Artifacts of a book launch

For the past few months, I’ve been thinking about the life of objects. Specifically, the life of books and the artifacts that surround them. In April, I spent the month digging through Smith College’s archives, doing research for a novel that I’m working on about objects that come to life. I wound up going through a huge array of material: queer pulp novels from the 50s and 60s, occultist periodicals from the 80s, riot grrrl zines from the 90s, and more. Each piece I encountered (whether it was a finished book, a handwritten manuscript, or a series of Xeroxed comics held together with rubber bands) had a story about how it ended up published, another story about how it ended up in the archives, and—of course—a story contained within its pages.

The Lilies is a much younger than book than the archival materials at Smith, and yet it has a reach beyond what I ever imagined for it. I ran into it at Target last week. I get photos of it from friends/colleagues at places like Kroeger, Meijer, Barnes and Noble, and more. Because the book is VERY accessible to the public, I’m excited about the possibility of what the story is doing out there in the world without me. I’m also scared by it, but I’ve come to recognize that what happens to the book is not really in my control. The story doesn’t belong to me anymore. It belongs to readers. I do get to keep some things though: specifically, the artifacts of the publication process.

I’m currently making a time capsule, collecting all of the pieces that remind me of specific moments of The Lilies’ launch. Lucky enough, my publisher made some beautiful boxes based on the book’s cover design—I’m using one to contain all of the trappings of my debut novel.

What’s in the time capsule? A copy of the ARC. A sweet note from a bookseller. Tarot stuff (if you know, you know). A ring with an infinity symbol on it (another easter egg). And (whenever I find it) the finished, annotated copy that I used at all of my readings. (Somehow, it went missing over the weekend…another object with a life of its own.)

I plan to wrap-up the time capsule by the end of the month. Two particular artifacts will complete it:

(1) a zine that I’m making about all of the amazing and scary things that have happened in the past seven weeks since the book was released (this might be for my eyes only, I haven’t decided yet); and

(2) an enamel pin from the upcoming Lilies “initiation” ceremony.

In the novel, the secret society surrounding the Lilies is definitely not one you’d want to join. However, in real life, there’s a growing contingent of readers who understand the magic at work in this book. That includes all of the behind-the-scenes efforts, the story about how it came to be, and the story about how it ended up at your local grocery store. My pals at Electric Postcard wanted to commemorate this with a special object for readers who ‘get it’: a Lilies society pin (get yours free here!)

Joining me at the virtual Lilies initiation ceremony will be the amazing Adam Silvera, author of Infinity Kings, and Dhonielle Clayton, author of The Beauty Trials! In addition to being book-world famous, these folks are both absolutely incredible young adult authors and I’m feeling honored to be in conversation with them through Books of Wonder’s online platform. Register here to see the whole thing in action — June 28th 6pm EST. Even if you can’t make it, I believe registrants can watch the crowdcast later (…but maybe don’t quote me on that).

More on reading, writing, and research very soon!

-Q