A Campus on Fire

Tess Azar writes for her campus paper and recently became a public figure when one of her articles garnered national attention. She’s received a taste of fame and wants more. Her next piece is going to be on a student’s recent suicide. The student was part of a creative writing workshop run by an acclaimed author. The workshop has a vaunted reputation but also exhibits all the tell-tale signs of a cult. Tess sets out to unravel its secrets and, in doing so, falls in love with one of its writers.

At the same time, a charismatic right-wing zealot has formed a men’s rights group on campus, and its growing. Tess begins to write an article on him and his group with the hopes of exposing the danger he poses. In doing so, she inadvertently increases his reach and popularity.

Tess begins to suspect she’s being surveilled and when someone sets fire to the journalism office, she must decide who she can trust and what she believes. She’s pulled between her journalistic instincts and her desires. She’s forced to decide what, and who, she’s willing to sacrifice to succeed.

My novel deals with obsession, power, and the cost of success. It portrays the current charged political climate of the nation, highlighting the immovable structures of our society and the dangers of navigating a post-truth world.

I began work on this novel shortly after watching the January 6 Capitol Riots. I was struck, not for the first time, by the radicalization that pervades this nation. I wanted to write about post-truth and found that a prestigious campus was an ideal place for that discussion.

 A Campus on Fire would appeal to readers of The Secret History. It's Normal People meets All the President’s Men. New Adult and Adult readers would be the primary demographic for my novel with a focus on High School and College students, recent graduates, fans of cult fiction and campus novels. As for genre/category, I believe it exists somewhere between contemporary and commercial. Some recent titles that I would compare it to would be Vladimir by Julia May Jonas and The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz.