On the Spiral Staircase with Kelsey Hoffman
Kelsey Hoffman is a publicist and blogger liaison at Quirk. Since joining the company she has worked on campaigns for books like The Legion of Regrettable Supervillains, Literary Yarns, How to Eat a Lobster, and Cat Castles. She’s also obsessed with Instagram, and currently runs Quirk’s account (@QuirkBooks) as well as her own (@tehkelsey).
If you were stranded on Mars and could only have one book to read, what would it be?
One book that I’m almost always guaranteed to take with me on a long journey is Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. I’ve brought it to every place I’ve lived since I first read it—including England (twice!) Some others that come to mind include Naomi Novik’s Uprooted, Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling. Susanna Clarke’s novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell would probably also be a good choice, because at 700+ pages, at least it would take me a while to finish re-reading it.
Tell us about something cool you keep at your desk.
A snow globe of a Melted New York Snowman. I stole it from my parents years ago and it’s moved around with me almost as much as Howl’s Moving Castle has!
I also love this drawing of me as the supervillain The Imperial Tyrant, which my colleague Rick drew for me based on my results from The Legion of Regrettable Supervillains Name Generator.
What's your fandom?
My very first fandoms were Harry Potter and Stargate SG-1. But right now, I’d say that Doctor Who is my main fandom. I love Matt Smith’s Doctor (he’s the best—don’t @ me) as well as the balance the show strikes between the weird, the wonderful, and the serious.
My other fandom is Farscape—like Doctor Who, Farscape is a weird, wonderful show about aliens, space, family, and love. It takes a lot of risks, and as a result the show is a mix of some of the most bizarre, funny, and devastating episodes. Sometimes you’ll even find an episode that is all of those things.
What's an unexpected talent or side effect you've picked up while working at Quirk?
This is a tough question, but I guess one weird habit I’ve picked up is looking for copies of our books everywhere I go. A lot of times I’ll snap pictures of them to share on Quirk’s Instagram account, but sometimes it’s just cool seeing them on display.
If you were a Quirk book, which one would you be?
Definitely Ashley Poston’s Geekerella! I’m a firm believer of fandom as a way to bring people together and make friends, and I think that this book perfectly embodies that. Like Elle, I’ve blogged and written fanfiction about my favorite shows, and would love to meet some of my heroes in person! No luck on finding the perfect Prince Carmindor yet…
