“The feeling I had several times in youth, when lying in a field staring up at the night sky, that I might fall into the infinite void - for people like me, this idea mostly provokes anxiety.”

American novelist and professor of literature and creative writing

Claire Messud is an American novelist and professor of literature and creative writing. She is best known for her novel The Emperor's Children, published in 2006. Messud’s work is associated above all with fiction, and her reputation rests largely on The Emperor's Children, which brought wide attention to her writing. As a professor, she also teaches literature and creative writing, connecting her work as an author with an academic career.