The Toronto duo behind the web comedy phenomenon Sh** Girls Say have signed a deal with Harlequin to turn the schtick into a book.
The treeware version of Kyle Humphrey and Graydon Sheppard's break-out hit will feature full-colour images that, according to Donna Hayes, publisher and CEO of Torstar-owned Harlequin, "capture the hilarious essence of everyday phrases used by women."
Across the pond, the UK's
Independent said the deal was a no-brainer.
"Considering it has more than a million followers on Twitter, and the first episode of Sh** Girls Say on YouTube, which saw Sheppard dressed in drag eschewing somewhat ditzy observations, has been viewed more than 16m times, you can see why the publishers came calling."
"It's the latest example of publishers trying to capitalize on popular Internet memes and websites. Books based on the likes of
Stuff White People Like,
Damn You, Autocorrect! and
Texts From Last Night, have all made the transition from cyberspace to the bathroom with ease but time will tell if Harlequin have a hit on their hands."
Over at Jezabel.com, they were
more skeptical.
"Um...sure! Sounds compelling," wrote Lindy West. "I'm sure it will 'appeal to the millions of devotees,' even though 100% of them have already read this book before WHEN IT WAS CALLED THE INTERNET. It's not that I mind blogs being turned into books in some sort of sour grapes way—hey, do whatever you want, publishers…. But attempting to transform Twitter, a medium whose entire value lies in its transience and immediacy, into something static, heavy and literally made of ground-up wood is the opposite of progress."
Read the original stories
here and
here
Original Sources: The Independent and Jezabel.com