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originally published: 04/12/2022

New Jersey Fan Club: Artists and Writers Celebrate the Garden State, edited by Kerri Sullivan, will be published on June 17, 2022 from Rutgers University Press. It is an eclectic anthology featuring personal essays, interviews, photographs, and comics from a diverse group of writers and artists. An exploration of how the same locale can shape people in different ways, it will inspire readers to look at the Garden State with fresh eyes. 

Despite the many jokes and stereotypes about New Jersey and its residents, in reality the state is a wildly diverse place, home to a vast variety of landscapes, cultures, and people. There is no singular New Jersey experience, and the stories that its residents have to share about the state will surprise you.

New Jersey Fan Club: Artists and Writers Celebrate the Garden State is an eclectic anthology featuring personal essays, interviews, and comics from a broad group of established and emerging writers and artists who have something to say about New Jersey. It offers a multifaceted look at the state’s history and significance, told through narrative nonfiction, photographs, and illustrations.

The book includes contributions by Kerri Sullivan, Matthew Taub, Frankie Huang, Erinn Salge, Brandon Harrison, Mike Dawson, Michael C. Gabriele, Wills Kinsley, Pooja Makhijani, Kat Schneider, Chris Gethard, Stacey Mei Yan Fong, Kamelia Ani, Kate Morgan, Brittany Coppla, Scott Neumyer, Jacquinn Sinclair, Carlos Dengler, Miko Beach, Caren Lissner, Team 1:1 New Jersey, Raakhee Mirchandani, Brandon Stosuy, Whit Taylor, Alicia Cook, Brittany Ingersoll, Caiti Borruso, Sarah Prager, Elise Sacco, lucy dean stockton, Alexandra Beguez, Bob Varettoni, Jen A. Miller, Erica Commisso, Hallel Yadin, Kae Lani Palmisano, Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg, Linda J. Barth, Donnie Martino, Hassan Ghanny, and Lorraine Goodman.

New Jersey Fan Club is edited by Kerri Sullivan, founder of the popular Instagram account Jersey Collective, which features weekly takeovers by different New Jerseyans. This book functions the same way: it gives dozens of different contributors the chance to share what New Jersey looks like to them. The book is an exploration of how the same locale can shape people in different ways, and it will inspire readers to look at the Garden State with fresh eyes and appreciate its bounty of beautiful places and vibrant spaces.

 

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The book contains illustrations by Alex Flannery, Haley Simone, Jonathan Conner (LANK), Emily Thompson, Joy Velasco, Kasey Bohnert, Julie Benbassat, Sean Rynkewicz, Mikhaila Leid, Veronica Casson, Dan Misdea, Kristen Broderick, and Tori Wehringer. It includes photography by Lauren H. Adams, Katie Reynolds, Kate Watt, Tim Kauger, Brian Scully, Jaclyn Sovern, Donovan Myers, R Justin McNeill, Dan Schenker, and Christopher Smith.

New Jersey Fan Club: Artists and Writers Celebrate the Garden State is 316 pages, 66 color, 61 b&w images, 6 x 7.  The paperback retails for $18.95;  a cloth edition is $49.95; epub, Kindle and PDF versions are $18.95. The book is published by Rutgers University Press.

Rutgers University Press is dedicated to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge to scholars, students, and the general reading public. The Press reflects and extends the University’s core mission of research, instruction, and service. We enhance the work of our authors through exceptional publications that shape critical issues, spark debate, and enrich teaching throughout the world for a wide range of readers.

Rutgers University Press, a nonprofit academic publishing house operating in Piscataway under the auspices of Rutgers University, was founded on March 26, 1936. Over the last 75 years, the Press has grown in size and the scope of its publishing program. Among the original areas of specialization were Civil War history and European history. The Press’ current areas of specialization include sociology, anthropology, health policy, history of medicine, human rights, urban studies, criminology, Jewish studies, American studies, film and media studies, the environment, and books about New Jersey and the mid-Atlantic region.