Russell Banks (1940–2023) published twenty-one books, including the novels Cloudsplitter (HarperCollins, 1998), finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; The Sweet Hereafter (HarperCollins, 1991); and Continental Drift (HarperCollins, 1985), finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; the nonfiction books Voyager: Travel Writings (HarperCollins, 2015) and Dreaming Up America (Seven Stories Press, 2010); and two volumes of poetry. Born and raised in New England, he served as president of the International Parliament of Writers and was New York State Writer from 2004 to 2006.