Hot Desk
A Novel
Published on 2. September 2025
368 pages
978-1-6680-8111-2 (ISBN)
Description
Younger meets Writers & Lovers in this wise, witty novel about friendship, ambition, and love.
In the post-pandemic publishing industry, two rival editors are forced to share a ?hot desk? on alternating days of the week. Having never set eyes on each other, Rebecca Blume and Ben Heath begin leaving passive-aggressive Post-it notes on the pot of their shared cactus. But when revered literary legend Edward David Adams (known as ?the Lion?) dies, leaving his estate up for grabs, they compete to land this career-making opportunity. As the battle heats up, Rebecca learns of a surprising connection between her mother, Jane, and the Lion from forty years earlier.
The story travels back to the early 1980s, when Jane arrives in Manhattan and meets the glamorous Rose, who soon becomes her best friend. These two talented young women try to make their mark in the publishing world at a time when art, the written word, and creative expression were at their height. But one fateful day during the April blizzard of 1982 will change the course of Jane's life, and of their friendship, forever. As Rebecca learns more about her mother's past, the storylines converge, and all three women must reconcile with the decisions they have made and come together to navigate the choices that lie ahead.
In the post-pandemic publishing industry, two rival editors are forced to share a ?hot desk? on alternating days of the week. Having never set eyes on each other, Rebecca Blume and Ben Heath begin leaving passive-aggressive Post-it notes on the pot of their shared cactus. But when revered literary legend Edward David Adams (known as ?the Lion?) dies, leaving his estate up for grabs, they compete to land this career-making opportunity. As the battle heats up, Rebecca learns of a surprising connection between her mother, Jane, and the Lion from forty years earlier.
The story travels back to the early 1980s, when Jane arrives in Manhattan and meets the glamorous Rose, who soon becomes her best friend. These two talented young women try to make their mark in the publishing world at a time when art, the written word, and creative expression were at their height. But one fateful day during the April blizzard of 1982 will change the course of Jane's life, and of their friendship, forever. As Rebecca learns more about her mother's past, the storylines converge, and all three women must reconcile with the decisions they have made and come together to navigate the choices that lie ahead.
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Laura Dickerman has an MA in fiction from NYU and an MA in English from Middlebury College's Bread Loaf School of English. She was an intern at The Paris Review many, many years ago. She's been a high school English teacher, a book club leader, a tutor, and a recipient of an NEH grant. Laura lives in Atlanta with her husband. Hot Desk is her first novel.
