The Makers Behind 'No Ordinary Love': Authors, a Tattoo Artist, and a Harpsichordist

Today, Hinge launched the third chapter of No Ordinary Love, a romance-literature-inspired campaign featuring honest, imperfect love stories of real couples who met on the app. Developed in partnership with Dazed Studio, the campaign brings together creative collaborators across mediums to create an anthology of short stories, published as the brand’s first-ever audiobook. No Ordinary Love is available now to listen for free on Spotify and Libby, or to read as written stories on Substack. 

Hinge paired five contemporary authors with real Hinge couples to write literary love stories inspired by brave, honest conversations in early dating. Each of the No Ordinary Love authors writes emotionally rich characters and offers honest perspectives on modern relationships that shine through in their stories: 

• Tembe Denton-Hurst writes “The Week We Were Friends.” 
  • Why Tembe: Her debut novel Homebodies is well-loved by readers on Substack and BookTok, and Tembe’s characters have been described as multi-layered, engaging, and realistic. Tembe’s natural dialogue shines through as Isabella (she/her) and Rebecca (she/her) internally debate whether to stay friends or pick up their romantic connection again.
• Raven Smith writes “Thou Shalt Play It Cool.”
  • Why Raven: Raven is known for his insightful cultural commentary, wit, and thoughtful takes on modern masculinity in his book, Men. His sharp, journalistic voice brings honesty and emotional intelligence to Michael (he/him) and Elena’s (she/her) story, especially as Michael opens up about going on a date with someone else. 
• Rufi Thorpe writes “This Is How to Touch Me.” 
  • Why Rufi: Rufi is closely tied to Gen Z culture through her novel Margo's Got Money Troubles, a BookTok favorite that has since been adapted into an Emmy-nominated TV series. She writes multidimensional, textured, lovable characters, and brings that same humor to Daniel (he/him) and Roisin's (she/her( story, told from the perspective of Roisin’s cat.
• Nicola Dinan writes “Rules to Love By.”
  • Why Nicola: Her debut novel, Bellies, won the 2024 Polari First Book Prize, and her latest, Disappoint Me, has been called "messy," "emotionally sharp," and "complicated." Nicola embraces imperfection, guiding how she writes Carty's (she/her) rules for dating slowly and Raka's (she/her) willingness to trust those boundaries instead of reading them as rejection.
• Curtis Garner writes “The Sound It Leaves.” 
  • Why Curtis: His debut novel, Isaac, has been praised as “a masterclass in character study” for the way it captures the queer experience in a digital age. Curtis’ poignant and atmospheric prose brings the weight, emotion, and honesty needed for Oden (he/him) and Edward’s (he/him) story – showing why talking things out in person, even after a miscommunication, matters.

“From the beginning, we wanted No Ordinary Love to feel like it belonged in the world of contemporary literature as much as advertising,” said Jamie Knowles, Managing Director of Dazed Studio (he/him). “Bringing together writers, illustrators, musicians and directors wasn’t about adding layers for the sake of it — it was about building a world that reflected the emotional richness of the stories themselves.”

Bringing No Ordinary Love to Life

This year, Hinge evolved the anthology into the first-ever No Ordinary Love audiobook – infusing deeper emotion into the stories with narration from each of the authors. Dazed Studio commissioned Joan Sergay as audiobook director to guide the authors’ performances, drawing on her theatre background and work on over 200 titles for Penguin Random House, including Lena Dunham’s Famesick and Bob Odenkirk’s memoir, Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama. 

Hinge and Dazed Studio worked with director David Brandon Geeting to create video audiobook trailers with the real couples from the stories. Together, Hinge and Geeting created a distinct visual language for No Ordinary Love with a contemporary mashup between medieval motifs and ‘90s rom-coms. Each spot brings campiness, humor, and emotional self-awareness to exaggerate how it feels to build up the courage to say how you feel out loud. Additionally, Dazed Studio worked with Pump Comp to commission harpsichordist Jackson Kinder, and collaborated with tattoo artist Lu Walstad for custom medieval-inspired music and hand-drawn illustrations, respectively, adding playfulness and texture to the campaign. 

"No Ordinary Love inspires daters to take a risk, so it was important that our creative took a risk too. For us, that meant creating an audiobook for the first time alongside our brilliant writers who were also newly stepping into that space with us. We all had a hunch this year would be special, but hearing the rough mixes for the first time, the goosebumps kicked in, and we realized how completely alive these stories had become" said Ola Sobiecki, VP and Executive Creative Director at Hinge (they/them). "None of it happens, though, without our couples — we're grateful for their trust and openness, and hope that others feel seen in their stories."

The Literary Universe of No Ordinary Love

Hinge has partnered with sixteen different contemporary authors over three years to create three distinct anthologies of romance short stories based on real couples who met on the app. Each anthology explores a different, relatable theme for Gen Z daters today:

• In 2024, No Ordinary Love celebrated the beauty of two people overcoming the “icks” and pressures for perfection during the early stages of dating, featuring writing from contemporary authors Roxane Gay, R. O. Kwon, John Paul Brammer, Brontez Purnell, Isle McElroy, and Oisín Mckenna. 
• In 2025, No Ordinary Love explored internal moments of excitement and self-doubt, and featured stories told in alternating perspectives from fresh literary voices Upasna Barath, Hunter Harris, William Rayfet Hunter, Tomasz Jedrowski, and Jen Winston.

Hinge continues to return to short stories as a medium to explore the emotional headspace at the start of seeing someone. All three anthologies of No Ordinary Love push past relationship clichés seen on social media and in pop culture, and instead explore the imperfect moments, helping others feel seen and encouraged as they meet new people and pursue relationships of their own.