The Starfish News
Targeting a YA adjacent audience, my manuscript is 70,200 words of The Overstory meets millennial humor—Amitav Ghosh’s Gun Island where the word “ghosting” does not require scare quotes. Thematically similar to Jenny Offill’s Weather, it takes inspiration from the likes of Tom Robbins for moments of levity and Richard Brautigan for the reification of nature.
A slice of San Francisco life starring a girl named Carmine, The Starfish News explores a reality where she is the savior, Drake is God, and anthropomorphic starfish are the Holy Spirit. As Carmine tumbles through urban college life, a cohort of bohemian saints routinely meet in an urban cafe to plot her victory against data driven corporate America.
From Carmine’s perspective, this is a book about growing up during a climate crisis and not knowing what to do or how to feel. Maybe surreal encounters with wild animals—even those that normally hide underwater—are what will inspire change. A girl can dream.
I situate the reader in microcosms of San Francisco that bring the city alive and I do not let anyone off the hook—not urban farmers, and especially not the proverbial “tech bro.” Set amidst the rise of the social media and planetary ecological chaos, The Starfish News is a satirical look at becoming an adult at a ridiculous time.
A fever dream in a series of fragments, the text explores the crazy dualities that divide people and the sea. This is the sort of tale where whales can hear Tweets and powerful investors get attacked by knife wielding amphibians and coyotes alike.
I hope you will join me in sharing this story because it is the most important kind—a story about how to live in America without taking it too seriously.
Sincerely,
Garrett Starr
Read an excerpt here.