ANNA QUINDLEN

Anna Quindlen's books have appeared on fiction, nonfiction and self-help bestseller lists, and her columns have won her many of journalism's most prestigious awards, including the Pulitzer Prize.

Currently she writes the Last Word column on the back page of Newsweek, and for many years she was a columnist for The New York Times, becoming only the third woman to write for the paper's influential op-ed page.

Her latest novel, Rise and Shine (September 2006), is a moving story of two sisters, the true meaning of success, and the qualities in life that matter most. It debuted on the New York Times bestsellers list at #1.

Quindlen has written four other bestselling novels: Object Lessons, One True Thing, Black and Blue, and Blessings. She has published three collections of her columns, Living Out Loud, Thinking Out Loud, and Loud and Clear, as well as How Reading Changed My Life and Imagined London.

Her book A Short Guide to A Happy Life has sold more than a million copies. It was followed by Being Perfect; it, too, became a national bestseller.

Ms. Quindlen is a native of Philadelphia and a graduate of Barnard College, where she is chair of the board of trustees. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and holds honorary degrees from more than a dozen American universities.

She is married to Gerald Krovatin, an attorney, and is the mother of Quindlen, Christopher and Maria Krovatin.