What would you do for your best friend?
Paradise Pawn, the debut novel from Writing alum Meg Richardson '20—out July 14, 2026 with Tin House—follows the inseparable teenage duo, Jackie and Kayla, who hawk everything from luxury jewels to chainsaws at the pawn shop where they help out their fathers in Cherry Beach, Florida. When they learn that Kayla's family can't afford a private school opportunity that Jackie's can, the girls put together their sharp minds and youthful naivete to scheme a way to stay together. Their ingenious plot? Embezzling thousands of dollars from the pawn shop.
A heartfelt, hilarious coming-of-age story about female friendships, familial love, and what class differences can do to those relationships, Paradise Pawn doesn't shy away from the sticky situations of adolescence—and I don't mean the Florida humidity. When the best friends' heist is inevitably discovered, Jackie is faced with a situation that no amount of negotiating or charisma can fix.
"Meg Richardson's Paradise Pawn joins the ranks of novels helmed by heartbreaking child narrators (think Kaye Gibbons's Ellen Foster, Lisa Shea's Hula, Karen Russell's Swamplandia!) who are up against themselves and the world trying to figure out who they are and who they might be," said Karen Shepard, author of Kiss Me Someone.
Richardson began to conceive of Paradise Pawn nine years ago as a short story that she submitted to workshop, as she figured out who she might be as a writer at the School of the Arts. "Publishing Paradise Pawn is a dream come true for me," she shared. "My professors and classmates at Columbia were a huge part of the process. They were my very first readers…Now, many of their names are in my book, both in the acknowledgements section and the blurb section, which is so special. I also get to talk with two of my brilliant classmates on my book tour when I'm in New York!"
Catch Richardson in conversation with fellow alums Charlee Dyroff '20 and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Undergraduate Creative Writing Molly McGhee '20 at P&T Knitwear in Manhattan on July 29, 2026. Get your tickets here.
