You Didn’t Hear This From Me (Mostly) True Notes on Gossip

You Didn’t Hear This From Me (Mostly) True Notes on Gossip

“Gossip is the only cultural tradition I care about, and Kelsey McKinney has written its Bible” Samantha Irby, #1 NYT bestselling author

From the host of the Normal Gossip podcast, a delightfully insightful exploration of our obsession with gossip that weaves together journalism, cultural criticism, and memoir.

As the pandemic forced us to socialize at a distance, Kelsey McKinney was mourning the juicy updates and jaw-dropping stories she’d typically collect over drinks with friends—and from her hunger, the blockbuster Normal Gossip podcast was born. With listenership in the millions, Kelsey found herself thinking more critically about gossip as a form, and wanting to better understand the role it plays in our culture.

In You Didn’t Hear This From Me, McKinney explores the murkiness of everyday storytelling. Why is gossip considered a sin, and how can we better recognize when it’s being weaponized? Why do we think we’re entitled to every detail of a celebrity’s personal life? And how do we define “gossip,” anyway? As much as the book aims to treat gossip as a subject worthy of rigor, it also hopes to capture the heart of gossiping: how enchanting and fun it can be to lean over and whisper something a little salacious into your friend’s ear.

Publisher Little, Brown and Company
Author Kelsey McKinney
Country USA
Publication Date 12/02/2026
Pages 288
Edition first
Size 14.53 x 2.34 x 21.67 cm
About the Author Kelsey McKinney is a New York Times and USA TODAY best-selling reporter and writer who lives in Philadelphia. She is the co-creator of Normal Gossip, as well as a co-owner and features writer at Defector.com. Her reporting and essays have appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine, GQ, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair and many others. Her first novel, God Spare the Girls, was published in 2021.
Publisher Address infio@hachettebookgroup.com
ISBN ISBN-139781538757413