https://www.stevenrowley.com/landing daily 1.0 2025-08-21 https://www.stevenrowley.com/editor daily 0.75 2023-06-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5babe295d745628cee78fce2/1599609004168-G3IX3KHW7K40DUC780KE/paperback.jpg The Editor - The EDITOR After years of struggling as a writer in 1990s New York City, James Smale finally gets his big break when his novel sells to an editor at a major publishing house: none other than Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Jackie, or Mrs. Onassis as she’s known in the office, has fallen in love with James’s candidly autobiographical novel, one that exposes his own dysfunctional family. But when the book’s forthcoming publication threatens to unravel already fragile relationships, both within his family and with his partner, James finds that he can’t finish the manuscript. Jackie and James develop an unexpected friendship, and she pushes him to write an authentic ending, encouraging him to head home to confront the truth about his relationship with his mother. But when a long-held family secret is revealed, he realizes his editor may have had a larger plan that goes beyond the page. A National Bestseller An Indie Next Pick One of NPR’s Best Books of 2019 One of Esquire Magazine’s Best Books of 2019 Cosmopolitan’s Best Books of April https://www.stevenrowley.com/takemewithyou daily 0.75 2026-01-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5babe295d745628cee78fce2/5294a875-3035-4ccd-a8de-516c7dd37c74/TMWY+COVER+FINAL.jpg Take Me With You - Take Me With You College professor Jesse del Ruth has been abandoned. Thirty years into their relationship, Jesse witnesses his husband Norman wake up one night, walk into their Joshua Tree backyard, step into a strange beam of light and . . . disappear. How could Norman desert him after a lifetime together? Where did he go? And, most confoundingly . . . will he ever return? Jesse knew they were longing for something. But had Norman been so stuck that his only option was to leave Jesse behind? As Jesse struggles to understand Norman’s disappearance, he tries to piece together his new reality. Is he expected to wait patiently for a partner who may never come back? Or is this an opportunity for reinvention? He is, after all, alone for the first time in his adult life. Should he return to the classroom? Put in a pool? Get a dog? Call his estranged mother? What does it mean to be alone when you’ve always been one half of a whole? When Norman’s sister Lally lands on Jesse’s doorstep with an urgent request, Norman’s absence becomes even more profound. Add to Jesse’s grief and confusion a conspiracy-theorist neighbor, a stranger following him, and suspicions that he may have had a hand in Norman’s disappearance, and Jesse starts to crack under the pressure. With his husband missing and the world closing in, all eyes are on Jesse. Before he can understand how Norman could leave it all behind, Jesse must confront what it means to stay. In Take Me With You, Steven Rowley brings his resonant wit and emotional insight to an epic love story – an exploration of the forces that draw two people into the same orbit and the gravity that threatens to pull them apart. https://www.stevenrowley.com/home daily 0.75 2018-10-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5babe295d745628cee78fce2/1538013796244-MCMASJ5U4TQCGJYDSIOD/TheEditor-Twitter-v2.png Home https://www.stevenrowley.com/news daily 0.75 2026-04-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5babe295d745628cee78fce2/1552844457839-6X8WG6V0T82GROUEJCWL/speaking.jpg News & Events https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5babe295d745628cee78fce2/1622752590988-FZN9E3XP10KEAZ1OSOBD/IMG_0958.jpg News & Events - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5babe295d745628cee78fce2/224f4590-a54d-4457-bf79-6468cd32f32d/Thurber.jpg News & Events - Make it stand out The Guncle is THE WINNER of the prestigious Thurber Prize for American Humor. https://www.stevenrowley.com/about daily 0.75 2026-04-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5babe295d745628cee78fce2/fcbe31b4-bef2-481e-b95b-c43799bd25a3/Rowley+Headshot+3_Orig.jpg Steven Rowley - Steven Rowley Steven Rowley is the New York Times bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus, a Washington Post Notable Book of 2016, The Editor, named by NPR as one of the Best Books of 2019, The