John Searles on "Single Girls," Helen Gurley Brown, and Cosmopolitan magazine's early years

John Searles is known as a bestselling author of suspenseful thrillers, but he told Mary Calvi that his new novel of dramatic fiction is one that he's wanted to write for years. In the 1990s, Searles was hired by legendary magazine Editor-In-Chief Helen Gurley Brown to work at Cosmopolitan magazine. He stayed there for more than 20 years and became a top editor. His new book, "Single Girls," reimagines Brown in the 1960s, fresh off the success of her book "Sex and the Single Girl," and tasked with turning around the failing Cosmopolitan. She and her female team produced a daring publication, with shocking stories for the times, that challenged society's norms for women and changed culture. Searles told Mary that "Single Girls" is his love letter to Brown and women's magazines. He also shared the harsh note that he accidentally received after an early book was rejected, and how it propelled his writing career. ClubCalvi.com Audio From SINGLE GIRLS by John Searles. Copyright © 2026 by John Searles. Reprinted by permission of Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices