I Could Be Famous

Author: Sydney Rende

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945) | Short stories

Published on 13^th January 2026 by Little, Brown Book Group (Fleet) in the United Kingdom.

Hardback | 272 pages
223mm x 145mm x 27mm | 396g

'A terrific debut: fresh, original, and surprising' GEORGE SAUNDERS'Rende's genius for the absurd is underpinned by her great comic timing' DANA SPIOTTA'Outstanding... shot through with a crystalline wit and mordant surprise' MEGAN KAMALEI KAKIMOTO'Rende's funny, sweet, stinging voice is made for this moment' JONATHAN DEE'A startling debut... darkly funny' KIRKUS, STARRED REVIEWThis is the story of ten ambitious women - and one male superstar fallen from grace - as they stumble through the delusional pursuit of fameA struggling actress goes method to land the role of High School Junkie Girlfriend.

A college freshman gives the world's longest blowjob to a boy whose name she's forgotten.

An assistant helping to film celebrity homes develops a taste for kleptomania.

And linking them all is Arlo Banks, a hotshot actor facing downfall when he's accused of cannibalism.

From the dazzling to the mundane, Sydney Rende's unnerving and darkly funny stories hold a mirror to our obsession with self-image and the idea that we could - someday, somehow - be famous.