Natasha Stagg is a writer and editor who has published four books. She lives in New York City.[1]

Early life and education

Stagg grew up in Tucson, Arizona, until age 14, when her parents divorced. She moved with her mother in 2000 to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and graduated from Forest Hills Northern High School.[2]

Stagg graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where her writing won a Hopwood Award for nonfiction[3] and the Roy W. Cowden Memorial Fellowship.[4] She moved to New York City,[5] and has since attended residencies such as Yaddo[6] and KW Institute in Berlin.[7]

Writing career

Books

Stagg published her first book, Surveys, in 2016 through Semiotext(e)/Native Agents.[8] The coming of age novel follows 23-year-old Colleen, a mall employee in Tucson, Arizona, who rises to internet fame by blogging about her semi-famous boyfriend and recent move to Los Angeles, California. The protagonist's obsession for a never-ending stream of external validation from online followers as well as the constant grooming of her public relationship with her boyfriend has led many critics to describe the novel as a prescient first-hand account of the rise of the phenomena of social media influencers on Instagram and Twitter.[9]

In 2019, Stagg's second book, titled Sleeveless: Fashion, Image, Media, New York 2011–2019, was published and included a number of essays, criticism, and auto-fiction on publishing, art, and fashion from the 2010s.[1] The book features essays on The Real Housewives of New York City, Abercrombie & Fitch and Marc Jacobs, Alexandra Marzella, Kim Kardashian, Russian-red boots, PR jobs, and fundraising parties.[10][11]

In 2025, Stagg published Grand Rapids, a coming-of-age novel about a teenage girl in Grand Rapids, Michigan, set in 2001.[12][13]

Other writing

In 2020, Stagg wrote about Eduardo "Roth" Neira's eco-friendly architecture firm, Roth Architecture, and its newest project, the SFER IK Museion in Mexico.[14]

Stagg has written for Artforum, V, Playboy, Spike Art Magazine, and n+1.[15][16] She is the former editor of V Magazine and VMan and her work has been featured in books by Amalia Ulman and Vanessa Place. She frequently writes press releases and exhibition texts for galleries and museums such as 303 Gallery,[17] Almine Rech,[18] Artists Space,[19] Fortmakers,[20] and Renaissance Society.[21]

Bibliography

Author

  • Surveys: A Novel (Semiotext(e) / Native Agents) (2016) ISBN 1584351780
  • Sleeveless: Fashion, Image, Media, New York 2011-2019 (Semiotext(e) / Native Agents) (2019) ISBN 1635900964
  • Artless: Stories 2019-2023 (Semiotext(e) / Native Agents) (2023) ISBN 1635901901
  • Grand Rapids. MIT Press. 2025-09-30. ISBN 978-1-63590-257-0. [22][23][24]

Essays

Interviews

  • "A Conversation with Elizabeth Wurtzel (1967–2020)." N+1. 2020[29]

Short stories

References

  1. ^ "Natasha Stagg is Ready". Cultured Magazine. December 27, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  2. ^ SSENSE (August 19, 2016). "Natasha Stagg Is Almost Not-Famous". ssense. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  3. ^ "Hopwood writing awards presented to 34". University of Michigan News. 2007-04-20. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  4. ^ "Alumni & Winners | U-M LSA Hopwood Program". lsa.umich.edu. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  5. ^ "Natasha Stagg on Practical Thinking". thecreativeindependent.com. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  6. ^ "Writers – Yaddo". www.yaddo.org. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  7. ^ "Pogo Bar". KW Institute for Contemporary Art. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  8. ^ "Sleeveless | The MIT Press". The MIT Press. Native Agents. Semiotext(e). October 8, 2019. ISBN 978-1-63590-096-5. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  9. ^ "Review: An edgy take on Internet fame vs. Hollywood fame: "Surveys" by Natasha Stagg". Los Angeles Times. March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  10. ^ "'Influencing is heading into the void': Natasha Stagg and Kate Durbin on the future of social media". Document Journal. December 10, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  11. ^ Satenstein, Liana (October 25, 2019). "Natasha Stagg's Sleeveless Explains the New York That We Hate to Love". Vogue. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  12. ^ Stagg, Natasha (2025-09-30). Grand Rapids. Native Agents. Cambridge, MA, USA: Semiotext(e). ISBN 978-1-63590-257-0.
  13. ^ "Are You There God? It's Me, Natasha Stagg". Los Angeles Review of Books. 2025-10-24. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  14. ^ "Natasha Stagg around the Azulik hotel". www.artforum.com. January 20, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  15. ^ "Natasha Stagg". nplusonemag.com. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  16. ^ "Articles by Natasha Stagg | V Magazine Journalist | Muck Rack". muckrack.com. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  17. ^ "Jacob Kassay - Chelsea - GALLERY EXHIBITIONS - 303 Gallery". www.303gallery.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  18. ^ "Sam McKinniss | Misery". Almine Rech. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  19. ^ "Natasha Stagg". artistsspace.org. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  20. ^ "Dreamhouses". Dreamhouses. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  21. ^ "Deadlines and Divine Distractions | Events: Editorial Project | The Renaissance Society". www.renaissancesociety.org. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  22. ^ "Are You There God? It's Me, Natasha Stagg". Los Angeles Review of Books. 2025-10-24. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  23. ^ O’Gieblyn, Meghan (2025-12-30). "Book Review: 'Grand Rapids,' by Natasha Stagg". The New York Times. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  24. ^ Nevins, Jake (2025-10-07). "Natasha Stagg and Tish Weinstock on Goths, Girlhood, and Grand Rapids". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  25. ^ "Two Stops | Natasha Stagg". n+1. 2018-04-13. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  26. ^ "The Right Time | Natasha Stagg | Essay". Gagosian Quarterly. 2020-03-11. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  27. ^ "Out of State | Spike Art Magazine". Spike. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  28. ^ Stagg, Natasha (2023-09-05). "Wrong Turn". The Paris Review. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  29. ^ "A Conversation with Elizabeth Wurtzel (1967–2020)". n+1. 2020-02-13. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  30. ^ "Candy – Natasha Stagg – Mal". maljournal.com. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  31. ^ "heavytrafficmagazine.com/". heavytrafficmagazine.com. Retrieved 2024-06-03.