Sloane Crosley (born August 3, 1979) is an American writer living in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

known for her humorous

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal ...

s, including the collections ''

I Was Told There'd Be Cake ''I Was Told There'd Be Cake'' is a ''New York Times'' best-selling collection of essays by American writer and literary publicist Sloane Crosley, published in 2008. Reception Author Jonathan Lethem called Crosley "another mordant and mercurial ...

'', ''How Did You Get This Number'', and ''Look Alive Out There''. She has also worked as a

publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for a work such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists w ...

at the

Vintage Books Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was purchased by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Ho ...

division of

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Ger ...

and as an adjunct professor in

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

's Master of Fine Arts program. She graduated from

Connecticut College Connecticut College (Conn College or Conn) is a private liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. It is a residential, four-year undergraduate institution with nearly all of its approximately 1,815 students living on campus. The college ...

in 2000.

Career

Riverhead Books Riverhead Books is an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) founded in 1994 by Susan Petersen Kennedy. Writers published by Riverhead include Ali Sethi, Marlon James, Junot Díaz, George Saunders, Khaled Hosseini, Nick Hornby, Anne Lamott, Carlo Rove ...

published Crosley's first collection of essays ''

'' on April 1, 2008. The book became a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, coo ...

. It was a finalist for the

Thurber Prize for American Humor The Thurber Prize for American Humor, named after American humorist James Thurber, recognizes outstanding contributions in humor writing. The prize is given out by the Thurber House. It was first awarded irregularly, but since 2004 has been besto ...

, one of

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's best books of the year, and optioned by HBO. Crosley's second collection of essays, the 2010 book ''

How Did You Get This Number How may refer to: * How (greeting), a word used in some misrepresentations of Native American/First Nations speech * How, an interrogative word in English grammar Art and entertainment Literature * ''How'' (book), a 2007 book by Dov Seidma ...

'', also became a ''New York Times'' bestseller.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...

released her debut novel ''The Clasp'' in October 2015; it was optioned by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

in 2016. Her third book of essays '' Look Alive Out There'' was also a Thurber Prize finalist. Farrar, Straus and Giroux published ''

Cult Classic A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

'' by Crosley in 2022. In addition to her own books, Crosley edited '' The Best American Travel Writing'' in 2011. Crosley has published work in or edited for various magazines and newspapers. She was a weekly columnist for British newspaper ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'' in 2011. She is a contributing editor at '' Vanity Fair'' and was the founding columnist for ''The New York Times'' "Townies"

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. ...

series, a columnist for ''

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper printed from 1987 to 2016, when it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainmen ...

'' Diary, a columnist for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'', a contributing editor at ''

BlackBook ''BlackBook'' is an arts and culture magazine published bi-annually to print and online. Founded by Evanly Schindler in 1996 as a quarterly print publication, the now digital magazine covers topics ranging from art, music, and literature to poli ...

'' Magazine and is a regular contributor to ''The New York Times'', '' GQ'', ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the ...

'', and NPR. She has also written cover stories and features for ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ...

'', '' Spin'', ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'', ''

W Magazine ''W'' is an American fashion magazine that features stories about style through the lens of culture, fashion, art, celebrity, and film. W was created in 1972 by James Brady, the publisher of sister magazine '' Women's Wear Daily'' (''WWD''), ...

'', and ''

AFAR Afar may refer to: Peoples and languages *Afar language, an East Cushitic language *Afar people, an ethnic group of Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia Places Horn of Africa *Afar Desert or Danakil Desert, a desert in Ethiopia *Afar Region, a region ...

''. She co-wrote the song "It Only Gets Much Worse" with

Nate Ruess Nate Ruess is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the founder and lead singer of the indie pop band Fun, and of The Format. As of 2015, he also performs as a solo musician. Early life Ruess was born the second child of Larry ...

. Crosley is co-chair of

The New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress) ...

's Young Lions Committee and serves on the board of Housingworks Bookstore.

In popular culture

In 2011 Crosley appeared on the TV series ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six ...

'' as herself. She appeared on ''

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the The Late Late Show (American talk show), ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing ...

'' on six occasions from 2010 to 2014. She was mentioned several times on ''

BoJack Horseman ''BoJack Horseman'' is an American adult animated black comedy-drama streaming television series created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. It stars the voices of Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Paul F. Tompkins, and Aaron Paul. Set primarily in ...

'' when the character of Diane Nguyen receives an advance for a book of personal essays. On July 4, 2022, she was a clue on '' Jeopardy''.

Bibliography

Story and essay collections

* * *

Novels

* * ''Cult Classic''. Farrar, Straus and Giroux MCD. 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crosley, Sloane 1979 births Living people American women novelists Connecticut College alumni American women essayists American women columnists The Independent people The New York Times columnists The New York Observer people The Village Voice people 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers Columbia University faculty 21st-century American essayists Novelists from New York (state) American women academics Vanity Fair (magazine) people