Cat Person author Kristen Roupenian lands 7-figure book deal

Author of the viral short story, Cat Person, Kristen Roupenian has signed a two-book deal with Scout Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

The author of the online sensation Cat Person has bagged a seven-figure book deal.

The now viral short story, Cat Person, was released by The New Yorker in December 2017. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Scout Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Kristen Roupenian’s debut story collection You Know You Want This is scheduled for the spring of 2019.

Scout Press did not disclose financial details for the two-book deal, which also includes a novel. But two publishing officials told AP that bidding topped $1 million. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss negotiations.

The now viral short story, Cat Person, was released by The New Yorker earlier this month. It’s the fictional story of a 20-year-old woman and a 34-year-old man who become friendly through texting and the disillusion that follows. Cat Person has been widely debated and analysed since it was published.

The 36-year-old Kristen Roupenian, currently on a writing fellowship at the University of Michigan, began writing full time only five years ago. Roupenian has worked as a teacher’s aide, a cashier at a bookstore, a freelance reporter, a nanny, and a research coordinator before going for a PhD program in English at Harvard in 2007.