On Monday, Hinge—yes, that Hinge—released a free audiobook comprised of five original short stories inspired by the dating sagas of real Hinge couples. The five pieces were written and narrated by a sparkly cohort of contemporary authors: Tembe Denton-Hurst, Nicola Dinan, Curtis Garner, Raven Smith, and Rufi Thorpe.
This project represents the latest iteration of the dating app’s No Ordinary Love series, which has spotlit writing on romantic themes across two previous volumes and a Substack.
Previous issues have invited the likes of Roxane Gay, R.O. Kwon, Brontez Purnell, Isle McElroy, and Oisín McKenna to riff on romantic themes. Stories in the latest (audio)book aim to get daters “to say how they really feel in a dating culture built on playing it cool.”
All well and good, as lit mag news goes. But what’s curious is the growing bevy of literary talent on the Hinge masthead. For this anthology slots into a peculiar new modern phenomenon: the unlikely alliance of dating, apps, and literature.
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