I’m not, of course. I’m a 32-year-old writer who has published two books and is trying to build a literary career. Only once that began to seem like a legitimate possibility did my ex-boyfriend feel threatened by it.

Nor is she innocent to the power dynamics of the industry, securing her position through nepotism like many of those before her. My own novel is currently on submission for screen adaptation. If I am fortunate enough that people are interested in adapting it, I may be faced with a dilemma: what if someone I know to be part of the problem, someone who I encountered in my previous job or have heard about through the whisper network, wants to buy it? Will I be principled enough to say no? Will I try to convince myself that if they are interested in supporting a critique of Hollywood, the ends will justify the means? Do I actually care enough about these systemic issues or am I also, in a way, exploiting them as literary material for my own professional gain? How can I separate my desire to raise awareness and increase discussion about complicity in Hollywood from my desire to be one of the voices in the conversation? Does it count for anything that I am asking myself these questions or no, not really? I have more questions than answers. I’m not sure if asking them out loud is useful, but it’s a start, and it feels more productive than silence. They know you need to be thoughtful about what you say. Some of them now begin sentences with, “I probably shouldn’t say this anymore, but...” I promised never to publish anything that he was uncomfortable with. I reminded him that I had never written about him because I knew he didn’t want me to – even during the years we weren’t together. the unnamed protagonist of this debut novel and i share a few things in common. we both grew up in LA, took self defense classes at our competitive all girls schools, and went on to ivy league universities. we both feel inexplicably drawn to LA. our obvious but relatively niche similarities and shared experiences may have ended there, but i developed a genuine attachment to this character throughout the story, easily empathizing with her thoughts and choices.

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With her sun-bleached Hollywood setting, Kaplan transports us to another world - one which is achingly familiar. A novel which makes us examine our own complicity, while also weaving in threads of tenderness, drive and office-based humour which at times feels delightfully absurd . . . I inhaled this book - and came up for air still reeling Katie Hale, author of My Name is Monster A frank account of the inherent filthiness of leaning in. A study of the psychological, and at times literal, gymnastics that are required of striving women. Raven Leilaini You know the rules of this world. When someone senior tells you how pretty you look, you smile and thank him - and make a mental note never to wear that dress alone with him again.

But that didn’t make sense. He first broke up with me a few years ago because I wasn’t successful and independent enough. He wanted a partner, not a wife, he said. It was our second time living together – first in Paris, now New York. My second time moving 3,000 miles to be with him. But here, at least, I spoke the language. I had a job and friends. With blisteringly sharp prose and a darkly humorous voice, Not Safe For Work is an unflinching exploration of the grey area between empowerment and complicity, and a searing, unforgettable portrait of what success costs in a patriarchal world. Our narrator just graduated from Harvard and is the daughter of a prominent attorney known best for her work representing women in sexual assault and harassment cases. It is because of this pedigree that she is able to go to one of her mother's good friends, the head of development in fictional network XBC, to get a job. While it's a low level assistant position, she has also skipped a few years of even worse work to get there. She is ambitious and we get to see her work in detail, so if you do enjoy that kind of behind the scenes look this has a lot of that.Osteen said: “There’s not so much as a beat out of place in Isabel Kaplan’s prose, with a wit to match. She makes it easy to champion her work, which is engaging, insightful, wry and frankly brilliant. What an honour to have found a home at Penguin Michael Joseph, with a team whose vision is sharp and support boundless.” It is a time where compliments should be received with a smile, women expect the worst from other women and apologize for the behaviors of certain men, things sometimes just “go too far” – and we are active participants in our own oppression. So basically, about a decade ago. Our heroine, a young Jewish Los Angeles native who has just taken an assistant job at a TV studio, is no naïf. The compulsively readable novel about a young woman trying to succeed in Hollywood without selling her soul - perfect for fans of Sweetbitter, My Dark Vanessa and Exciting Times