Caroline Glenn: Comparing Yourself to Other People Only Ever Hurts You
In this interview, author Caroline Glenn discusses how the WGA strike led her to write her debut literary thriller, Cruelty Free.
Caroline Glenn attended Emerson College and NYU Tisch, where she studied playwriting. Now based in Los Angeles, she has worked as a writer’s assistant on shows including "The Last of Us" and "The Miniature Wife." Her screenplay, Don’t Borrow Trouble, was #6 on the 2024 Black List, the industry’s top unproduced screenplays. Follow her on Instagram.
In this interview. Caroline discusses how the WGA strike led her to write her debut literary thriller, Cruelty Free, her advice for other writers, and more.
Name: Caroline Glenn
Literary Agent: Danielle Bukowski at Sterling Lord Literistic
Book Title: Cruelty Free
Publisher: William Morrow
Release: February 3, 2026
Genre: Thriller/Litfic/Horror
Elevator pitch: Sweeney Todd in a Goop
What prompted you to write this book?
I had an idea to write a very loose contemporary adaptation of Sweeney Todd about a woman going insane and murdering people and putting their collagen into skin cream. The WGA strike was in full swing and prospects for screenwriters were pretty bleak, so I decided to challenge myself to write it as a novel. I had zero expectations; my main goal was to write something that would surprise me if I were a reader. Multiple people have described the experience of reading it as akin to being in a car accident, which is the highest compliment I could receive.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication?
I started working on it in May of 2023, so a little under three years.
Were there any surprises in the writing process?
It was a surprise to me that I actually wrote a book.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
The great and terrifying thing about writing something that gets published is that it's out of my hands, and people are free to interpret it however they want. Though I hope we can all agree on one thing—kidnapping people is bad.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Everyone's journey and process is so different, comparing yourself to other people only ever hurts you. Focus on your craft and the joy you find in writing, everything else is white noise.
And read Stoner if you haven't yet.
