Jia Tolentino and Emilie Pine in conversation with Octavia Bright

Jia Tolentino, writer for The New Yorker, and Emilie Pine will be joining us to discuss their debut essay collections with Octavia Bright, co-host of the Literary Friction podcast.

One of the brightest young chroniclers of US culture, Jia Tolentino’s highly anticipated Trick Mirror explores her own coming of age in today’s era of malleable truth and widespread personal and political delusion. Nine interlinked essays delve deep into the topics of the internet, the self, feminism and politics, each broached with style, humour and clarity. Prior to becoming a staff writer at The New Yorker, Jia was a contributing editor at The Hairpin and deputy editor at Jezebel.

In her word-of-mouth hit Notes to Self, Emilie Pine speaks powerfully from painful personal experience on infertility, rape, bodily shame and the emotional labour of caring for her alcoholic father. By “bleeding on to the page” Pine breaks her silence around things that were once unspeakable and explores the ways young women use their own bodies as a weapon against themselves. Courageous, humane and uncompromising, these pieces investigate and challenge society’s assumptions around pain, strength, resilience and identity. An Associate Professor in Modern Drama at University College Dublin, Emilie has published widely as an academic and critic.

The discussion will be chaired by Octavia Bright: writer, academic and co-host of the Literary Friction podcast.