Sofija Stefanovic is a Serbian-Australian writer and storyteller based in Manhattan. She is the author of the memoir,
Miss Ex-Yugoslavia. She hosts the popular literary salon, Women of Letters New York, and This Alien Nation — a monthly celebration of immigration. She’s a regular storyteller with The Moth, and her writing has appeared in
The New York Times, Guardian.com, and Elle.com, among others.
At Electric Lit she tagged
eleven books "featuring a broad range of outsiders that have captured my imagination over the years," including:
The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt
As a Serb, I grew up considering inventor Nikola Tesla our country’s greatest hero. An eccentric man, Tesla was under-appreciated 
despite inventing alternating current, radio, wireless communication, and remote control and he died a penniless outsider. I was delighted to find this strange and magical novel set in 1943 New York during the later years of Tesla’s life. This work of fiction reimagines the elderly inventor living in a hotel room and spending his days walking to Bryant Park to chat with pigeons. During a blackout in the hotel, the chambermaid Louisa discovers Tesla stealing electricity and a friendship is born.
Read about
another entry on the list.
The Invention of Everything Else is among
Rick Moody's six favorite books that take place in hotels.
The Page 99 Test: The Invention of Everything Else.
--Marshal Zeringue
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