The original wave of alt-lit is often considered male-focused, but Marie Calloway is one of its most iconic authors, proving that even mundane topics can make for insightful writing if penned with brutal honesty and an eye for style. Today’s autofiction scribes should know that they’re walking down a path she bravely paved—when her book what purpose did I serve in your life was released, her diaristic introspection was considered frivolous by some critics. ‘Adrien Brody’ describes a dalliance between two writers—Calloway as autofictionalized narrator and a blogger/essayist assigned the actor’s name as a pseudonym. Not only does it brilliantly capture the inner monologue of a young woman dissecting how her appearance influences others’ perceptions of her—it’s a window into the way curious, hyper-online writers communicate with each other. Reading it as a teen, I dreamed of corresponding with my literary objects of affection the way she did. Revisiting it, the frissons of excitement she feels reading their work and exchanging messages with them are pleasantly familiar. 

First self-published in 2011. Anthologized in what purpose did I serve in your life, Tyrant Books, 2013