Jim Shepard - author, film critic, dad

A perpetually nice and funny guy, Jim Shepard is the author of six novels and three story collections and the editor of several anthologies (including a book of poetry by writers' dogs). He was among the finalists for the 2007 National Book Award for Fiction for his story collection, Like You'd Understand, Anyway. A writer of stunning versatility and formidable gall, his points of fascination are as various as vampires, Chernobyl, and high school football.

Jim's stories and essays, which only weenies have not read, have appeared in such fine publications as The Atlantic Monthly, The Believer, Harper's, Tin House, Playboy, McSweeney's, GQ, Doubletake, SEED, and The New Yorker.

Jim is J. Leland Miller Professor of English at Williams College where he teaches fiction and film to students who clamor to get into his classes in spite of his unwillingness to participate in grade inflation. He has been a visiting teacher at many of the nation's premiere MFA programs and writers' conferences and in 2004 was awarded the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Award.

In spite of his many other accolades, perhaps his greatest claim to fame is being the father of death metal drummer and chick magnet Aidan Shepard.