it held great promise. It was clear Lonely Crowds was a slim, perfect novel punching far above its weight. We did a round of edits and got it on submission somewhat quickly, and it resulted in a multiple-bidder auction.”
Vivian Lee
“I was lucky enough to work with Stephanie after Jean Garnett acquired Lonely Crowds. What’s wonderful about Stephanie is her laser-focused vision for this book and how, through two dynamic characters, she meditates on the idea of making art, the push and pull of friendship, and how to be true to oneself.”
Gregg Kulick
“In the early rounds, we brought in a freelancer who created covers using paintings as the central imagery. While the artwork was beautiful, it was a bit too distant from the emotional and personal tone of the book. I wanted to shift the focus to photography. I explored about 10 different cover concepts, but I kept coming back to this one photo that perfectly captured the energy and atmosphere of the time and place.”
