I Could Be Famous

Darkly funny stories of ten ambitious women - and one male superstar fallen from grace

By: Sydney Rende

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Hardcover | 13 January 2026 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Format
Hardcover

Dimensions(cm)
22.5 x 14.5 x 2.7

Hardcover

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'A terrific debut: fresh, original, and surprising' GEORGE SAUNDERS

'Rende's sparky stories are graced with comic timing' DAILY MAIL

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This is the story of ten ambitious women - and one male superstar fallen from grace - as they stumble through the delusional pursuit of fame

A struggling actress goes method to land the role of High School Junkie Girlfriend.

A college freshman gives the world's longest blowjob to a boy whose name she's forgotten.

An assistant helping to film celebrity homes develops a taste for kleptomania.

And linking them all is Arlo Banks, a hotshot actor facing downfall when he's accused of cannibalism.

From the dazzling to the mundane, Sydney Rende's unnerving and darkly funny stories hold a mirror to our obsession with self-image and the idea that we could - someday, somehow - be famous.

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'Outstanding... shot through with a crystalline wit and mordant surprise' MEGAN KAMALEI KAKIMOTO
'Rende's funny, sweet, stinging voice is made for this moment' JONATHAN DEE
'A startling debut... darkly funny' KIRKUS, STARRED REVIEW

Industry Reviews

Sydney Rende's debut collection spoke to me from the first line, where a receptionist cold-messages a celebrity to say they'd be a "good match"... I Could Be Famous is sharp, darkly funny, and, in the words of the reality TV star from my favourite story, "very anthropological" - Anna Dorn, author of Perfume and Pain

Shot through with a crystalline wit and mordant surprise, I Could Be Famous is outstanding... the characters at once shocked and delighted me. With the same insatiable desire that animates Rende's prose, I devoured these stories - Megan Kamalei Kakimoto, author of Every Drop Is a Man's Nightmare

A terrific debut: fresh, original, and surprising. Eleven fast, sharp, funny stories laced with a deep understanding of the corrosive effect our fame-hungry attention economy has on real connection between people. Rende is such a witty, engaging writer, with an intuitive understanding that the short story is in the world to delight, engage, and enlarge the reader - George Saunders

Sydney Rende's funny, sweet, stinging voice is made for this moment, and for those coming of age within it. An important debut and an invaluable tip-sheet to the way we live now, I Could Be Famous captures perfectly the hazards of young womanhood in a world where everyone is desperate to be looked at, but wary of being seen - Jonathan Dee, author of The Privileges

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