One of the American left’s biggest superstars is getting a biography.
Avid Reader Press will publish Take Up Space: The Unprecedented AOC, a biography of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, next year, the Simon + Schuster imprint announced in a news release.
The book is written by the editors of New York magazine with Lisa Miller, and features an introduction by author Rebecca Traister (Good and Mad). The publisher describes the book as “a stunning four-color biography of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the bestselling tradition of Notorious RBG and Pelosi that explores her explosive rise and impact on the future of American culture and politics.”
Ocasio-Cortez, a democratic socialist who had worked as a bartender and organizer, shocked the political world in 2018 with her upset victory over incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary for New York’s 14th congressional district. Since then, she’s become a leading spokesperson for the left wing of the Democratic party.
She’s a member of “The Squad,” a small, de facto progressive caucus in the House, along with fellow representatives including Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.
Take Up Space, Avid Reader says, “offers an in-depth look at one of the most prominent political and cultural figures in a generation. With additional reportage and commentary by New York’s top-tier writers, this prismatic biography…stands apart from others in its surround-sound depiction of her provocative rise, and impact on both sides of the aisle.”
Take Up Space is scheduled for publication on Feb. 1, 2022.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
