They Tried Their Best
by Kimlyn Stanyon
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Pub Date 15 Jul 2025 | Archive Date 28 Feb 2026
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Description
They Tried Their Best is a wildly sharp, emotionally layered novella about one woman’s reluctant journey through a collapsing world, bad dates, worse bosses, and liminal spaces.
Our unnamed narrator is a deeply relatable, darkly funny thirty-something who just wants chips, her dogs, and maybe if the universe allows it a real, meaningful connection. But when everything from her love life to global politics begins to unravel, she does the only rational thing: builds a bunker.
As humanity spirals toward its inevitable end, she’s forced to confront what she actually wants from life, and whether survival means living for herself or still hoping to be chosen by someone else.
With biting social commentary, unexpected tenderness, and surreal twists, this novella explores what it means to be loved, to be lonely, and to matter in a world that’s increasingly falling apart.
Advance Praise
- Reedsy Discovery Top Pick and Four Star Review (Featured on site and newsletter)
"Here's What Slapped: Bone-dry humor mixed with painfully honest introspection. A narrator who feels like your inner monologue during a 3 a.m. existential crisis. Tenderness wrapped in snark. Vulnerability hidden under emotional armor."
- Kirkus Reviews
It was a bit too quirky for Kirkus but they called it "bold" and "promising".
- Literary Titan Four Star Review
“Emotionally, the book hit me in waves. Sometimes I laughed at the biting asides, other times I felt a knot in my chest from the self‑doubt, the grasping at crumbs of affection. I think this book would be powerful for anyone who has felt let down by people and yet still holds onto hope.”
- Glowing Goodreads Reviews
“A difficult book to categorize but an easy one to recommend.”
- Eligible and actively campaigning for the 2026 Hugo Award for Best Novella
Marketing Plan
1. Awards Campaign
- Actively campaigning for the 2026 Hugo Award for Best Novella
- Actively running for Literary Titan Book Award
- Submitted to Kirkus Prize
- Submitted to IIBA
- Submitted to 2026 Reader's Favourite International Book Award
- Submitted to IBPA
2. Professional Reviews and Endorsements
- Kirkus Reviews
- Literary Titan
- Reedsy Discovery
- NetGalley Reviewers
- Hidden Gems
- Voracious Readers Only
- Book Siren
3. Influencer Outreach
- Appearing on the Chriss Voss Show
- Appearing on The Hatchery
- Appearing on Women Winning in Writing
- Sent out influencer packages for online video reviews
- Continued collaboration requests
- Continuous engagement with social media
4. Promotional Campaigns
- Promotions on Facebook, Amazon, Instagram, TikTok ect.
- Running sales
- Handing out free copies/listens
- Landmark Theatre Ad
- Posters
- Book Convention Attendance
5. Distribution of Merch
- Stickers, bookmarks, pens etc handed out to build visibility
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9798287114312 |
| PRICE | 18.00 |
| PAGES | 182 |
