Aubrey Malone’s Luminous Fictional Memoir of Marilyn Monroe, Arriving 2026 for the Star’s Centenary
New York, NY — November 28, 2025 — Casa Carlini is proud to announce the 2026 release of The Marilyn Diaries, a richly imagined fictional memoir by acclaimed Irish author Aubrey Malone. The book will be published under Casa Carlini’s biography imprint, Vita. Timed to coincide with the centenary of Marilyn Monroe’s birth, the book offers a haunting and intimate portrait of the icon as she might have told her own story—full of longing, candor, shadows, and surprising flashes of humor. Readers may now preorder the book directly from CasaCarlini.com.
Malone recently discussed the project in depth in the feature interview “Between Norma and Marilyn: Aubrey Malone Opens the Final Curtain on Marilyn Monroe.” In it, he reflects on the delicate balance between known history and imaginative reconstruction, and the emotional terrain of writing in Monroe’s voice. The piece gives readers a first glimpse into the sensibility that animates the book: tender, conflicted, at times raw, always searching.
The Marilyn Diaries follows Monroe across the arc of her life—from Norma Jeane’s difficult childhood to the studio years, the marriages, the fame, the loneliness, the persistent chase for love and legitimacy. Malone’s approach doesn’t mimic biography; instead, it listens for what Marilyn herself might have whispered into a private notebook at the end of a long day. The result is atmospheric and deeply human, allowing Monroe to speak with a complexity that history often denied her.
In addition to the standard editions, Casa Carlini will release a bespoke hardcover version of the book featuring a curated selection of photographs of Marilyn throughout her life. These images, interwoven with the narrative, are meant to create a tactile, immersive experience—a visual counterpart to the voice Malone summons on the page.
The book’s striking cover was created by Yuchen Xu, a recent graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Xu reimagines Monroe through a lush, cinematic haze, using a halftone texture that recalls vintage film publicity stills while giving them a modern, dreamlike twist. The portrait shows Marilyn half in focus, half dissolving into a warm red field, as if she were emerging from—or retreating into—the mythos that continues to engulf her. Her expression is languid and enigmatic, framed by soft light and a subtle shimmer around the shoulders. Large white serif typography anchors the lower half of the design with quiet confidence, while the author’s name floats in the upper corner, giving the composition a graceful sense of balance.
With its blend of literary imagination, meticulous research, and evocative design, The Marilyn Diaries stands as a centenary tribute worthy of one of the twentieth century’s most enduring figures. Published under Vita and available for preorder at CasaCarlini.com, the book will be released globally in 2026.
Publication Date: 2026
Author: Aubrey Malone
Publisher: Casa Carlini — Vita
Formats: Ebook, Paperback, Bespoke Photo-Illustrated Hardcover, Audiobook
0 comments