What To Read

Rufi Thorpe, an author who has been a finalist for the prestigious PEN/Faulkner Award among other prizes, has written her best book yet in this timely and hilarious feminist romp that captures the rewards and costs of coming-of-age in our inescapably online new world. Margo's Got Money Troubles follows a lovable young heroine who, at age 20, is broke, unemployed, and raising a child conceived with her junior college English professor. In order to retake control of her life, Margo gets creative, starting an account on the social media platform OnlyFans, which is widely used by sex workers to monetize DIY adult entertainment. The plot thickens when she turns into a runaway success on the platform. The story is an auteur's dream, and production company A24 is already lining up an adaptation of the book for Apple TV+ with Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman.

We've selected Margo's Got Money Troubles, as one of five notable books coming out next season that will be featured in our First Dibs Editors Salon, taking place virtually on May 1 at 7pm ET. Learn more and RSVP.

The book's acquiring editor, Jessica Williams (Vice President and Editorial Director of Fiction at William Morrow), selected this book for the salon and shared this personal note with Tertulia readers.

Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe (June 11)

I was extremely fortunate to read Rufi’s novel on exclusive from her agent. When Michelle Brower called me up to give me the pitch and tell me she thought I was the “perfect editor” for it, I initially responded: “What’s OnlyFans?” (Clearly, I am not Very Online!) Luckily for me, Michelle thought that was hilarious—as did my team when I then tried to pitch them at our editorial meeting—and she still sold me the book. Because as soon as I started reading, I realized this novel was so much more than a catchy concept. It’s an empowering portrait of a working class, young mother who’s trying to wrest money and power from a world that has little interest in giving it to her. And Rufi manages to bring such heart, humor, and a light touch to a story that is, ultimately, about struggle.

In the hands of a lesser writer, this would be a very different book. Rufi and I spent the next several months diving into the edits. Still, no one else had really read the manuscript other than me and Michelle. It wasn’t until I launched it, convinced I had something truly special on my hands, that others (including Hollywood) began to read and see what we saw in those early pages.

– Jessica Williams, Vice President and Editorial Director of Fiction at William Morrow