An afternoon with the Argentine readers of Taylor Jenkins Reid, a voice of our times

Taylor Jenkins Reid is an American writer and screenwriter who has been churning out one worldwide bestseller after another. Her books are often adapted into series or films. For her fans, her books fall into the "romance" and "queer romance" categories . In a recent interview that made the cover of Times magazine, journalist Lucy Feldman claims that Reid has sold 21 million books (including print editions, ebooks, and audiobooks) translated into 42 languages . Although she clarifies that this is merely a rumor, she also says that the 41-year-old writer could sign a deal to write five more books, and she would be paid eight million dollars for each one.

From the cover of the Times , Reid sits on a low stool on a stage, looking out at the readers, leaning her elbow on a table slightly higher than a lamp post. On the table, there's only a vase of a white orchid, matching her three-piece suit—pants, vest, and blazer—and matching stilettos. Behind her, a red curtain, a closed backdrop. "Book Smart" is how the cover describes her. "How did Taylor Jenkins Reid become a Publishing Powerhouse? " the journalist asks in her article.

In Argentina, Reid is also a publishing phenomenon : she has a following passionate about her stories and the characters she creates. Recently, many gathered at El Planetario for an event organized by Editorial Urano and its imprint Stefano Books (which has published all of Reid's books in Spanish) for the launch of Atmósfera , her latest book .

The event included badge-holders in blue jumpsuits (replicas of those worn in the 1980s by the women the author was inspired by), a moon and spaceship where people could take photos, giveaways, and a star projection in the auditorium.

With Atmosphere ( the love story of two female NASA astronauts in the 1980s ), Reid broke her longstanding tradition of publishing one book a year. For this one, she took two years. It's a story "in the vein of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo , " a very special book for many of her fans.

“The first book I read by her was what is my favorite book today, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo , and it's like, I don't know, I feel like she left such a mark on me that I started reading all of her books and I feel like she writes stories that really reach you,” says Fiorella Molina (27 years old), creator of literary content (especially on Instagram), and reader of Taylor.

The Seven Husbands… (Stefano/Urano) made her cry, made her notice the protagonists' “well-defined” character , their attitudes, and their decisions. “I always say it's my go-to recommendation,” says Ivana Kasper, a book influencer on the account @hoyestaparaleer (on Instagram and TikTok). So far, she's never received any complaints.

Micaela Straffolani (32, bookfluencer at @bibliotafa and technical energy advisor at the Undersecretariat of the Environment) remembers that when she read The Seven Husbands... , Reid's construction was so convincing that she went to find out if the protagonist, a Hollywood actress, had really existed .

“Exactly,” agrees Jessica Medina (32, bookfluencer at @aficionadaalalectura, community manager and mom), “I also feel that, maybe when it comes to romance, I find myself more in the characters she writes, which I find more than perhaps other authors . It's much more real.”

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo ( the story of a woman in love with another , who hides her love by marrying different men and set in Hollywood) is the one that transformed many Argentine readers into followers of Reid .

That book has sold more than 500,000 copies in Spanish, has had over 160 editions worldwide , has a rating of 3.5 million on Goodreads, and Netflix is ​​preparing an adaptation . Reid's book wasn't the only success: five of her nine published books have been selected as bestsellers by the New York Times .

Its appeal lies in a "formula" that, while similar, is never repeated, and that draws readers in. The key seems to lie in the historical settings Reid researches and builds upon in each book. In Evelyn Hugo... , it was "the golden age of Hollywood" (between the 1950s and 1980s). In Atmosphere , the setting is NASA in the 1980s, and the love story centers on two women (Joan and Vanessa), two of the first female astronauts to train and go into space.

Orbiting their bond (which they keep secret) are: the friendship with teammates (Lydia, Hank, Griff), the relationship between Joan and her sister Barbara, single mother of Frances, whom Joan helps raise, and then Reid also explores the bond of love between aunt and niece.

Jenkins Reid's books also feature men, but they don't seem to resonate as much as her female characters. Perhaps this is because female readers can't identify with them: the majority of her books are women. Furthermore, many of the protagonists in her stories belong to the LGBT community.

The release of Atmosphere comes with a revelation: in the interview published in the Times , the author revealed that she is bisexual . “At 20, I grew up as a queer person, I already grew up with the Equal Marriage Law,” says Daniela (24, a Taylor reader, her Instagram account is @booksbydann, she is about to graduate in Political Science and is an intern at a political consulting firm), “I grew up with a ton of laws and I grew up with the possibility of being able to express myself , and I read this story and said how difficult it was 40 years ago, reality has changed a lot.”

He also says that Atmosphere is a story "perfect for June," and adds nothing more to that. Perhaps the "perfect for June" has to do with the fact that soon (on July 22) it will be 15 years since the Equal Marriage Law was passed in Argentina.

“I see a parallel between maybe Seven Husbands… which was right in Hollywood, where she got married to hide her relationship with a woman as well. And today, soccer players. A soccer player comes out as gay, and what's up, you know? It's like the taboo there is still a lot of it, and it's good that literature is breaking that . And besides, well, there aren't many lesbian romances ,” says Jessica.

What also differentiates Reid's stories from others in the romance genre is that they don't offer you the same comfort, "you suffer the same, you suffer a lot," adds Daniela, a little laughing, a little lamenting.

For Jessica, who tends to read a lot of young adult romance, they're "all flowers and butterflies," more idealized, regardless of the gender or sexual orientation of the characters. Even how sexual relationships are described, where everything is fabulous and women reach orgasm without a problem, even on their first time.

Compared to those stories, what Reid writes, Jessica repeats, is more realistic . She also values ​​his ability to weave multiple layers into the same story, without leaving “any loose ends.”

Some would like the next book to take place either in the context of football, especially men's football, or in the publishing world where, according to Micaela, Reid has a lot to say about the obstacles a writer or editor has to overcome to get published.

Miriam (62, on Instagram: @miriam_leyendo), who started reading Reid during the pandemic like many of her fellow bookfluencers in their 50s and 60s, thinks the success of these books is also related to a change in people . “People started to open their minds a little more and read everything,” she says. “We all read everything now; it’s not so classified.”

Will Taylor Jenkins Reid be the voice of our times? Will she ever come to meet her fans in Argentina? If they could talk to her, they would tell her to "keep giving us stories" (Jesica), "that she owes me the payment for her therapy," laughs Daniela, "we'll always keep reading her."