Cagen, Sasha 1974(?)-

PERSONAL: Born c. 1974, in RI.

ADDRESSES: Home—San Francisco, CA. Agent—c/o Author Mail, HarperSanFrancisco, 10 East 53rd St., New York, NY 10022.

CAREER: Founding editor, To-Do List; copublisher of Cupsize; freelance writer. Worked as communications consultant and publicist for labor unions.

AWARDS, HONORS: Reader's Choice award for Best New Magazine, Utne Alternative Press Awards, 2000, for To-Do List.

WRITINGS:

Quirkyalone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics, HarperSanFrancisco (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor to the Village Voice, Utne Reader, and the San Francisco Chronicle; essay included in anthology, ReGeneration: Telling Stories from Twentysomethings.

SIDELIGHTS: Sasha Cagen has become a spokesperson for those of her generation who enjoy being single but do not reject the idea of relationships. Her concept of "quirkyalone" was first broached in an essay in 2000, and quickly caught on across the country, inspiring fan clubs, a Quirkyalone Day—celebrated on Valentine's Day—and ultimately motivating Cagen, founder of the magazine To-Do List, to write a book describing the concept of being quirkyalone and the movement it spawned.

Quirkyalone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics outlines Cagen's notion of the concept of quirkyalone. As Karen S. Peterson quoted the author in USA Today as saying, the moniker stands in "opposition to saccharine, archaic notions of romantic love. It stands for self-respect, independent spirit, creativity, true love and confidence." Peterson went on to note that "satisfied singlehood is becoming chic." Nancy Berke, writing in the Women's Review of Books, observed that Cagen "offers statistics, graphs, and pie charts" for those trying to figure out what quirkyalone really means. The author also profiles a number of quirkyalone people, both men and women. Berke felt that there are "gaps in Cagen's research" as well as "various … contradictions." However, on whole, Berke thought that "there is, nevertheless, much to admire about Quirkyalone." A writer for Publishers Weekly found the book "fun, inspirational and provocative."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Flare (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), March, 2004, Juliet Waters, review of Quirkyalone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics, p. 54.

Publishers Weekly, December 15, 2003, Brianna Yamashita, "Are You Quirky and Alone or Quirkyalone?," p. 40, review of Quirkyalone, p. 44.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 24, 2004, Lorraine Kee, review of Quirkyalone, p. C1.

USA Today, January 8, 2004, Karen S. Peterson, review of Quirkyalone, p. D8.

Women's Review of Books, May, 2004, Nancy Berke, review of Quirkyalone, p. 20.

ONLINE

Bookmouth.com, http://www.bookmouth.com/ (January 28, 2001), Jeffrey Yamaguchi, interview with Cagen.

HarperCollins, http://www.harpercollins.com/ (December 13, 2004).

Quirkyalone.net, http://quirkyalone.net/ (December 13, 2004).