Sarah Jessica Parker Is Publishing Novels Now

Carrie Bradshaw was obsessed with the smell of old books — but it seems her real-life counterpart is more taken with the smell of new books. Sarah Jessica Parker is launching a publishing imprint at Hogarth Press, and is planning to edit and publish three to four new novels every year on behalf of SJP for Hogarth. The actress told The New York Times, "I have always loved to read for the same reason I love to act, which is that other people’s stories are more interesting to me than my own."

The first batch of new titles are expected for release in 2018, and so Parker is already elbows deep in manuscripts to read. Hearing her talk about books is strangely reminiscent of hearing her Sex and the City alter-ego talk about fashion. SJP even compared literary manuscripts to vials of perfume, saying they should come "blank," and "without a whiff of identity," as if for a blind test. How very Carrie Bradshaw.

Details on the kinds of novels SJP for Hogarth will publish are scarce, but the actress hinted that they would be "great stories" told by "global voices." And from what she's said so far, I trust that she knows what she's talking about: in a statement, Parker called herself a "lifelong book lover," and she listed the wonderful Evelyn Waugh as one of her favorite novelists. Carrie Bradshaw famously knew good sex (and wasn't afraid to ask), but SJP knows good books — and isn't afraid to go looking for them.