Mary Gaitskill is a novelist, essayist, and short-story writer. Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, Harper’s, Esquire, Best American Short Stories, and The O. Henry Prize Stories.

"About sex she is an especially distinctive writer. She catches cruelty and inexplicable desire, what she has called "the dirt within," as well as any writer we have. Once you've read her, her little hammer continues to tap in your head." - Dwight Garner, New York Times "Gaitskill is something special. She doesn't grandstand; she lacks self-pity. She has an intuitive sympathy for people acting on their worst impulses and a gift for portraying cruelty without condemnation. She manages to be an erotic writer without being, precisely, a sex writer." - Emily Nussbaum, New York Magazine "Bracing in its rigorous truth-seeking, subtle and capacious in its moral vision, Gaitskill's work feels more real than real life and reading her leads to a place that feels like a sacred space." - Boston Globe "What is most amazing about Gaitskill is her ability to portray the heart of human longing and suffering, and to see in each gesture of our lives the disturbing and conflicting pool of drives that marks our every gesture." - Sheila Heti, The Believer "Devotees of Gaitskill's work are likely to appreciate the opportunity to revisit her masterworks on something of a guided tour where the author herself is able to instruct us... This impressionistic construction rewards those looking for a deeper connection to Gaitskill's rigorous imagination." - Kirkus Review