BARRY GIFFORD’s novels have been translated into twenty-two languages. His book
Night People was awarded the Premio Brancati in Italy, and he has been the recipient of awards from PEN, the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Library Association, and the Writers Guild of America. David Lynch’s film
Wild at Heart, which was based on Gifford’s novel, won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1990; and his novel
Perdita Durango was made into a feature film by Spanish director Alex de la Iglesia in 1997. Gifford co-wrote with Lynch the film
Lost Highway (1997); he also co-wrote with director Matt Dillon the film
City of Ghosts (2003). Gifford’s recent books include
The Phantom Father, named a
New York Times Notable Book of the Year;
Wyoming, named a
Los Angeles Times Novel of the Year, which has been adapted for the stage and film; and
American Falls: The Collected Short Stories. Mr. Gifford’s writings have appeared in
Punch, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Sport, the
New York Times, El País, Reforma, La Repubblica, Projections and many other publications. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area (and on the web at
www.BarryGifford.com).
THOMAS A. MCCARTHY, originally of Omaha, is an editor at Seven Stories Press in New York City.