'Molly Bit,' Novel by Alumnus Dan Bevacqua '11 out with Simon and Schuster

Molly Bit, a debut novel by Writing alumnus Dan Bevacqua ’11 was published by Simon and Schuster on February 4, 2020.

The book follows Molly Bit, a magnetic actress. From her first acting classes to her big break, she is different from the others struggling to make it. But fame is perilous. She uses—and is used by—the Hollywood system. Her collaborator is an addict. The producer who promises her stardom is ruthless and unhinged by grief. Fans, friends, strangers—they want and want. And one dangerously obsessed fan wants to take away everything. 

Simon and Schuster describe the book as, “Funny, touching, and heartrending, Molly Bit explores the high stakes of our culture’s complicated fascination with celebrities and our complicity in their rise and fall. Molly Bit is an ode to the strange magic of moviemaking and a haunting reflection on fame, obsession, and art’s power to redeem loss.” 

Vanity Fair called Molly Bit, “A slick page-turner that dives headfirst into the celluloid world of celebrity and obsession through the rags-to-riches story of a star.”  While Professor Binnie Kirshenbaum, author of Rabbits for Food, said “Imagine if together Nathanael West and Andy Warhol had a love child, and there we have Molly Bit. The eponymous and aptly named protagonist of Dan Bevacqua's first-rate, darkly comic debut novel is wickedly funny and just plain wicked. What won't she do for fame? Molly Bit is the perfect anti-heroine for our time."

Dan Bevacqua was born in New Jersey and grew up in Vermont. His short stories have been published in The Literary Review, Electric Literature, and The Best American Mystery Stories. He lives in Western Massachusetts. Molly Bit is his first novel.