"Superstars" by Ann Scott

One of the premier French cult novels of the last thirty years, a carnal portrait of Paris’s queer rave scene in the ‘90s, the LARB Book Club Spring 2026 pick is Ann Scott's novel, Superstars.

February 12, 2026

LARB Book Club is thrilled to announce our Spring 2026 Book Club title: Superstars by Ann Scott! To join the LARB Book Club, where we put you in conversation with staff and members and send a copy of the selected title to your door, become a Friend member today. This discussion will take place on April 29, 2026, at 6 p.m. PT on Zoom. Register for the discussion here.

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Louise is a woman in her early thirties with a DIY home studio, colorful roommates, and a passionate, volatile relationship with the lesbian community around her. She used to be part of the French rock scene, having dated and collaborated with a man named Nikki who was a crucial figure in that milieu. But she's been out of that world for years now, and she's drifted from rock to techno. Among her crew of fellow ravers, her longest and most combative relationship has been with Alex, another woman who has established herself as a DJ and has recently started seeing a much younger woman named Inès.

One day, Louise receives a life-changing advance from a record label to produce her own electronic music. She struggles to handle the responsibility of professionalizing her lifestyle, one suffused with the omnidirectional drama of the women in her circle. They bar-crawl, watch MTV, go to each other’s sets, hook up, and do copious drugs.

Tension builds as Louise finds herself pulled between multiple paths: forward in her career as a techno producer; backward toward rock’n’roll, Nikki, and the life he represents; toward Alex again; and toward Inès, leading to a dangerous and ultimately devastating affair. With the caustic voice of a born punk, Ann Scott portrays the Paris underground in all its ecstasy, loneliness, and pulpy grandeur. A French literary sensation at the turn of the millenium, Superstars now makes its long-overdue English language debut. 

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“Originally published in 2000, this French cult classic novel chronicles Paris’ queer rave scene in the ‘90s. Think: lesbian DJ love triangles, anticonformists, grainy MTV, and designer drugs. The long-awaited English translation of this pop novel is sure to be spotted on the L train this spring.” —Sophia June, Playboy “Most Anticipated Books of 2026”

“The literary queen of the Paris techno scene, whose cult novel Superstars immortalized the hedonism and rivalry of the sweat-drenched dancefloors and rave parties of 1990s France . . . Scott’s writing contrasts beautiful party people with the fragility of life, the difficulty of being part of a crowd.” —Angelique Chrisafis, The Guardian

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Ann Scott is the author of ten novels. Her most recent novel, Les Insolents, won the Prix Renaudot in France.

Jonathan Woollen is a French-to-English translator originally from North Carolina, currently based in Queens, New York, and working in publishing. Superstars is his first published book-length translation.

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Join our Book Club today to get Superstars plus our next three staff-curated selections, as well as access to our quarterly discussions hosted by LARB staff. Previous selections have included Television by Lauren Rothery, Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy, Fresh, Green Life by Sebastian Castillo, and Audition by Katie Kitamura.