NEED TO KNOW
Offseason, the debut novel by Avigayl Sharp, will be published by Astra House on May 5, 2026The book follows a teacher at an all-girls New England boarding school confronting her teenage traumaSharp describes the story as a darkly funny exploration of memory, storytelling and the messiness of being human
Offseason marks the arrival of an exciting new literary voice, and PEOPLE has the first look at its cover.
The debut novel from Avigayl Sharp, whose work has appeared in The Paris Review and Granta, Offseason follows a woman teaching at an all-girls New England boarding school who comes face-to-face with her own teenage trauma as she tries to make an impact (however small) on her students’ lives.
With notes of Sorry, Baby and Big Swiss, the book captures the humor and heartbreak of a narrator grappling with identity, history and the strange pull of self-reinvention.
Its cover — an arresting collage of everyday objects from fruit to pills and erasers, set against a shadowy classical backdrop — hints at the book’s blend of dark comedy and psychological depth.
The cover of ‘Offseason’.
Astra House
Speaking in a statement exclusively to PEOPLE, Sharp teases the book’s exploration of memory, storytelling and the messiness of being human.
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“Offseason is a novel about one woman’s deranged attempts to wrangle with the past,” Sharp says. “I wrote it while thinking about the indignities and absurdities of trying to tell your story, and the dangers of projecting yourself onto the world, and the mystery that is other people.”
“It’s a book about reckoning with history, and talking too much, and psychic pain and living by the ocean,” the author continues. “It’s also, secretly, a book about literature and love. And it’s a comedy! I take comedy very seriously — I think the best comic writing can seduce us into looking at what is most painful, most difficult in our lives. It can pull us toward the monstrous and toward the sublime.”
Avigayl Sharp.
Emily Rose Apter
Already being called one of the most anticipated books of Spring 2026, Offseason has earned early praise from literary heavyweights like Catherine Lacey (The Möbius Book), Michael Chabon (Moonglow) and Jessica Anthony (The Most).
“The world is so full of darkness and light, so funny and sad and ridiculous and strange,” Sharp says. “I hope readers of Offseason will feel that in the book.”
Offseason publishes on May 5, 2026 from Astra House and is now available for preorder, wherever books are sold.