About the Author: Kate Christensen is the author of five novels and one memoir. Her novel, The Great Man, appeared on the New York Times Bestseller list and won her the 2008 Pen/Faulkner Award for fiction. Her previous novels are In the Drink (1999), Jeremy Thrane (2001), and The Epicure's Lament (2004), Trouble (2009), and The Astral (2011). Her most recent book, "Blue Plate Special: An Autobiography of My Appetites," was published in July 2013 by Doubleday. She is a graduate of Reed College and the Iowa Writers Workshop. Her essays, articles, reviews, and stories have appeared in many anthologies and periodicals, including The New York Times Book Review, O, the Oprah Magazine, Gilt Taste, Bookforum, Elle, The Wall Street Journal, Tin House, The Wilson Quarterly, The B&N Review, and Fivechapters.com.