No Ordinary Love Book Club Event22 Images
“Tian really does embody a street cat, bouncing from city to city, his gut deciding where to go next… Is a street cat even cut out to settle down?” On Tuesday night, Jen Winston read this section of her story ‘Baggage Claim’ from Hinge’s No Ordinary Love anthology to a crowd at The Turk’s Inn in Bushwick. The restaurant was transformed into a love-filled fever dream for the event, hosted by Sapph-Lit and Grotto. Avid readers like Niamh Adkins were gathered to eat crinkle-cut fries around wavy tables, laughing and trading themed bookmarks and matchboxes. Once Winston got on stage, someone in the crowd said, “Oh, there she is. She’s wearing Vaquera, she looks great.” Winston, in their all-white outfit, proceeded to read the story under the soft orange lights and a pink disco ball. She turned her attention to the room. “I was such a fan of the first edition of the campaign that I read all the stories,” they said. “I’m not a great manifester, but I must have manifested this.” Behind her, rather fitting to the plot of the story, was a painting of a fluffy white cat.
The event celebrated the second instalment of No Ordinary Love, an anthology of modern romantic prose, challenging love story tropes and clichéd narratives by celebrating the differing perspectives and unexpected plot twists of real love. The stories are told through the perspectives of both partners – five real couples who met on Hinge – written by five fresh literary voices: Hunter Harris, Tomasz Jedrowski, Upasna Barath, William Rayfet Hunter and (of course) Jen Winston. Here’s everything you need to know about the event.
Photography Jackie Abbott
The event was a celebration of Sapph-Lit’s sapphic BookTok community and a safe space for queer and queer-identifying people to talk about the nuances of love. Fans of Winston’s know their witty and provocative memoir, Greedy: Notes from a Bisexual Who Wants Too Much, but were introduced to another side of her writing. Winston partnered with a real couple, Caitlin and Tian, to explore the baggage we all bring into new relationships. You can read Caitlin and Tian’s story now at no-ordinary-love.co. As one book club member put it: “We are all gay and it’s great!”
Photography Jackie Abbott
After Winston read her story from the baby pink No Ordinary Love anthology, she shared stories about speaking to Caitlin and Tian for hours about their “rom-com in real life” and made jokes about feeling so proud that she was part of the project that she posted on LinkedIn. “Watch that space,” they added. At the end of the reading, there was an energetic Q&A session opened up to the audience. Initially, people posed questions about getting started on a book or how to write a story. Then, in response to a question about the best thing to ask on a first date, Nina shared her friend’s go-to question: “If you had to eat a human, what part of their body would you eat and how would you prepare it?” We never heard the answer, but those who asked questions all walked away with an illustration to take home from the book.
Photography Jackie Abbott
In a corner, floral tattoo artist Ying brought the pages of No Ordinary Love to life one flash tattoo at a time. Inspired by Momo Gordon’s dreamy and fantastical illustrations, guests lined up to get tattoos of butterflies, heart matchsticks, candles, lovebirds and kissing vases. Those who got a tattoo left with a tiny tribute to imperfect love, navigating the messy yet magical early days of dating and the act of saying yes.
Photography Jackie Abbott
As with all good book clubs, there was an equal amount of time for catching up (and dancing) as there was for reading and engaging in literary discussions. Each corner of space was a nod to the heart-warming, honest and hilariously real love stories in the anthology. There was even a cherub-themed cocktail menu pulled from the five-story titles, including ‘Not Over Yet’ and ‘Worth It’. The best part? It was just one of the many intimate No Ordinary Love book club moments shared across New York and London – with readings from Hunter Harris, Upasna Barath and William Rayfet Hunter.
