Joseph McElroy was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1930. He was educated at Williams College and Columbia University. He is the author of nine novels, including A Smuggler’s Bible, Hind’s Kidnap, Ancient History: A Paraphase, Lookout Cartridge, Plus, Women and Men, The Letter Left to Me, Actress in the House, and Cannonball. His short novella, Preparations for Search, was published by Small Anchor Press in 2010, and a volume of short fiction, Night Soul and Other Stories,  by Dalkey Archive Press  in 2011. A volume of his essays, Exponential, has been published in Italy. Three short plays are forthcoming. He received the Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and fellowships from the Guggenheim, Rockefeller,  and D.H. Lawrence Foundations, twice from  Ingram Merrill  and twice from the National Endowment for the Arts. Among other universities he has taught at Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, University of New Hampshire, Temple, NYU,  the University of Paris,  and the City University of New York.