“We have that illusion that we are 'deciding' what to make a character do, in order to 'convey our message' or something like that. But, at least in my experience, you are often more like a river-rafting guide who's been paid a bonus to purposely steer your clients into the roughest possible water.”

American writer

George Saunders is an American writer best known for his short stories and his 2017 novel Lincoln in the Bardo, which won the Booker Prize. His fiction has appeared in several collections, including CivilWarLand in Bad Decline and Tenth of December: Stories. He is associated with short-form prose and with a style that moves between satire, tenderness, and speculation.