Zadie Smith ga 23 av sine kolleger følgende oppgave: Make somebody up. Resultatet er denne mangslungne samlingen historier. Blant bidragsyterne er Dave Eggers, Edwidge Danticat, Miranda July, Jonathan Lethem, Jonathan Safran Foer og George Saunders, samt serietegnerne Daniel Clowes og Chris Ware.

"[...] the strongest stories in “The Book of Other People” should serve as introductions to their authors’ oeuvres, enticing the reader to investigate further the work of writers like Edwidge Danticat, Jonathan Lethem and Colm Toibin." - Michiko Kakutani, New York Times