books

Tryst is Ana María Caballero’s first digital book, a collection of three arresting and poetic short stories, each with a one-of-a-kind generative cover. Caballero presents her book as a digitally native art piece and as a virtual gathering place in partnership with web3 publishing house Alexandria.

This collection of stories explores the moments and the non-moments, the loves, the losses, and the in-between that make up the lives of the people of Brooklyn. A set of three lyrical and arresting short stories, Tryst offers the poetic and expansive reflections that come when we attempt to turn our emotional truths into choices.

“These three narratives are told by women looking for ways to be free and failing,” Caballero remarks on Tryst. “There’s beauty in the endurance delivered by failure—a beauty I love to dial. I say: ‘Hi, heartbreaking beauty, how are you today? Will you lift your foot from my throat, from my wrists, so that I might describe the shadow of your size?’”

In Caballero’s work, she explores the thesis that text is art. In keeping with this thesis, this limited release consists of a folio of 100 special copies, each with a unique cover. The cover art features the color palette of a Brooklyn winter (with the earliest hints of spring) and a series of topographies generated by illustrator Alexandria Sofija with the assistance of AI tools.

Caballero is most well-known for her poetry. About this work of fiction, she says: “I’m a deeply emotional being, oftentimes, to a fault. But this condition has one advantage–it fuels my imagination. I invent stories all day long. Readers of my verse will feel at home in these works because they live deep inside the turbulence of what we leave unsaid, like my poems.”

This groundbreaking release is the first fiction book from Alexandria, a new publisher creating limited edition digital books powered by Web3. Alexandria is creating literary experiences for the digital age, focusing on the preservation and access of information and on putting IP and royalties in the hands of authors. To enable this book to be a source of community (as all literature is), Alexandria offers exclusive author events for readers of Tryst.

“I’m excited to have a partner like Alexandria who believes in my work and believes in NFTs,” says Caballero. “As a multidisciplinary writer exploring the forefront of blockchain publishing, it’s important for me to experiment with both poetry and long-form writing. I want to invite readers to engage with different formats and explore the many ways in which book lovers can connect around digital texts.”

Tryst was released on December 6, 2022 as a collection of 100 NFTs.

Tryst’s first edition sold out in less than 48 hours.