Stop Me If You've Heard This One

FOR ANYONE WHO'S EVER BEEN CALLED FUNNY AS AN INSULT

From the New York Times bestselling author of Mostly Dead Things, a sparkling and funny new novel of entertainment, ambition, art, and love.

Cherry Hendricks might be down on her luck, but she can write the book on what makes something funny: she's a professional clown who creates raucous, zany fun at gigs all over Orlando. Between clowning and her shifts at an aquarium store for extra cash, she's always hustling. Not to mention balancing her judgmental mother, her messy love life, and her equally messy community of fellow performers.

Things start looking up when Cherry meets Margot the Magnificent - a much older lesbian magician - who seems to have worked out the lines between art, business, and life, and has a slick, successful career to prove it. With Margot's mentorship and industry connections, Cherry is sure to take her art to the next level. Plus, Margot is sexy as hell. It's not long before Cherry must decide how much she's willing to risk for Margot and for her own explosive new act - and what kind of clown she wants to be under her suit.

Equal parts bravado, tenderness and humour, and bursting with misfits, magicians and mimes, Stop Me If You've Heard This One is a masterpiece of comedic fiction that asks big questions about art and performance, friendship and community, and the importance of timing in jokes and in life.

'[Kristen Arnett] really outdid herself this time, and Stop Me If You've Heard This One is a certified banger. Can't wait to force it into the hands of everyone I ever meet' -- Samantha Irby New York Times bestselling author of Quietly Hostile
'Is there any more brilliant and singular talent than Kristen Arnett? I cried laughing and ached at the zeniths of tenderness its tragicomic brilliance achieves. This may be the best book I've ever read' -- Alissa Nutting author of TAMPA
Arnett is wickedly talented and a wholly original voice -- Jami Attenberg, author of A Reason to See You Again

Kristen Arnett is the New York Times bestselling author of the debut novel Mostly Dead Things. She is a queer fiction and essay writer. She was awarded Ninth Letter's Literary Award in Fiction and is a columnist for Literary Hub. Her work has appeared at the New York Times, North American Review, The Normal School, Gulf Coast, TriQuarterly, Guernica, Buzzfeed, Electric Literature, McSweeneys, PBS Newshour, Bennington Review, the Guardian, Salon, the Rumpus, and elsewhere. Her story collection, Felt in the Jaw, was published by Split Lip Press and was awarded the 2017 Coil Book Award. She is a Spring 2020 Shearing Fellow at Black Mountain Institute. You can find her on Twitter here: @Kristen_Arnett

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