“When you're a kid, and someone is your best friend, you almost don't need words. It's almost like puppies in a - frolicking in a garden or something. You don't articulate stuff. You just live it.”

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.