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NYWICI President Linda Kaplan Thaler with Emily Giffin

By Rachel Buttner

Just beyond Saks Fifth Avenue’s world famous luxury shoe department, NYWICI members and guests gathered inside Café Saks on June 2 for an evening of pampering and celebration of another accomplished season for NYWICI. New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin headlined the final Cocktails & Conversations of the season, sharing with the crowd stories of her rise to writing fame.

Giffin’s four novels — the fifth, Heart of the Matter, was released on May 11 — have been translated into 29 languages, with five million copies in print worldwide. Three of her novels have been optioned for the big screen with her first novel, Something Borrowed, currently being filmed in New York City with Kate Hudson, Ginnifer Goodwin and John Krasinksi in the lead roles. She pens books for women, about the hilarious and sometimes tragic stories of friendship, love and the happily-ever-after. “I love writing about reconciliation, redemption and forgiveness,” says Giffin. “I love showing the shades of life.”

Giffin got her start as a lawyer, but miserable in the profession, she moved to London to pursue her dream of becoming a writer. A year and several rejections later, she landed a two-book deal. “There is a very thin line between having 450 pages of Something Borrowed saved on my computer and having millions of books in print and a movie in the works,” she said to the hopeful writers in the audience. “But if you don’t go out and try, you won’t find out how thin that line is.”

With charm and humor, this mother of three kept all the women in the room at ease and interested while they dined on hors d’ouevres and wine. After speaking, Giffin was eager to mingle with her fans, even taking pictures of the crowd and signing copies of her books. The night continued with raffled prizes, free makeup touchups by Dolce and Gabbana and facials by SK-II. And to top off the fashionable evening, everyone received a 15% discount to Saks and, exclusive to the event, the store stayed open later to accommodate personal shopping time.

Location:

Saks