Peter Manseau is the author of SONGS FOR THE BUTCHER'S DAUGHTER (Free Press, 2008), winner of the National Jewish Book Award for Fiction, the Sophie Brody Medal for outstanding achievement in Jewish literature, shortlisted for the Mercantile Library John Sargent Sr. First Novel Award, one of ABC Australia’s Best International Books of the Year, Book Passage’s First Editions Club pick, Indiebound (previously Booksense) pick, and chosen for Barnes & Noble's Discover Great New Writers program.

He is also the author of VOWS: The Story of a Priest, a Nun, and their Son (Free Press, 2005), a Booksense Nonfiction Notable Book and an Amazon Editor's Pick for Best Memoirs of 2005; and co-author, with Jeff Sharlet, of KILLING THE BUDDHA: A Heretic's Bible (Free Press, 2004), one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2004.

His current book of non-fiction, RAG & BONE: A Journey Among the World's Holy Dead (Henry Holt, 2009), tells the stories surrounding the human remains that have been at the center of all the world's religious traditions, Required Reading in the New York Post.

He is the editor of SEARCH: The Magazine of Science, Religion, & Culture and co-founder of the online religion magazine, KillingTheBuddha.com. He is also one of the world’s last Yiddish typesetters.

He is a former administrator of Boston University’s Division of Religious and Theological Studies and studied religion and literature as part of the University of Massachusetts Honors Program.

His essays and commentaries on religion in America have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Washington Post, and on National Public Radio's “All Things Considered.”

He lives with his wife and two daughters in Washington, D.C., where he teaches writing and studies religion at Georgetown University.