Stop Me If You've Heard This One

Longlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Award 2025
'This novel is sweet, sexy, sad, articulate, and funny' Vogue
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. Her life is a mess, but she's always hustling.
Cherry's luck changes when she meets Margot the Magnificent - the most successful entertainer on the circuit. By pursuing Margot's mentorship and connections, Cherry is certain she can take her act to the next level. Plus, Margot is sexy as hell.
But it's not long before Cherry must decide how much she's willing to risk for Margot, and for her own explosive new act. What kind of clown does she want to be under her costume?
'Unique, weird as anything, but it's also so much deeper . . . While this book will make you laugh, the story is guaranteed to pull at your heartstrings too' Daily Express
' As much heart, humour, and gritty realness as can fit between two covers' People
'A funny and heartfelt tale of one woman grappling with grief, love and how to move forward' New York Times

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