LNS Makes a Literary Debut
DC writer Grant Ginder just made a deal with Simon and Schuster to publish his first novel, This Is How It Starts, which follows the travails of a recent college graduate as he navigates the world of young and powerful Washington elites. I spoke with Grant and his editor, who both say this isn’t a DC gossip novel a la Sally Quinn. Both described the manuscript as a Bright Lights, Big City for DC. Just replace the media/publishing industry with jobs on the Hill, and Manhattan glamor with loafer footsie in Georgetown bars. The main character is a member of Late Night Shots, as is Ginder, although the 25-year-old author says he just used the site for research and entertainment.
The book isn’t out for about a year, but I’m looking forward to reading it, and taking a bar crawl in Georgetown with the author. Like most of the people he writes about, Ginder isn’t a native. Worse, he’s from California (Laguna Beach!). His familiarity with the psychographic of young, aspirational DCites began during summer internships here during college, at U Penn. Ginder clearly knows “the scene,” but the scene doesn’t dominate his life. He lives in Adams Morgan, the most feared neighborhood of the LNS set, and works at the Center for American Progress, a decidedly progressive think-tank.
8 Responses to “LNS Makes a Literary Debut”
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February 21st, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Ha! This blog post is almost as bad as the cover story that you cut and pasted from wonkette. I love how youre so fascinated with this guys Georgetown story, but you have to bestow Citypaper legitimacy upon him by qualifying him from the rest of “the scene”– oh, he lives in another expensive NW neighborhood with lots of bars, thats so genuine! I dont know what the “most feared neighborhood of the LNS set” is, but it certainly isnt AdMo (yeah, blah blah that quote about ethiopians that you also copied from wonkette blah blah). Maybe its columbia heights, which LNS doesnt even list as a neighborhood. Maybe its… who cares?
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:52 am
Settle down, Ben. Geez. You LNS types can come off as nutty as the Ron Paul assholes. Every time Valdez writes something about you pricks, you get all hot and bothered. It’s time to realize that, if you’re in LNS, you have it coming. You deserve to be held up as pathetic kids who are still two notches below high society so you have to resort to silly clubs to make friends with other unlikable assholes.
However, if you can keep LNS kids out of Columbia Heights, your value with slightly increase in my eyes.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:18 am
Ben: you could have done that so much better. Lean out of your LNS tree house and try again: “WAAAAAAAHHHHH, and we’re cooler than you so PFFFFTHT!”
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:19 pm
I’m really confused by the logic employed by half of you people. If we are so insignificant why don’t you simply stop writing and caring about what we do, what bars we go to, and what we say? We don’t even like to be written about so it isn’t like we are getting some ego high from the wonkette and washington city paper writing about us. If we are truly disliked then why don’t people pretend like we don’t exist? Attempting to insult us just makes you seem like envious school children. Not only would it be more insulting to not bite into our “holier than thou” attitude by ignoring us but it would also benefit us as well. I mean really, doesn’t everyone have more important things to do?
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Dear Angela and the posters above,
First of all, there is no “we.” LNS is not a “club.” It is not exclusive. It is a social networking site whose founder made it invite only in order to generate buzz and be provocative. And guess what? It worked!!
So Angela and her muckracking causes such a stir because finally this “wannabe elite” got “the mirror held to their face for once” blablabla. What a joke. She fancies herself an urbane Tom Wolfe (although she is a decent writer).
Yes, there are awful people on LNS. There are awful people who read the Washington City Paper. Let’s all realize we are all adults, enjoy having fun, and the fact this whole “culture war” takes place on anonymous blogs and message boards just exacerbates this false divide between bitter liberals and loser young republicans.
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Dear Confused:
LNS is written about frequently by City Paper and Wonkette because…
…it’s hilarious/pathetic/immature/laughable.
I could go on, but it’s what is most often referred to as “good copy.”
February 25th, 2008 at 10:28 am
DC92 is correct. I’ll read everything Valdez writes about LNS because it makes me laugh and laugh and laugh.
March 2nd, 2008 at 2:04 am
Lesson to learn is that Ginder is a snake in the grass. Nice! What a tool. Oh and to the folks that read about LNS - get a life. Sometimes it is amusing but really, a whole book - that is PURE obsession and envy. LOSERS