MEET ALISSA!

Alissa DeRogatis is an author and digital creator based in Charlotte, North Carolina, though she’ll always say she’s from the Jersey Shore. Before she ever wrote a novel, she was a kid who read everything she could get her hands on—then started writing songs the minute her dad taught her guitar chords. From music to journal entries to personal essays, the medium changed, but the impulse stayed the same: tell the truth, even when it’s messy.

She graduated from UNC Charlotte with a degree in Communications and Journalism. Before her writing career took off, Alissa worked as a social media manager for some of the internet’s most beloved food brands, including Goldfish, Milano Cookies, Cape Cod Chips, Pop Secret, and Bojangles.

Her debut novel, Call It What You Want, was originally self-published in June 2023 before going viral on TikTok and earning a traditional re-release in June 2024. The book hit #1 in New Adult and College Fiction and reached #38 in all books on Amazon. Her sophomore novel, How to Find Love in the Cereal Aisle, will be published by Cosmo Reads on August 4, 2026.

Across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and her Substack newsletter Probably Oversharing, Alissa has grown a community of more than 50,000 readers and writers. She is also the founder of Hot Girls Who Write, a writing collective offering monthly workshops, write-ins, and author conversations for emerging creatives. Her content blends writing, dating, and pop-culture commentary with the kind of honesty women often only admit after a few glasses of wine. She is known for her raw, contemporary voice, weaving themes of girlhood, messy relationships, and self-discovery with equal parts humor and heartbreak.

Outside of writing, you can find her reading, rewatching her favorite rom-coms, Listening to sad songs, or spending time with her two dogs, Asher and Oliver.