LIFE'S SHORT, TALK FAST

Building upon that enduring popularity of the Gilmore Girls series, Ann Hood has rallied its admirers such as Nina da Gramont, Cathi Hanauer, Joanna Rakoff and Ann herself to write essays about their love for this show that is still streaming and still gaining new audiences of young viewers.

#TeamLogan or #TeamJess? If you don't know what that means, you have somehow missed the phenomenon that is Gilmore Girl. Gilmore Girls, written by Amy Sherman-Palladino, is the television show that debuted in 2000, ran for seven seasons, and has been in syndication for almost twenty years. It has bonded real life mothers and daughters together since the iconic pilot introduced us to Lorelai and Rory Gilmore and their idyllic Connecticut town of Stars Hollow. Mothers and daughters don't just watch Gilmore Girls, they watch it over and over, reciting iconic lines along with Rory and Lorelai, crying when Rory and Lorelai fight, crying when their love is so real that it's like they are telling your story. Not only does the show get re-watched by its diehard fans, but it also gains new fans every year, partially due to its easy availability on Netflix and partially because its themes and characters are still relevant and appeal to mothers and daughters today. Today, there are no less than nine podcasts devoted to Gilmore Girls; countless fan clubs on Instagram, Facebook, and online; a weekly online trivia game; a Gilmore Girls in person Fan Fest that meets every October; six Gilmore Girls cookbooks; a Gilmore Girls encyclopedia, trivia game, episode guide, and coloring book; and a new memoir by Lauren Graham, aka Lorelai Gilmore, Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls (And Everything In Between). Somehow, there is no Gilmore Girls anthology of writers writing about what the show means to them. At least, not until now. The anthology will have 15 essays by contributors representing bestselling writers and a varying age range. This diverse group speaks to the broad appeal of Gilmore Girls and their topics include growing up with a single mother, examinations of motherhood from different ages, the fantasy of small-town America, being a single mother, the self-consciousness the show created for non-white fans, a look at Lorelai's parenting that reflects the writer's own parenting choices, the show's comfort and impact during the pandemic, Rory's life path and changes throughout the show and how it did or didn't disappoint fans and how the guy you root for to win Rory's heart actually reveals a lot about you. Tentative list of contributors: Joanna Rakoff, Katie Moulton, Nina da Gramont, Erin Almond, Francesco Sedita, Sanjena Sathian, Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Freya North, Anjanette Delgado, Rand Richards Cooper, Cathi Hanauer, Annabelle Mei, Tracy Minkin, Michael Ruhlman with Chris Eigeman and Ann Hood.