Parker launched her own book imprint SJP Lit with independent publisher Zando in 2022
Sarah Jessica Parker is speaking up about the importance of reading.
During an event with 92NY on Sept. 29, to promote Victoria Redel's novel I Am You (which Parker's book imprint SJP Lit published that month), the actress, 60, spoke in conversation with moderator Adam Moss.
Moss asked Parker if she thinks the novel as a form is still thriving, to which Parker agreed. She also noted, however, that reading has been on the decline.
"I think we're not doing enough to support people reading," Parker said. "And I think there's great work out there, great work to be discovered. There's writers that have been around for a long time, who are still doing extraordinary work and surprising us, and there's an entire new generation of writers across the globe who are thrilling to know about and read."
Parker also noted a discrepancy in reading, particularly between men and women. A study published by journal iScience in August 2025 found a general decline in reading for pleasure in the United States over the last two decades, but also found that women were more likely to read consistently than men in 2023.
"We've seen a pretty serious decrease in men reading, really sitting down and reading," Parker said. "I think women have been supporting publishing in lots of ways and reading lots of different types of books, but we're not reading the way we used to read."
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"I don't think it's the fault of the writers," Parker added. "I think there are riches to have in your hand. We're just not getting books. We're not pressing them. We're not grabbing the attention because it's so impossible to grab people's attention now."'
The actress noted that when looking for books to acquire for her own SJP Lit book imprint, which she launched with publisher Zando in 2022, she wants a story that grabs her attention.
"We try to find books that we're really excited about, that really wow us immediately," Parker said. "We hope we get the chance to publish them and either introduce a writer to readers or introduce a writer who's debuting as a writer ... every time a writer says yes, it's a very big deal to us."
Redel's novel, a historical fiction with a dreamy dash of sapphic romance and gasp-inducing intrigue set amongst the art scene in 1600s Amsterdam, was a book that Parker says she couldn't put down.
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"When I first started reading the manuscript, I realized I had not really read a book about this time and this place, centered around these two women and the life that they were pursuing and the challenges that the world offered them and that they made for themselves," Parker said.
"I'm not a researcher, I'm not an academic. I wouldn't have spent time researching this period, this particular painter, this woman, her life and Gerta's life," she continued. "So I felt immediately swept away."