What is How to be Less Useful?
How to be less Useful is a longform newsletter written by me (Priyanka Mattoo), where I share scraps of my journey from over-functioning to functioning just enough. All will be revealed in my upcoming book, coincidentally titled How to be Less Useful (Knopf, November 2026). My memoir, Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones, was published by Knopf in June 2024, and people liked it.
Some weeks cover writing-reading-cooking-parenting-pop culture, some weeks are primal screams and/or shopping, some weeks we fall into a pile of academic journals together and wonder how we got there, and how we’re going to get out. Welcome!
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About Priyanka:
Priyanka was formerly a talent agent at UTA and WME, as well as Jack Black’s partner at their production company, Electric Dynamite. Priyanka co-founded EARIOS, the women-led podcast network, and co-hosted its critically-acclaimed beauty/wellness podcast, Foxy Browns.
Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Vulture, and The Hairpin, and her film work in festivals from Sundance to Cannes. She was raised in India, England, and Saudi Arabia before moving to the U.S. in high school, and holds degrees in Italian and Law from the University of Michigan.
Priyanka is the recipient of a MacDowell fellowship, and her piece How to Extract a Mother’s Rogan Josh Recipe Over Zoom was noted in Best American Food Writing. She lives in Los Angeles with her family.
