New Jersey Fan Club: Artists and Writers Celebrate the Garden State
New Jersey Fan Club: Artists and Writers Celebrate the Garden State
edited by Kerri Sullivan contributions by Pooja Makhijani, Kat Schneider, Chris Gethard, Stacey Mei Yan Fong, Kamelia Ani, Kate Morgan, Brittany Coppla, Scott Neumyer, Jacquinn Sinclair, Carlos Dengler, Kerri Sullivan, Miko Beach, Caren Lissner, Team 1:1 New Team 1:1 New Jersey, Raakhee Mirchandani, Brandon Stosuy, Whit Taylor, Alicia Cook, Brittany Ingersoll, Caiti Borruso, Sarah Prager, Matthew Taub, Elise Sacco, lucy dean stockton, Alexandra Beguez, Bob Varettoni, Jen A. Miller, Erica Commisso, Hallel Yadin, Kae Lani Palmisano, Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg, Linda J. Barth, Frankie Huang, Donnie Martino, Hassan Ghanny, Lorraine Goodman, Erinn Salge, Brandon Harrison, Mike Dawson, Michael C. Gabriele and Wills Kinsley illustrated by Alex Flannery, Haley Simone, Jonathan Conner (LANK), Emily Thompson, Joy Velasco, Kasey Bohnert, Julie Benbassat, Sean Rynkewicz, Mikhaila Leid, Veronica Casson, Dan Misdea, Kristen Broderick and Tori Wehringer photographs by Lauren H. Adams, Katie Reynolds, Kate Watt, Tim Kauger, Brian Scully, Jaclyn Sovern, Donovan Myers, R Justin McNeill, Dan Schenker and Christopher Smith
Rutgers University Press, 2022 Paper: 978-1-9788-2560-4 | eISBN: 978-1-9788-2564-2 | Cloth: 978-1-9788-2561-1 Library of Congress Classification F134.6.N55 2022 Dewey Decimal Classification 974.9
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC
ABOUT THIS BOOK
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.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
KERRI SULLIVAN is the founder of Jersey Collective (@jerseycollective), one of New Jersey's most popular Instagram accounts, with over 30,000 followers. Her writing has appeared in McSweeney's, Podcast Review, The Billfold, and elsewhere. She is from Monmouth County but currently lives in North Jersey.
REVIEWS
“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 Stateside
"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
"If I were recommending one book to someone moving to New Jersey from someplace else, this just might be the one I'd put in their welcome packet."
— Brian Donohue, News12 NJ
"NJ 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
"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, author of New Jersey State of Mind
"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, newjerseyisntboring.com
"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. Monmouth County native Kerri Sullivan understands this unique state pride is just part of the Jersey experience. It’s something she wanted to capture in her new anthology, New Jersey Fan Club, out June 17."
— Shelby Vittek, New Jersey Monthly
"New Jersey Fans Wax Lyrical," by Shelby Vittek
— New Jersey Monthly
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Figures
1. Introduction by Kerri Sullivan
2. Why Do They Hate Us? by Matthew Taub
3. The Challenge by Frankie Huang
4. I Pledge Allegiance to the Mall by Erinn Salge
5. Suburban South Jersey by Lauren H. Adams
6. Selling Balloons to New Jersey by Brandon Harrison
7. The New Jerseyest Summer of My Life by Mike Dawson
8. The Golden Age of Bicycle Racing by Michael C. Gabriele
9. The Ultimate Bike Tour of Trenton by Wills Kinsley
10. On Immigration and Sandwiches: The Story of One Beloved Restaurant, One Central New Jersey Suburb, and One Child of Immigrants by Pooja Makhijani
11. Keansburg by Kat Schneider
12. Why I Want My Son to Grow Up in Jersey by Chris Gethard
13. Garden State Breakfast Pie by Stacey Mei Yan Fong
14. The Only Bar That Matters: An Oral History of the Original Asbury Lanes by Kamelia Ani
15. Why Did the Salamander Cross the Road? by Kate Morgan
16. Exit 0 by Brittany Coppla
17. Signs I’ve Been Meaning to Read by Sean Rynkewicz
18. Me and Mary Murray by Scott Neumyer
19. New Jersey Black History Sites by Jacquinn Sinclair
20. State Prerogatives by Carlos Dengler
21. New Jersey Like You’ve Never Seen It: A Collection of Drone Photographs from Around the State
22. A Couple Blocks from the Boardwalk by Miko Beach
23. Heaven In a 600-Square-Foot Apartment by Caren Lissner
24. Block by Block by Team 1:1 New Jersey
25. Bagels, Bollywood and Bhajans by Raakhee Mirchandani
26. An Interview with Weird NJ by Brandon Stosuy
27. Near & Dear by Whit Taylor
28. Why I Left by Alicia Cook
29. A History of New Jersey, in Artifacts by Brittney Ingersoll
30. Going Home to New Jersey by Caiti Borruso
31. The LGBTQ Community’s Complicated Relationship with New Jersey Written by Sarah Prager Illustrated by Veronica Casson
32. Fable and Flora: The Home of The Jersey Devil by Elise Sacco
33. Alone on the Turnpike by lucy dean stockton
34. Havana on the Hudson by Alexandra Beguez
35. Finding Religion in New Jersey by Bob Varettoni
36. Finding Home by Jen A. Miller
37. My Favorite Devil by Erica Commisso
38. Somewhere In New Jersey by Dan Misdea
39. “The fields! The orchards! The roads! The lanes!”: Woodbine and the Hirsch Agricultural School by Hallel Yadin
40. Seasons Eatings by Kae Lani Palmisano
41. The Egg-O-Mat by Lisa Rosalie Eisenberg
42. 14 Things You Didn’t Know Were Invented in New Jersey by Linda J. Barth
43. The Sopranos Family Tour by Donnie Martino
44. La miramira by Hassan Ghanny
45. New Jersey Trivia: So you think you know Jersey? by Lorraine Goodman
Further Reading
Acknowledgements
About the Contributors
About the Editor
Index
