Interview by Paul Salfen
Olivie Blake, the New York Times bestselling author behind the addictive The Atlas Six trilogy, Alone with You in the Ether, Masters of Death, and the short story collection Januaries, is no stranger to twisting speculative fiction into something deliciously addictive. Her latest, Girl Dinner—a darkly fun novel about power, lust, and eating your fill—has arrived to rave reviews, blending satire, horror, and sharp social commentary. In a recent AMFM Magazine interview, Blake dished on the book’s origins, her writing life, and what it all means for women chasing perfection.
At its core, Girl Dinner revolves around “the House,” a prestigious sorority (or secret society, if Greek life isn’t your vibe) on a university campus. We follow two protagonists: Mina, a 19-year-old pre-law freshman rushing the house after a rocky first year, dreaming big and seeing membership as her ticket to impossible achievements; and Sloane, a 33-year-old adjunct professor returning postpartum from maternity leave, juggling an 18-month-old daughter and a career setback to join her husband at the university. Both women are mesmerized—and envious—of the House’s alumni: impossibly beautiful, wildly successful women who seem to have it all.
“I know that the best way to do it is to become a member of the House,” Blake explained of Mina’s mindset, “because they’re all beautiful… [with]massive achievements, like almost impossible, like what’s going on in this house kind of achievements.” For Sloane, it’s the postpartum haze—”clothes not fitting, only like 33% of your brain works”—that makes the alumni seem superhuman: “How are they able to achieve what I can’t? And what’s it going to take to be one of them?”
The twist? A sinister wellness trend straight out of a fever dream: cannibalism, wrapped in the viral “girl dinner” meme. Blake’s idea sparked at San Diego Comic-Con 2023, where she spotted cocktail menus hawking “girl dinner specials” like Caesar salad and French fries. “Wouldn’t it be funny if I wrote a satire about a cannibal sorority?” she joked to tour booth friends. Her editor’s response? “No, you’re writing that. Do it.”
But Girl Dinner is more than a punchline. It’s Blake unpacking “the intersection of the woman as… the keeper of the hearth,” eating as a symbol of unraveling (“whenever you see a woman… on the verge of madness, she goes on like a binge”), and “femininity, culture, the performance of femininity and violence.” What does feminine violence look like? When do women snap? The result is a book packed with “jokes per capita,” but one that sparks real conversations: “How do you want to engage? What does feminine power mean to you?”
From Fanfic to Bestseller: Blake’s Hail Mary
Blake’s path to success was anything but linear. Daughter of an immigrant, she chased practicality—a master’s, law school—until mental health crises forced a pivot. Dropping out, insomnia led her to fanfiction.net: “As soon as I started writing, everything… felt better. My whole brain felt like I was being productive in the way that I was meant to be.” With her husband’s financial support, she bet on herself: “I got to give this a shot… I don’t think there’s a version of my life that works this well if I’m not a writer.”
That “Hail Mary” moment—quitting law school for writing—took five gritty years of self-publishing and querying before virality hit. Now a mom with bipolar disorder, she writes daily for mental health, using 10-minute productivity timers: “Manuscripts are finite. At some point you’ll have one because you will have written it all.” Her advice to aspiring authors? Write relentlessly, read voraciously, and analyze what you love: “Pick five books… that do world building the way you like it. What do they have in common? That will guide you.”
Even post-NYT list, Blake chases the thrill: “I don’t know that you ever get to feel safe… Maybe the reason I love this is because I don’t actually like certainty.” Her favorite book? Always the next one.
Adaptations, Laughs, and Big Questions
Blake hopes Girl Dinner delivers laughs alongside existential probes: “How to live well… under a little bit more strain.” For mothers and young women, it’s about redefining power. On the adaptation front, four projects simmer—including her YA 12 Nights (Hello Sunshine/Netflix, scripts stage) and The Atlas Six—though she’s superstitiously tight-lipped: “I don’t want to jinx it.”
Girl Dinner is out now—grab it, devour it, and join the feast. As Blake puts it, it’s not critiquing femininity, wellness, or sororities. It’s asking: What will you do with your power?
