Does a successful book party equal book sales success? If so, then Saira Rao‘s first novel, Chambermaid, is headed for stratospheric heights. The party was a rager, with over 200 people in attendance. Held in a Fifth Avenue Park-facing apartment, it was a delightful if homogeneous mash-up of well-heeled lawyers, bankers, media — and one actor:

Book agent Kirsten Neuhaus with Chambermaid author Saira Rao and Rao’s Grove/Atlantic Editrix, Lauren Wein

Co-hosting Saira’s party was the Wall Street Journal‘s media reportrix Sarah Ellison, far left. The ACLU’s Jennifer McAllister-Nevins, is center. Far right, PR mogul Steve Rubenstein

Laura Wells, the gorgeous and charming Reuters “money honey” (she covers tech & business), left, with Saira and Sarah Ellison

Saira and sistah, Nita Rao, deputy director of research at Us Weekly

Room shot

Village Voice staff writer Tricia Romano, with freelancer Lisa Turvey

Saira‘s husband. Nice tie!

Law & Ardor: Ashby Jones, law editor at the Wall Street Journal, with his actor pal Isabel Gillies, who plays Chris Meloni‘s wife on Law & Order SUV

Wall Street Journal legal affairs reporter Peter Lattman

Bookshelves

Lovely light

Guy with big eyes, who doesn’t like his picture taken. [We later learned he's Sarah Ellison's husband, Jesse Eisinger, senior writer, Conde Nast Portfolio.]

mediabistro.com founder Laurel Touby (c’est moi) with Wall Street Journal feature writer Joshua Prager

Philly cheese steaks were in high demand

The book table. About the book. This comes from Saira’s Web Site:
“The devil holds a gavel in this wickedly entertaining debut novel about a young attorney’s eventful year clerking for a federal judge. Sheila Raj is a recent graduate of a top-ten law school with dreams of working for the ACLU. When she lands a coveted yearlong federal clerkship with legal goddess Judge Helga Friedman, she cannot help but think that her life is destined for jurisprudential greatness.”

About the party:
It was at the home of Jon Cohen and Julia Pershan, hosted by Sarah Ellison (Wall Street Journal), Nita Rao (Us Weekly), Jill Royster, Erin Russell, Carey Albertine and Shiv Govindan (Rao’s husband).

Saira’s editor’s name is Lauren Wein, publicist is Deb Seager and agent is Kirsten Neuhaus.

Feel free to buy Chambermaid here.