Guncle, a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist for 2021 Novel of the Year and winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor, The Celebrants, a TODAY Show Read With Jenna Book Club pick, and the instant USA Today Bestsellers The Guncle Abroad andThe Dogs of Venice. His fiction has been published in twenty languages. Originally from Portland, Maine, he is a graduate of Emerson College and currently resides in Palm Springs with his husband, the writer Byron Lane, and three rescue dogs. Photo by Afonso Salcedo. https://www.stevenrowley.com/contact daily 0.75 2022-11-02 https://www.stevenrowley.com/the-guncle daily 0.75 2023-06-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5babe295d745628cee78fce2/1599589192940-T60ZMC4AIZS67FU7F9T8/The+Guncle+COVER.jpg The Guncle - The GUNCLE From the bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus and The Editor comes a warm and deeply funny novel about a once-famous sitcom star whose unexpected family tragedy leaves him with his niece and nephew. Patrick O’Hara has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant — from a safe distance. His Palm Springs home and reclusive lifestyle aren’t exactly welcoming to children. But when tragedy strikes, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his own great love and managing a stalled career. He regrets his decision to take them in, until he starts to recognize that his outsize lifestyle and unusual life wisdom could bring about a season of healing that redefines their understanding of family, and finally lead Patrick back to himself. WINNER of the Thurber Prize for American Humor USA Today Bestseller Wall Street Journal Bestseller A Library Reads Pick A PEOPLE Magazine Best Book of the Week A Washington Post Feel Good Book for Summer One of NPR’s Books We Love 2021 A Goodreads Choice Award Finalist https://www.stevenrowley.com/the-dogs-of-venice daily 0.75 2025-10-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5babe295d745628cee78fce2/3ec37ea4-d966-4f49-a5c6-5567314e6e64/DOV+Putnam+Cover.jpg The Dogs of Venice - The Dogs of Venice After months of planning a romantic holiday getaway in Venice, Paul is blindsided when his five-year marriage suddenly unravels. Fueled by heartbreak, Paul endeavors to take the trip alone. Soon after arriving in Italy, he notices a small, scruffy, self-assured dog trotting alongside a canal with the confidence he so desperately wants for himself. When their paths cross again, Paul feels compelled to learn how his new four-legged friend thrives on his own. Amid the food, sights, and welcoming people of Venice, Paul’s journey culminates in a magical encounter that leads him to feel real connection—to a dog, to a foreign city and, most importantly, to himself. Capturing Steven Rowley's signature wit, insight, and indelible characters, The Dogs of Venice is a timeless story of love lost, and independence found—a holiday tonic for the soul. "Steven Rowley is one of those authors where if you read one of his novels, his name gets added to a mental 'TBR' (to-be read) list.” —Associated Press Instant USA TODAY BESTSELLER Audiobook Narrated by Neil Patrick Harris https://www.stevenrowley.com/the-celebrants daily 0.75 2023-06-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5babe295d745628cee78fce2/4190f8fa-9ac2-4c38-a239-3490cc80dd65/Read+With+Jenna.jpg The Celebrants - The Celebrants It’s been a minute—or five years—since Jordan Vargas last saw his college friends, and twenty-eight years since their graduation from Berkeley when their adult lives officially began. Now Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle find themselves at the brink of a new decade, with all the responsibilities and obligations of adulthood, yet no closer to having their lives figured out. That’s not for a lack of trying. Over the years they reunited periodically in Big Sur to honor a decades old pact to throw each other living “funerals,” celebrations to remind themselves that life is worth living—and living well. But this reunion is different. They’re not gathered as they had to bolster Marielle as her marriage crumbled, to lift Naomi after her parents died, or to intervene when Craig plead guilty to art fraud. Jordan is sitting on a secret that will upend their pact, as each friend is forced to weigh their middle-aged lives against the idealistic dreams of youth. A