NEED TO KNOW
\nOffseason, 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<\/p>\n
Offseason<\/a> marks the arrival of an exciting new literary voice, and PEOPLE has the first look at its cover.<\/p>\n The debut novel from Avigayl Sharp, whose work has appeared in The Paris Review<\/a> and Granta<\/a>, 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\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n With notes of Sorry, Baby<\/a> and Big Swiss<\/a>, the book captures the humor and heartbreak of a narrator grappling with identity, history and the strange pull of self-reinvention.\n<\/p>\n Its cover \u2014 an arresting collage of everyday objects from fruit to pills and erasers, set against a shadowy classical backdrop \u2014 hints at the book\u2019s blend of dark comedy and psychological depth.<\/p>\n The cover of ‘Offseason’.<\/p>\n Astra House<\/p>\n Speaking in a statement exclusively to PEOPLE, Sharp teases the book’s exploration of memory, storytelling and the messiness of being human.\n<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\n<\/p>\n “Offseason is a novel about one woman\u2019s deranged attempts to wrangle with the past,\u201d Sharp says. \u201cI 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.”\n<\/p>\n “It\u2019s a book about reckoning with history, and talking too much, and psychic pain and living by the ocean,” the author continues. “It\u2019s also, secretly, a book about literature and love. And it\u2019s a comedy! I take comedy very seriously \u2014 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.”<\/p>\n Avigayl Sharp.<\/p>\n Emily Rose Apter<\/p>\n Already being called one of the most anticipated books of Spring 2026, Offseason has earned early praise from literary heavyweights like Catherine Lacey (The M\u00f6bius Book), Michael Chabon (Moonglow<\/a>) and Jessica Anthony (The Most<\/a>).\n<\/p>\n “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.\u201d\n<\/p>\n