Claire Messud is the author of The Last Life (Harcourt, 1999), The Hunters (Harcourt, 2001), and New York Times Bestselling novel, The Emperor’s Children (Knopf, 2006). Her newest novel The Woman Upstairs (Knopf, 2013), is a Boston Globe Best Book of the Year, Washington Post Top Ten Book of the Year, and a New York Times Book Review Notable Book, among others. Claire’s work is recognized by The American Academy of Arts and Letters. She is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of English at Harvard University, and has taught creative writing at Yale University and The Johns Hopkins University.