It is not every day that a short story published in the New Yorker becomes a viral sensation, inspiring think pieces, commentary and oh-so-many shares.
It is even rarer for said story to catapult the author to levels of recognition that, in less than a month, lead to a seven-figure book deal—but that is exactly what happened to Kristen Roupenian, whose debut story, Cat Person, became the magazine's second most-read article of 2017 after being published in the December 11 issue.
Following the bout of recognition, a supposed bidding war for Roupenian's upcoming books took place, with Scout Press coming out on top. The company will publish the author's collection, You Know You Want This, in 2019. That will be the first part of a two-book deal that also includes a yet-to-be-titled novel acquired by Scout Press from Union Literary.
According to the official announcement, the upcoming collection will "explore the complex—and often dark and funny—connections between gender, sex and power, across genres."
Although Scout Press has not disclosed the financial details of the deal, Publishers Marketplace reports that the short story collection sold "for $1.2 million or more."
If you haven't red Cat Person yet, it's probably time you finally do. Here it is.