New York writer Sloane Crosley is best known for her collections of essays I Was Told There'd Be Cake and How Did You Get This Number, both of which hit the New York Times bestsellers list, but her debut novel The Clasp - set for release in October this year - is already making waves in the literary world.

The novel, about three estranged college friends taking a road trip together in search of a lost necklace, is a comedy of manners which will appeal to fans of David Nicholls and Jeffrey Eugenides. Novelist Michael Chabon had high praise for The Clasp, saying 'the book's emotional power, building steadily and quietly, caught me off-guard, and left me with a lump in my throat' while Publishers Weekly called it a 'smart comedy of errors'. Crosley, who's due to release another non fiction book after The Clasp and is also nursing ideas for her next novel, looks certain to become a big name in the world of fiction as well as essays.