Frida Slattery As Herself
Ireland

Frida Slattery As Herself

by Ana Kinsella

Identity & Belonging Literary Fiction Fiction 2026

Summary

When aspiring actress Frida Slattery meets ambitious theatre director John Reddan in a Dublin pub in 2005, neither can imagine how profoundly they will shape each other’s lives. Frida is struggling to establish herself as an actress, while John is beginning to make a name for himself as a writer and director. Recognizing each other’s creative potential, they embark on an artistic partnership that brings them professional success, critical acclaim, and an increasingly complicated personal relationship.

Over the next sixteen years, their intertwined lives carry them from Dublin to London, New York, and Los Angeles. As their careers evolve and their personal lives become more complicated, the boundaries between artistic collaboration, friendship, ambition, and romantic desire grow increasingly difficult to navigate. Success brings new opportunities, but also betrayal, disappointment, and heartbreak. Despite marriages, separations, and the changing circumstances of their lives, Frida and John remain connected in ways neither can fully explain.

With wit and psychological insight, Ana Kinsella explores the relationship between art and identity, examining how creative partnerships can inspire us while also threatening to define us. This expansive literary novel is ultimately a story about love, ambition, artistic expression, and the difficult process of finding one’s own voice.

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About the author
Ana Kinsella
Ana Kinsella

Ana Kinsella is an Irish writer and journalist based in Dublin. She studied English and Philosophy at Trinity College Dublin before moving to London, where she completed a master’s degree in Fashion Journalism at Central Saint Martins. She subsequently worked as a fashion journalist, writing about culture, style, and contemporary life for publications including The Guardian, Frieze, Dazed, n+1, and AnOther. In 2017, Kinsella launched The London Review of Looks, a newsletter examining fashion, personal style, and the ways people express themselves through appearance. The project helped inspire her first book, Look Here: On the Pleasures of Observing the City, published by Daunt Books in 2022. The nonfiction work reflects her interest in urban life, visual culture, and the small details that reveal something larger about society. Her debut novel, Frida Slattery As Herself, was published in 2026 by Scribner in the United Kingdom and Ecco in the United States. Drawing on the worlds of theatre and artistic collaboration, the novel explores ambition, love, creative identity, and the complicated relationships that shape our lives. After spending twelve years in London, Kinsella returned to Dublin, a city that plays a central role in her fiction.

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Details
Published
2026
Author
Ana Kinsella