by In June, Madison Murray published a second version of her book on North Shore culture, the title of which is too explicit to post here. Market Basket is no longer mentioned in the revised edition after the supermarket sent the Salem native a cease-and-desist letter in November.
Murray was contacted by Market Basket lawyers when they learned that she was selling apparel, stickers, and tote bags that parodied the store’s “More For Your Dollar” tagline, also known as “Wh*** For Your Dollar.”
The author recently told Boston.com, “I’m trying to be a woman of the people, so when they sent me the cease-and-desist, I followed it.”
A pop-up poetry reading was held by Murray in the Salem Market Basket parking lot in March. But when two guests showed up, she claimed that Salem police gave her a no-trespassing order.
Murray remarked, “Wow, I’m a criminal,” as the cops led her away.
The book’s front cover claims that it offers a candid and in-depth look at Massachusetts’ North Shore.Author L. Sully described the book as a townie manifesto in a review.
The book is currently available for purchase at Cambridge’s Lovestruck Books, where it is hung on the non-fiction shelves with two stickers alerting customers to its explicit content: 18+ and NSFW, which stands for not safe for work.
Murray, who is also an OnlyFans manager and the editorial manager of Petit Mort, a magazine devoted to the sex worker community, stated that the second edition of the book, which was first self-published in November 2023, features six new collages that are more in line with the book’s nudity elements and include more sex workers.
The book’s collages, which alternate between poetry and short stories about North Shore locales, include the logos of well-known eateries, a three-way roast beef over genitalia, and a Packie Princess holding a six-pack while sporting a Patriots jersey.
North Shore beefs critic Andy Ferg described the book as a stunning blend of writing and poetry, Photoshop and photography, sensuality and eyeball assault. Make your guests frightened by placing this book on your coffee table.
Except for a few naked pictures of other North Shore locals that came via an open call for entries on the book’s Instagram page, Murray wrote the entire book.
Given all the North Shore meme sites and community trauma bonding that takes place online, Murray explained how the book came to be. “I had a lot of photos, and obviously memories, of North Shore experiences that I thought would be well received by North Shore locals,” Murray said.
When Murray started experimenting with the question, “How funny would it be to sexualize my birthplace?” the book’s concept became more clear.
According to Murray, the novel also started to evoke nostalgia in the millennial age.
I’d bet you see yourself in ordinary, even if you’re not from the area. In a book review, Lucas Restivo described the “beautiful, evil, wild, insane ordinariness of being under the American thumb.”
Murray made items based on the most well-liked collages and memes from the book’s Instagram page to go with it.
A new merchandising line featuring Lana Del Revere bikinis and a shirt that reads, “Sorry, princess, I only date women from North Shore Massachusetts,” was introduced by Murray in May. A pastel clothing line using a sugar conversation heart motif with the words “North Shore Sweetheart” and postcards depicting cows grazing outside of Saugus’ Kowloon restaurant are examples of further goods.
According to Murray, “what’s so beautiful about our culture is that, at our core, we’re kind of disgusting, but also really smart and kind.”
Murray is launching an audiobook, blog, and podcast in the fall that explores specialized North Shore history and cultural commentary in an effort to preserve the sense of community the book fostered.
The girls are the target audience for the book’s brand expansion. There are too many men and not enough women in the Masshole thing, Murray remarked.
Murray is working on another novel that is more serious and has some Massachusetts connections in the parts about her father, a native of Revere, even if it is not specifically about North Shore culture.
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