Student Loan Thriller "The Payback" On Sale Today

STELLAR EARLY PRAISE FOR THE PAYBACK

“An exciting and hilarious heist novel that centers down-on-their-luck older millennials who are riddled with debt and decide to take matters into their own hands to dismantle the system. Timely and witty, Cauley's plotting, prose, and character development will keep you hooked from start to finish.”
—Morgan Jerkins, New York Times bestselling author of This Will Be Undoing

“In an Afrofuturist world of barbaric debt police and an absurd heist to bring it all down, The Payback is a delightfully dark comedy of three coworkers-turned-conspirators hell-bent on revenge. This trio of Robin Hoods taking matters into their own hands out of grief and desperation will have you alternating between raucous laughs and fear for their safety. California strip malls, 80s fashion, punk and hacker culture, all combine in a tenacious cocktail of sweet justice shared by all.”
—Xochitl Gonzalez, New York Times bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming and Anita de Monte Laughs Last

“Like Ocean's Eleven but no one's famous. The Payback is a love letter to the American mall, the revenge of the break room, and a laugh-cry of the gods of retail. The result is obsessive truth-telling fun, with zingers, dishy thrills, bodysuits, and a few wigs that have seen better days but are hoping to have the best one yet.”
—Alexander Chee, author of How to Write an Autobiographical Novel

The Payback

A Novel

Kashana Cauley

ON SALE JULY 15, 2025 FROM ATRIA BOOKS

_______________________________________________

In the second novel from television writer and author of the “lethally witty” (The New York Times Book Review) The Survivalists, a retail worker is relentlessly pursued by the Debt Police and forced to take down her student loan company with the help of two mall coworkers. The Payback is a razor-sharp and hilarious dissection of race and capitalism from one of the most original and exciting writers at work today.

 

Jada Williams is good at judging people by their looks. From across the mall, she can tell not only someone’s inseam and pants size, but exactly what style they need to transform their life. Too bad she’s no longer using this superpower as a wardrobe designer to Hollywood stars, but for minimum wage plus commission at the Glendale mall.

When Jada is fired yet again, she is forced to outrun the newly instated Debt Police who are out for blood. But Jada, like any great antihero, is not going to wait for the cops to come kick her around. With the help of two other debt-burdened mall coworkers, she hatches a plan for revenge. Together the three women plan a heist to erase their student loans forever and get back at the system that promised them everything and then tried to take it back.

About Kashana Cauley

Kashana Cauley is the author of The Payback and The Survivalists, which was named a best book of 2023 by the BBC, Today, Vogue, and more. Cauley is also a television writer, having worked on The Great North, Pod Save America on HBO, and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Esquire, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, and more. Find out more at KashanaCauley.com. 

 

MORE PRAISE FOR THE PAYBACK

“A stylish, blazingly original take on the heist novel, The Payback is both a whip-smart critique of contemporary capitalism and a moving character study of the workers most often caught in its clutches.”
—Grace D. Li, New York Times bestselling author of Portrait of a Thief

“A novel of great fun and unforgettable fury, The Payback sharply questions the punitive systems we live within, the contradiction between social wellbeing and individual wellness,
and what it means to work toward a decent life.”
—Megha Majumdar, bestselling author of A Burning

“Smart, socio-politically astute, and sidesplitting hilarious, The Payback's inventive wit solidifies Kashana Cauley's place among our most entertaining social critics and novelists.”
—Camille Perri, author of The Assistants and When Katie Met Cassidy

 

About the Book

The Payback
A Novel
by Kashana Cauley
on-sale: July 15, 2025
Atria Books
ISBN 9781668075531
Price: $27.99
eISBN 9781668075555
Price: $14.99