When Elizabeth Gilbert's first story, "Pilgrims," was published in 1993, the editors at Esquire subtitled it "The Debut of an American Writer." A decade into her professional writing career, her diverse résumé included short fiction, a novel, creative nonfiction, drama, and journalism--and the awards she has garnered include several prizes for best new fiction writer, a National Magazine Award, and a nomination for a National Book Award. Whatever the genre, however, there is a consistency of theme and subject matter in almost all of Gilbert's writing: hers is a distinctive voice in contemporary American letters, mixing antisocialist working-class heroes with antiliberal frontier values, in service of a feminism that is anything but antimale.

Gilbert was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, in 1969, and raised outside of nearby Litchfield. Many of the specific details of her biography are kept private. She is the daughter of John Gilbert, a chemical...