George Saunders is the author of the short story collection “Tenth of December,” which was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. He is also the author of the novel “Lincoln in the Bardo,” which received the Booker Prize, made its way to the top of the New York Times bestseller list and was called “devastatingly moving” by People magazine. His latest book, “A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading and Life” (Random House), investigates the literary craft behind writing and reading great short stories. Throughout his career, Saunders has received numerous awards, such as a Guggenheim Fellowship, a MacArthur Fellowship and a Lannan Literary Fellowship. He teaches in the creative writing program at Syracuse University.