NEW JERSEY FAN CLUB:
ARTISTS & WRITERS CELEBRATE THE GARDEN STATE

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.

New Jersey Fan Club is edited by Kerri Sullivan, founder of the popular Instagram account Jersey Collective (@jerseycollective), 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.

Available wherever books are sold!

Download high-res images and a press kit here.
Booksellers, retailers, & librarians: the book is available through all major vendors.

CONTRIBUTORS

WRITING FROM: Kamelia Ani, Linda J. Barth, Caiti Borruso, Erica Commisso, Alicia Cook, Miko Beach, Brittany Coppla, Carlos Dengler, Stacey Mei Yan Fong, Michael C. Gabriele, Chris Gethard, Hassan Ghanny, Lorraine Goodman, Brandon Harrison, Brittney Ingersoll, Wills Kinsley, Caren Lissner, Pooja Makhijani, Donnie Martino, Jen A. Miller, Raakhee Mirchandani, Kate Morgan, Scott Neumyer, Kae Lani Palmisano, Sarah Prager, Elise Sacco, Erinn Salge, Jacquinn Sinclair, lucy dean stockton, Brandon Stosuy, Matthew Taub, Bob Varettoni, and Hallel Yadin. COMICS & CARTOONS BY: Alexandra Beguez, Mike Dawson, Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg, Frankie Huang, Dan Misdea, Kat Schneider, and Whit Taylor. ILLUSTRATIONS BY: Julie Benbassat, Kasey Bohnert, Kristen Broderick, Veronica Casson, Jonathan Conner (LANK), Alex Flannery, Mikhaila Leid, Sean Rynkewicz, Elise Sacco, Haley Simone, Team 1:1 New Jersey, Emily Thompson, Joy Velasco, and Tori Wehringer. PHOTOGRAPHY FROM: Lauren H. Adams, Caiti Borruso, Tim Kauger, R Justin McNeill, Donovan Myers, Katie Reynolds, Dan Schenker, Brian Scully, Christopher Smith, Jaclyn Sovern, Bob Varettoni, Kate Watt, among others, plus the collections of a dozen museums and historical societies. INTERVIEWS WITH: Jack Antonoff, Michael Aaron Rockland, Mark Sceurman of Weird NJ, Pete Steinkopf of the Bouncing Souls, and more.

PRINT, WEB, & TELEVISION

• Eclectic Jersey-Centric Collection a Great Summer Read - New Jersey Monthly June 2022 issue

• New book dives into what makes New Jersey great - News 12 New Jersey “Positively Jersey” segment with Brian Donohue

• New Jersey’s Biggest Fans Chronicle the Garden State - US 1 News

"I love this book! A diverse range of voices and evocative photos add up to a memorable portrait of the real New Jersey." -Pete Genovese

"Kerri Sullivan knows New Jersey, and she's passionate about showing all the great things about living here. If you ever thought NJ was a drive-thru state or an obnoxious stereotype, be sure to read this book." -Cyd Katz, New Jersey Isn’t Boring

"New Jersey Fan Club is as eclectic, vibrant, and inviting as the Garden State itself. It's less a book than it is a sensory experience, its pages overflowing with imagery and voices representative of Jersey's diversity, its history, and its heart." -Joe Vallese, Editor, What’s Your Exit? A Literary Detour Through New Jersey

"New Jersey pride runs deep. So does our desire to share it with anybody who will listen—sometimes even more so when they would rather not hear it. Kerri Sullivan understands this unique state pride is just part of the Jersey experience.” -Shelby Vittek, New Jersey Monthly

"If I were recommending one book to someone moving to New Jersey from someplace else, this is the one I'd put in their welcome packet."
- Brian Donohue, News12 NJ

“Depending on who you ask, New Jersey is either a punchline or a paradise. This new anthology featuring essays, interviews and comics from an array of writers and artists presents a solid argument that New Jersey is lots of things to lots of different types of people, and maybe we should go experience them all.”
- The Statesider

“Publishing a book that aims to both creatively represent and speak to the most densely populated state in the Union is an ambitious feat…Sullivan appears to be just the person to pull it off. New Jersey Fan Club’s writing and artistry is top-tier, its diversity laudable.” - Beach Badge Issue # 2

“New Jersey Fan Club is an outstanding tribute to New Jersey—a power-ballad-rock-opera epic for the greatest state in the country.”
- Patrick Lombardi, author of The New Jersey Food Truck Cookbook

ABOUT THE EDITOR

Kerri Sullivan is the founder of Jersey Collective, which has been featured by the Asbury Park Press, New Jersey Monthly, CBS Philly, and News 12 NJ. Her writing has appeared in McSweeney's, Catapult, The Rumpus, NJ Indy, and elsewhere. She is from Monmouth County but now lives in Essex County. You can find her on Instagram @ksulphoto.