Tucson Festival of Books

Cat Sebastian (she/her)


Cat Sebastian is an award-winning author of queer romance, including "We Could Be So Good" and "You Should Be So Lucky," and has received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist. "We Could Be So Good" won a Lambda Literary Award in 2024. In her spare time, Sebastian acquires too many houseplants and misplaces things. Her newest book, and first contemporary romance, is "Star Shipped."

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Awards: Lambda Award

Communities: LGBTQ+


Scheduled events:
Writing Across Romance Genres
Some romance authors write across genres, and some write beyond romance itself. Talk with a few who have made moves back and forth around the writing world, whether it's hopping around in speculative fiction, dabbling in super spicy contemporary, or changing eras but keeping the vibes.

The Commons Room 105 (Seats 217, Wheelchair accessible)  View this venue on the Festival map
Sat, Mar 14, 10:00 am - 10:55 am
Romance
Signing area: Sales & Signing Koffler/Commons (following presentation)

Panelists: Cat Sebastian, Jessie Mihalik, Katee Robert
Moderator: Jessica Pryde
Sponsor: Session made possible courtesy of Visit Tucson
Working Hard, Hardly Working
This session will feature three romance authors whose books spotlight love in the workplace. Whether rivals or peers, these three couples find themselves bumping heads at every turn. Where does the line change from enmity to love?

Integrated Learning Center Room 120 (Seats 300, Wheelchair accessible)  View this venue on the Festival map
Sat, Mar 14, 2:30 pm - 3:25 pm
Romance
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area - Integrated Learning Center (following presentation)  View this venue on the Festival map

Panelists: Cat Sebastian, Jen DeLuca, Sarah T. Dubb
Moderator: Suzannah Herron
Sponsor: Session made possible courtesy of Beach Fleischman
Cat Sebastian
Star Shipped:Cat Sebastian’s long-awaited foray into contemporary romance! A witty, emotional, and deliciously slow burn enemies-to-lovers romance between two costars on a popular sci-fi television series. Simon and Charlie, actors on a long-running sci-fi show, can’t stand one another. Charlie is impetuous, outgoing, and basically feral, and Simon thinks he should have stayed in reality television where he belongs. They’ve spent the better part of a decade quarreling over the spotlight and pretty much everything else, and everybody in the industry knows it. Now that Simon’s contract is finally done, he can move to New York, start fresh with work he actually likes, and get away from Charlie. Simon’s only problem is that people might assume he’s been pushed off the show due to being impossible to work with. And he is kind of difficult to work with. He doesn’t get along with people—unlike Charlie, who somehow tricked everyone on the show into adoring him despite some outrageously bad on-set behavior during the show’s first season. Simon would rather never have to see Charlie again, but reluctantly agrees to stage a very public friendship during the short time before he moves. When Charlie has to leave town to deal with a family emergency, this means Simon comes along. Their road trip brings Simon to places he would never have willingly chosen to visit—and he finds he’s actually not having a terrible time. The more he gets to know Charlie, the more Simon suspects he’s underestimated his former coworker. Simon also realizes that after seven years, Charlie might know him better than anyone ever has. Even stranger, Charlie seems to be starting to actually like him, despite knowing him so well. Still, Simon is about to move three thousand miles away, so whatever’s starting between him and Charlie can’t really amount to anything... right?

Steamy Lit, Booth #114 (Seats 1)
Sun, Mar 15, 10:00 am - 10:50 am
Romance

Author: Cat Sebastian
That's Entertainment
Life in the spotlight is not always easy, especially when celebrities would like to be "normal" now and then. In this session, our authors will discuss their latest books and plot lines featuring people in show business.

UA Campus Store Stage (Seats 250)  View this venue on the Festival map
Sun, Mar 15, 2:30 pm - 3:25 pm
Romance
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area - UA Campus Store Lower Level (following presentation)  View this venue on the Festival map

Panelists: Regina Black, Cat Sebastian, Venessa Vida Kelley
Moderator: Jessica West
Sponsors: Session made possible courtesy of Pi Beta Phi Fraternity - Arizona Alpha Chapter, UA Campus Store

Books:
Star Shipped
Romance
HarperCollins Publishers
March 2026
ISBN 9780063429581
384 pages
Buy now

We Could Be So Good
A Novel
Romance
HarperCollins Publishers
January 2023
ISBN 9780063272767
372 pages
Buy now