Jim Shepard is the author of five novels -- Flights (Knopf, 1983), Paper Doll (Knopf, 1986), Lights Out in the Reptile House (Norton, 1990), Kiss of the Wolf (Harcourt Brace, 1994) and Nosferatu (Knopf, 1998) -- and one book of short stories: Batting Against Castro (Knopf, 1996). He also co-edited with Ron Hansen You've Got to Read This, an anthology of short stories, (HarperCollins) and with Amy Hempel Unleashed: Poems by Writers' Dogs (Crown). His short fiction has appeared, among other places, in the New Yorker, Harper's, The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, The Paris Review, and TriQuarterly. He lives with his wife, Karen, their two sons, Aidan and Emmett, and their 110-pound Labrador, Birch, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he wanders around frequently with his mouth ajar, and teaches at Williams College.