Sophie McManus is the author of the novel The Unfortunates (FSG) which was shortlisted for the Center for Fiction’ First Novel Prize, longlisted for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize, a Barnes & Noble Discover Award Finalist, and named a notable or best book by The Washington Post, EW, TIME, Time Out, and The Evening Standard. Her stories and essays have appeared in American Short Fiction, O, Tin House, The Washington Post, and elsewhere. She is a recipient of fellowships from the Fine Arts Work Center, the Saltonstall Foundation, and the Jentel Foundation. She has worked in book publishing and as an editor and writing coach and teaches at Sarah Lawrence College. McManus is a trustee of the Fine Arts Work Center.

Praise for The Unfortunates

"Just often enough, some unknown writer darts from the forest of little magazines to publish a novel that blows away the gathering shades of cultural despair...brilliant social satire...I moved through with a slowly accruing sense of awe as these characters grew simultaneously more outrageous and more sympathetic."
— Ron Charles, THE WASHINGTON POST

“The real surprise, though, is CeCe, who emerges as sharp, wise — and eventually, even truly generous. She’s the one who gives the novel its remarkable maturity and heft.”
— Britt Peterson, THE NEW YORK TIMES

“…wonderfully precise and subtle—not to mention unexpectedly moving…Sophie McManus, young as she is, is a truly dexterous writer, one who eyes the insular world she has chosen to crack open for us with as much wisdom as wit. One wonders where her formidable gift for social satire will take her next.”
— Daphne Merkin, THE NEW YORKER