Sandra Newman was born in America but has lived in Germany, Russia, Malaysia, and England. Her professions have ranged from academia to professional gambling. She studied Creative Writing at UEA, and her first novel, The Only Good Thing Anyone Has Ever Done, was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award. Her second novel, Cake, was published by Chatto in 2007. In 2009 she co-wrote How NOT to Write a Novel. She currently lives in New York.