The Australian connection behind Roxane Gay and Channing Tatum's upcoming novel
Since the release of her New York Times bestselling essay collection Bad Feminist, Roxane Gay has been a powerful voice on politics, feminism, race, power and pop culture.
It may seem to be a little left field, then, that the author, professor and social commentator is writing a romance novel with actor Channing Tatum (Magic Mike, Blink Twice, Roofman).
But if you've read Gay's work it doesn't seem so unusual, and it's something she's very excited about.
There is also an Australian connection.
Roxane Gay is in Australia for Vivid Sydney. (ABC News: Geoff Kemp)
"This is a project that has been long gestating primarily because my schedule has been very busy," Gay told ABC News Breakfast.
"But it actually started here in Australia, because an Australian journalist asked Channing Tatum if he had read Bad Feminist."
That discussion would go on to have a domino effect.
"A few sort of lucky events happened and then his team approached mine to see if I wanted to work on this book with him," Gay said.
"And so he and I brainstormed together and came up with a really great idea."
Channing Tatum followed up when he heard Roxane Gay was a fan. (Supplied: Netflix)
The working title of the novel is Down to You and it's about two best friends who make a pact in their 20s that if they're both still single when they turn 40, they'll get married.
The Australian journalist behind the pairing
Just as that union comes together nicely, the journalist behind the professional union of Gay and Tatum was blown away to hear about his impact when contacted by the ABC.
Robert Moran is the deputy editor of Spectrum at the Sydney Morning Herald and was writing for SMH's now-defunct feminist breakout Daily Life back in 2015 when he interviewed Tatum, who was promoting the film Magic Mike XXL.
Robert Moran asked Tatum the pertinent question. (Supplied)
Moran says his interview with Tatum coincided with Gay tweeting about the actor "nonstop" for the previous "year or so".
"Bad Feminist had come out [in 2014], and so that was a big title for Daily Life readers, and we were always following what Roxane Gay was tweeting about," Moran told the ABC.
"And so her interest in Channing Tatum was just so funny because it was so earnest and warm."
One of Moran's colleagues even sent a tweet Gay's way to ask if she had a question for Tatum. (Gay wanted to know if Tatum cooks. He does.)
"He showed a real interest [in Gay]," Moran said.
"He's like, 'I'm going to look her up', or something, or, 'I want to get in touch with her', because obviously he'd been thinking about feminism and how that related to his work on Magic Mike."
Don't be surprised if one of the lead characters in Down to You is the spitting image of Tatum, and someone he could potentially play in a film adaptation.
Tatum (second from right) in Magic Mike XXL. (Supplied: Netflix)
Gay is leaning into that.
"I mean, look at him," she says.
"He's gorgeous. And more than that, he's really kind. He's funny, he's charming, he's genuine, in my experience.
"And so, I've had a lovely time collaborating with him on this project, and he has a lot of creative energy, and he's also really handsome.
"And so, yeah, absolutely, the role is being written for him if it goes on to become a film project."
'You're not a writer if you're using AI'
Gay is in the Harbour City for Vivid Sydney, where she'll be in conversation with Whadjuk Noongar journalist, author and broadcaster Narelda Jacobs OAM, as part of the Vivid Minds Creative Trailblazers series.
Gay says using AI is the opposite of being creative. (Courtesy of Vivid Sydney)
They'll discuss our era of conflict and the erosion of political consensus, among other things.
Gay, whose books include her brilliant memoir Hunger (2017), Difficult Women (2017), and Opinions (2023), is critical about writers who use AI, saying it's the "opposite of creativity".
"I don't use it," she says.
"I don't even know where to find it and I'm glad because I have all the intelligence I need and I carry it with me in my own brain every single day.
"And I try to tell my students that they can do anything that they put their minds to.
"Because unfortunately, a great many of them are already relying on AI to help them write, even in creative writing, which doesn't make sense."
Gay says it's "frustrating" when people use AI.
"Creativity is about failure and then learning from that failure, and it's about persistence," she says.
"And it's about really allowing your imagination and your intellect to do whatever they're called to do.
"When writers [use AI], it's unacceptable.
"You're not a writer if you're using AI. You're a transcriptionist. And that's a very different job."
Roxane Gay will be in conversation with Narelda Jacobs at City Recital Hall as part of Vivid Sydney tonight from 7:30pm.