Virginia Evans attended James Madison University for her bachelor’s in English literature. After starting a family, she went back to school for her master’s of philosophy in creative writing at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. She now lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with her family. The Correspondent is her debut novel.
In The Correspondent, Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.
When asked what contributed to the book landing on the New York Times bestseller list, Evans said: “It seems like what happened with my book is that one person read it, then told two more people to read it, and it went like that. I don’t know if there is anything I can point to specifically other than that.”
The book’s promotion started modestly. Crown, the publisher, sent advance reading copies of the novel to booksellers and influencers, though Evans said, “I don’t think there was a push beyond what is normal.” As for the author herself, “To be honest, I didn’t go out of my way to do any self-promotion with booksellers or book folks on Instagram or TikTok.” As the book gained traction, many booksellers told Evans they were hearing of the novel for the first time.
However, once booksellers became familiar with the novel, they became important allies to get it into more readers’ hands. Many have told Evans they recommend it, then the same reader comes back to buy copies for friends, relatives, co-workers, and others. “What makes it a book that has people doing that? I’m not sure. The right story for the year, I guess? Something I could not have predicted, maybe something I couldn’t pull off again if I tried,” Evans said.
“It’s better not to imagine bestseller success but let the greatest imagining be getting your book published. Imagine the book you most want to read right now, and write that book. Chances are if you’re a good reader, and there’s something you want to read, others want to read the same thing,” Evans said. “Write the very best book you can write, no shortcuts, and believe in it far enough to get it into the hands of a good agent who believes in you. That’s your job. The selling it and everything that comes after isn’t really your job.”
E. J. Wenstrom believes in complicated heroes, horrifying monsters, purple hair dye and standing to the right on escalators so the left side can walk. She writes dark speculative fiction for adults and teens, including her new release, a young adult dystopian novel titled Departures (August 10, 2021). When she isn’t writing fiction, E. J. Wenstrom is a regular contributor to DIY MFA and BookRiot, and co-hosts the Fantasy+Girl Podcast. Learn more at her website.
