Anna Sorokin, the infamous New York socialite formerly known as Anna Delvey, whose life story is told in Netflix’s new drama series Inventing Anna, is catching up on her reading now that she has some time on her hands.
Sorokin served three years of her four-to-12-year prison sentence after being convicted on eight counts of financial crimes including second-degree grand larceny, theft of services, and one count of first-degree attempted grand larceny. After she was released in February 2021, she was detained again by ICE, just six weeks later, for overstaying her visa, according to The New York Times. The Russian-born Sorokin remains in custody, and hopes that she can find a way to stay in the U.S.
The Times spoke with Sorokin over the phone from Orange County Correctional Facility in Goshen, New York, where she’s currently in custody, just in time for the premiere of Inventing Anna, in which she’s played by Ozark actress Julia Garner. Sorokin sold the rights to her life story and served as a paid consultant on the series. She told The Times that her $320,000 paycheck from Netflix went to legal fees and paying back restitution to her creditors.
Here’s what Sorokin said she’s reading behind bars.
“I just actually started Super Pumped, by Mike Isaac — it’s the Uber story. So I’m reading that for nonfiction, and for fiction I’m reading [Lionel Shriver’s] We Need to Talk About Kevin,” Sorokin told The Times.
She’s also quite proud to report that she finished a Jonathan Franzen book.
“I wouldn’t say I binged, but I read The Corrections, which I never would have gotten through on the outside, and I read Purity as well. I have not read Crossroads — the new one — because last time I asked it was not available in softcover, and I cannot have hardcovers,” she said.
For anyone unfamiliar with The Corrections, the modern classic is not, despite the title, about a correctional facility. It’s about the trials and tribulations of an elderly couple from the Midwest and their three adult children.
Sorokin is also reading a lot of paperwork.
“My cell is pretty depressing. I have a whole bin of just legal paperwork. I have lots of books — mainly books. And some trail mix to snack on. It is as austere as it can get,” she said.
And she’s been trying to help non-English speakers navigate the immigration system from behind bars.
“It’s just really hard to find what your options are. There’s no way to do your own research here whatsoever. The books are from like 20 years ago. I’ve yet to find any immigration cases that even resemble mine,” she said.
“I have a lawyer, but some people here don’t, because you cannot be a burden to the government while defending your immigration case. You either have to find some charity that will help you or represent yourself. I have not heard of a single success story of someone being arrested and finding a good free immigration lawyer while in jail. The system is predatory: You’re set up for failure.”
Sorokin says she has a lot of fans hoping to see her do well — including Julia Fox, the Uncut Gems actress and recent girlfriend of Kanye West.
“She has lots of interesting creative projects going on, and I feel like the media is not doing her justice talking about her dating life. We are actually working on a little something together,” Sorokin said, though she wouldn’t elaborate on what that project is.
She also said she’s working on a documentary with Bunim Murray productions in Los Angeles — and she’s writing her own book.
“I’m also working on a book about my time in jail and working on a podcast as well,” Sorokin said.
Inventing Anna is now streaming on Netflix.
Main Image: Julia Garner as Anna Delvey in Inventing Anna courtesy of Netflix
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