Jess Walter

Jess Walter (born July 20, 1965) is an American author of six novels, a collection of short stories, and a non-fiction book. His books have been published in twenty-six countries and translated into twenty-eight languages. He is the recipient of the Edgar Allan Poe Award, among others, and was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2006.

Career

Walter has published six novels, Over Tumbled Graves, Land of the Blind, Citizen Vince, The Zero, The Financial Lives of the Poets, and Beautiful Ruins. In 2013 he published his first collection of short stories, We Live in Water. His essays and short stories have also appeared in Best American Short Stories, Best American Nonrequired Reading, McSweeny's, Esquire, Harper's, Byliner, Playboy, ESPN the Magazine, Details, and many others.

Walter's latest novel, Beautiful Ruins, was a number one New York Times best seller. It was also named Esquire's Book of the Year, NPR Fresh Air's Best Novel of 2012, a New York Times Notable Book, and a Washington Post Notable Book. Maureen Corrigan of NPR's Fresh Air called this novel a "literary miracle" and Steve Almond of The Boston Globe described it as "a novel with pathos, piercing wit, and, most important, the generous soul of a literary classic.