books + press

This Is Not Chick Lit is important not only for its content, but for its title. I’ll know we’re getting somewhere when equally talented male writers feel they have to separate themselves from the endless stream of fiction glorifying war, hunting and sports by naming an anthology This Is Not a Guy Thing.”–Gloria Steinem

Merrick has overturned the log of pop-culture-driven fare to uncover a riot of women’s voices -writhing, colorful, and alive.”
ELLE magazine

“Elizabeth Merrick has written an ambitious and moving first novel, an intimate family epic.”
Tom Perrotta, author of Little Children and Election

“A moody, gothic debut, which makes for a brutal, and cathartic, emotional experience. It’s a nice start for Merrick.”
Publisher’s Weekly

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(For full articles on This Is Not Chick Lit or Girly, please visit the Media Archives.)

“This isn’t chick lit, but maybe chick lit should aspire to be this good.”
The Miami Herald

“These tales ask us to take a break from the cream-puff narratives we may have been splurging on and to remember how good it feels to read something nourishing and substantive, to once again engage in stories that feed the soul.
Los Angeles Times

“Far from breezy chick lit, these stories are for anyone who enjoys fine fiction.”
Rocky Mountain News

“Readers who’ve been Fendi’d and Choo’d to distraction would do well to pick this up.”
Publishers Weekly

“Narrative-fracturing works by Carolyn Ferrell and Lynne Tillman are jarring, beguiling and wholly original.”
Time Out New York

“Funny and inventive.”
The Village Voice

“This, as it turns out, is discourse – and as long as it’s showcasing some good, smart, accomplished women writers, then I think it takes us that much closer to turning the chick lit frog into a prince.”
The Huffington Post

Merrick’s feminist project has women talking about books and reading across genres, which, all told, has got to be good.”
Small Spiral Notebook

“No less hopeful than typical chick lit but certainly more poignant and serious, this collection should spur spirited conversation.”
Booklist

“Lush and elegantly crafted stories.”
Desert Morning News

“Ultimately, the writing and the breadth of creative subject material are what remind readers that this is not the frothy, raspberry-vinaigrette-drenched ‘lit’ of our generation. Here, in these eighteen stories, is literature.”
The Daily Texan

“So the only question about the fine new fiction anthology This Is Not Chick Lit is why it took so long to hit the shelves.”
The State (Columbia, S.C.)

“Most delightfully surprising is ‘The Seventy-two-Ounce Steak Challenge’ by Dika Lam, who has published only a few short stories in small magazines.”
The Columbus Dispatch

“Fresh and intriguing…Reading the stories as a whole will lead readers to discover new favorite authors.”
Library Journal

If you’re tired of reading about women shopping for shoes while cheating on their diets [and] their boyfriends, and hiding from their bosses, Elizabeth Merrick feels your pain.”
The Detroit News

“For those understandably concerned about whether experimental literary fiction can have a place in mainstream American culture, take heart that Lynne Tillman is now at your local Target.
Slate

 

“Elizabeth Merrick brings a new voice to American fiction, opening up and exploring a whole different world of family.”
Robert Morgan, Oprah’s Book Club author of Gap Creek

 

To purchase THIS IS NOT CHICK LIT click here.

To purchase GIRLY click here.