The Palace of Eros - New Novel by Professor Caro De Robertis!

Dear friends & familia,

I'm reaching out about my new novel, The Palace of Eros, which to my amazement comes out in three weeks, on August 13.

As you may know, pre-orders are a powerful way of supporting books in the publishing world. If you happen to feel inclined, pre-orders are available here, here, or here. I'll also be on tour from August through November — in conversation with some of the most brilliant, big-hearted writers I know — and of course I'd be overjoyed to see you.

This novel is a queer retelling of the Greek myth of Psyche and Eros, in which Eros, god of love and desire, is recast as a genderqueer nonbinary lesbian goddess — a shift that, for me, opened up new layers and burning questions in this ancient story of transgression, passion, and becoming free. What happens when we affirm our truest, deepest desires? How can we be our whole selves, in all our passion and splendor, despite the social forces that might seek to constrain us?

These themes feel personally urgent to me. But I wasn’t just writing for myself. I wanted to pay tribute to the many ways people take risks on behalf of their innermost, authentic selves, and on behalf of the communities they love. And, yes, I wanted to make it steamy; it’s a book about Eros, after all.

Above all, I wrote this book as a love letter to the parts of our souls that long for joy and freedom.

Thanks for your time and support — and here's to you: your whole self, in all its passion and splendor.

con mucho amor,
Caro

Tour Details

• August 13, 7 p.m.
  • San Francisco, CA, launch party, with Ingrid Rojas Contreras. Booksmith
• August 14, 6 p.m.
  • Berkeley, CA, with Cristina García. North Berkeley Library
• August 16, 7 p.m.
  • Los Angeles, CA, with Parnaz Foroutan. Skylight Books
• August 19, 7 p.m.
  • Culver City, CA, with Justinian Huang. The Ripped Bodice
• August 20, 7 p.m.
  • Seattle, WA, with Elaine U. Cho. Elliott Bay Books
• September 9, 6:30 p.m.
  • Mill Valley, CA, with Achy Obejas. Mill Valley Public LIbrary
• September 17, 7 p.m.
  • Brooklyn, NY, with Angie Cruz. Center for Fiction
• September 19, 7 p.m.
  • New York, NY, with Jaquira Díaz. Word Up Community Bookshop
• October 15, 7 p.m.
  • San Francisco, CA, with Navid Sinaki. City Lights Books / Litquake
• October 20, 2:30 p.m.
  • Oakland, CA. Pop-up signing. A Great Good Place for Books
• November 16 – 17
  • Austin, TX. Texas Book Festival, further details TBA.

Advance Praise

"A riveting, sublime, magical, and wildly subversive meditation on love, sex, mythology, and belonging...brilliant and beautiful and erotic and insightful and unlike anything I've ever read. I couldn't ask for more."
— Cristina García, author of Dreaming in Cuban and Vanishing Maps

"Bold and barrier-breaking...an intoxicating reimagining of myth like no other...a sublime excavation of passion, courage, and fate that is destined to become a classic."
— Patricia Engel, author of Infinite Country

"Sexy, fiery, a nerdy Greek retelling written for 'all of us.' Propulsive and smart! Once again, Caro De Robertis delivers one of the best books I've read this year."
— Angie Cruz, author of How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water

"De Robertis' prose is as sharp and beautiful as ever. Their meditations on gender, desire, and freedom soar off the page...a vulnerable, sensual, and joyous journey about living and loving in one's truth."
— Kirkus Reviews

"Poetic, kinetic prose adds to the epic feel of the novel and its refreshing sense of subversion."
— Hannah Bae, San Francisco Chronicle

"Engrossing...admirers of Madeline Miller will be pleased."
— Publishers Weekly

"A brilliant and luminous writer."
— Madeline Miller, author of Circe

“Caro De Robertis is a force: prepare to be astonished.”
— R.O. Kwon, author of Exhibit

Caro De Robertis (they/them)

The Palace of Eros, a novel, forthcoming August 2024
Winner of the 2022 John Dos Passos Prize for Literature
Professor at SFSU