In The President Show, Costanza imagines a dystopian totalitarian nation where producers roam the streets of poor districts in search of pretty girls to send to the reality show The President, where they will become Lovers, “entertainers” of high-profile politicians. When 19-year-old Iris is caught stealing and forced to join the show, she finds herself thrown into the brutal world of politics and entertainment, surrounded by desperate, ambitious women and ruthless politicians. How far is she willing to go to escape and go back to her family?

 

Available on Amazon on the 8th of March 2021.

What first shaped your love of reading and writing? Were there any authors in particular and/or books that encouraged you to start writing?

I grew up in a house filled with books, and my parents used to read me stories all the time when I was a child. I am very inspired by the good novels can do – they teach us empathy, forcing us to experience the world from perspectives different than our own. I’ve always wanted to be a writer, as far back as I can remember. Books that inspired me a lot in this respect were those with strong female characters that did well in the market. During a creative writing course, I was once told that if you write a book with a male protagonist, both girls and boys will read it, but if you write a book with a female protagonist, only girls will read. So to me, books like The Hunger Games – commercial hits with a female protagonist – are the most inspiring. As for authors that I look up to every day: Madeline Miller, Margaret Atwood, Sally Rooney, Gillian Flynn… 

What was the first book that you started working on?

I think the first book I actually wrote was a fantasy novel about a group of young thieves trying to get their hands on a precious stone… I was twelve. When I found it in the drawer a while ago I laughed at the writing but I thought the idea was pretty good.

What inspired you to write The President Show? 

I was interested in two things: how men often abuse their power (and what that costs women) and the people’s obsession with fame in our society. A few years ago I read an article about Trump’s political rise that focused on the blurring between politics and reality television in his campaigns. I found it illuminating, especially as in the 21st-century news and media keep us constantly updated on the politicians’ private lives as if they were reality-TV content. What the article seemed to suggest was that, in most cases, this widespread media coverage helps rather than hinders a politician’s career – even when his behavior doesn’t conform to traditionally accepted standards of morality. That was when I had my first idea for The President Show: a dystopia where young women are selected to entertain politicians on a reality TV show.

How did current world events influence you when writing the book?

The premise of the book is based on real-life sex political scandals, from Trump’s to Epstein’s to the Italian tycoon and politician Silvio Berlusconi’s. I also wrote the book as the #MeToo movement was gaining momentum, so that definitely influenced the writing. That said, The President Show is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, places, or events is entirely coincidental.

What themes did you really want to highlight in The President Show?

In my novel, the oppressive societal control that characterizes dystopias takes the form of a totalitarian state where an elite of powerful politicians use reality TV to hold sway over the people. I wanted to explore the choices people make in de-humanized contexts, the extremes they reach either for fame or simply for survival. And reality TV was the perfect scenario for that: the only way to achieve victory is usually to lie, plot, and stab others in the back so that the strongest players can be eliminated. Compassion, kindness, and goodness never work well on reality TV. 

Can you tell me a little more about the main protagonist?

When we first meet her, Iris is a strong and defiant character. She protects and provides for her family in a world that is extremely dangerous, especially if you are poor and a girl. When she is forced to join the reality The President show she is thrown into a world of abuse and deceits and finds herself surrounded by men (and women) she despises. But she has to learn to play the game because that is the only way to survive. And when she does learn, she becomes a dangerous, unpredictable opponent… 

What was the process of writing The President Show like for you? Writing a book is no easy feat, how long did it take and how did you stay motivated to complete it?

I wrote the first draft of the novel in a matter of months – I wrote every day for four hours at least, though much of the work when writing a novel isn’t just writing, but also reading, researching, editing, etc. I guess the motivation came from me just wanting to know what my characters were going to do, how the events were going to play out, how the story was going to end … which sounds weird given that I was writing it, but that’s how I felt: as if my characters took a life of their own.

What message do you hope to send through The President Show?

I want to share the perspective of a young woman who is abused and yet still manages to fight back. On the show, Iris is turned into a celebrity and a product of consumption – she exists only for pleasing the audience and the men around her. But within this process she is not a passive character: she understands this is the only way through which she can gain popularity – and eventually freedom – and therefore actively negotiates her femininity while also challenging the system from the inside. I also want to show that people aren’t all the same. So in the book, it was important for me that not all men were bad characters, and that not all the women were victims. 

Why is it an important book for people to read?
Dystopian novels make us reflect on “what-if” situations – what if women across the globe acquired the power to cause electric shocks? (The Power)  What if liberal democracy was abolished in the U.S. and women started to be treated as reproductive slaves? (The Handmaids Tale) With The President Show, I wanted to stress the disturbing misogynist trends of our society, depicting a fictional world that is subtly linked to our own in many ways. Some of the questions I asked myself were: what if powerful politicians and reality TV came together? What if we took the media coverage of sex scandals to extremes? What if they increased, rather than diminished, the popularity of politicians? What would the role of women be in this scenario? 

When will it be available to purchase and where?

The book will be available to purchase on Amazon both in Kindle and print from the 8th of March this year! You can follow me on Instagram (@costanzacasati) and Twitter (@casaticostanza) for weekly updates.

What advice do you have to other young writers?

Write something you care deeply about; that will make the story special.