deeply honest tribute to the growing pains of selfhood and the people who keep us going, coupled with Steven Rowley’s signature humor and heart, The Celebrants is a moving tale about the false invincibility of youth, and all the beautiful ways in which friendship helps us celebrate our lives, even amid the deepest challenges of living. An Instant NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A TODAY Show Read With Jenna Book Club Pick An Indie Next Pick A Library Reads Hall of Fame Pick An EW Best New Book for Spring A Washington Post Noteworthy Book for May https://www.stevenrowley.com/the-guncle-abroad daily 0.75 2025-02-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5babe295d745628cee78fce2/5d48548d-9982-48d3-bf8e-b8ef3d0e5351/TGA+Cover+FINAL.jpg The Guncle Abroad - The Guncle Abroad From the New York Times bestselling author of The Celebrants comes the much-anticipated sequel to the Thurber Prize-Winning novel The Guncle. Patrick O'Hara is back. It's been five years since his summer as his niece Maisie and nephew Grant’s caretaker after their mother’s passing. Patrick feels on top of the world… professionally. Some things have taken a back seat. Looking down both barrels at fifty, Patrick is single again after breaking things off with Emory. But at least he has a family to lean on. Until that family needs to again lean on him. When his brother Greg announces he's getting remarried in Italy, Maisie and Grant are not thrilled and Patrick feels drawn to take them back under his wing. As they travel through Europe on their way to the wedding, Patrick tries his best to help them understand love, much as he once helped them comprehend grief. But in Italy, Patrick is overextended managing a groom with cold feet, his sister Clara’s flirting with guests left and right, a growing rivalry with the kids' alluring soon to be launt (lesbian aunt), and two anxious kids trying desperately to adjust to a new normal all culminating in a disastrous rehearsal dinner. Can Patrick save the day? Gracing the page with his signature blend of humor and heart, Steven Rowley delivers the long-awaited sequel to a beloved story, all about the complicated bonds of family, love, and what it takes to rediscover yourself, even at the ripe age of fifty. An Indie Next Pick A Library Reads Hall of Fame Pick An Instant USA Today Bestseller https://www.stevenrowley.com/lily-and-the-octopus daily 0.75 2025-08-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5babe295d745628cee78fce2/1537992372238-UFZB4GNH6M1FYO734KYR/LilyandtheOctopus_HC_Cvr_Final.jpg Lily and the Octopus - Lily and the Octopus Ted—a gay, single, struggling writer is stuck: unable to open himself up to intimacy except through the steadfast companionship of Lily, his elderly dachshund. When Lily’s health is compromised, Ted vows to save her by any means necessary. By turns hilarious and poignant, an adventure with spins into magic realism and beautifully evoked truths of loss and longing, Lily and the Octopus reminds us how it feels to love fiercely, how difficult it can be to let go, and how the fight for those we love is the greatest fight of all. A National Bestseller An Indie Next Pick A Library Reads Pick A Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Month A Washington Post Notable Book of 2016 Published in twenty languages https://www.stevenrowley.com/our-guncle daily 0.75 2025-09-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5babe295d745628cee78fce2/7e1a0909-ca7f-41e2-9180-6d087bf3d0e7/Our+Guncle+Cover+2.jpg Our Guncle - Our Guncle The New York Times bestselling author of The Guncle brings us a new version of the beloved story for young readers. After the loss of their mom, siblings Grant and Maisie have come to visit their Guncle who they call GUP (for Gay Uncle Patrick) in Palm Springs. GUP can’t bear how sad they all feel, and he tries everything he can think of to make them happy. But swimming pools and milkshakes and new animal friends are only temporary fixes. It isn’t until one quiet night, under the stars, that they come to realize what they’ve been searching for has been with them all along. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Guncle and renowned illustrator Eda Kaban comes a moving exploration of the lessons we learn as we journey through hard times together, and the importance of family—in all its unexpected forms. Coming May 19, 2026