hallie
elizabeth
Newton
I hate making this website.
but I wrote this book.
It is called Agnes Lives! The contract with publishers states that it is "a deranged, day-in-the-life, Mrs.-Dalloway-for-our-fucked-up-times debut novel about a New York City socialite on the hunt for someone to kill her before her next Soul Cycle class."
You can buy it here (I hope)
and here, if you are in the UK
press
The book isn't for everyone. But some people like it. Here are three, because that's all my template allows. However, it was also featured in Lithub, Publishers Weekly, and a lot of cool substack summer reading lists. I promise.
Wanting to die after a punishing SoulCycle class may not be unique, but Agnes’s resolve to find someone to actually murder her is... A fast-paced stream-of-consciousness fever dream that feels like a front-row seat to her unraveling.
Just by the pummeling nature of her thoughts, the book makes it quite clear why Agnes wants to die—it isn’t a one-off joke, thankfully. Her mind zips from topic to topic—sometimes feeling unsubtly quirky, but most often working in her favor, depicting a troubled woman, or a woman who simply is faced with the world as it is. Agnes’ darkest thoughts are on display, unsavory and brash.
...the novel blends biting humor with profound despair, using Agnes’s wandering consciousness to examine privilege, performance, mental illness, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. It’s a formally daring debut that refuses easy answers while remaining compulsively readable.
events, readings,
and sometimes teaching
I'm known to bring party favors.
Next up,
Square Books OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI
DATE: Tue, 8/25/2026
TIME: 5:30pm - 6:30pm
PLACE:Off Square Books, 129 Courthouse Square, Oxford, MS 38655
Garden District Books NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
DATE: 9/24/2026
TIME: 6:00 PM
PLACE:The Garden District Book Shop, 2727 Prytania St, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA
Mississippi Book Festival JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
DATE: 9/26/2026 S
TIME: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
PLACE: Mississippi State Capitol Building & grounds, 400 High St, Jackson, MS 39201
Les Bleus Literary Salon BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
DATE: 9/31/2026
TIME: I don't know. Probably 6:30?
PLACE: The private space behind Radio Star in Greenpoint. 13 Greenpoint Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222
How berserk do I look signing books?
About Me
I am not a website designer. I was born in Mississippi, I wrote a little bit (interviews with artists and models and musicians) and eventually cowrote a few films. One is called At Any Price. There were others, but that's another story.
My work can also be seen in The Columbia Journal (I won a contest there), Joyland, The Panafold (print only - gotta subscribe!), Poetries In English, Saint Ann's Review, American Chordata, and a few other fun places.
Sometimes I teach college. I want to have a column in a magazine, though. I haven't done that yet. Hire me!
I normally take photos of trash.
contact
Reach out.
E-mail: contact@hallielizabethnewton.com
