Russell Banks, unul dintre cei mai importanti scriitori americani. A cistigat numeroase premii de literatura: Guggenheim Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowships, Ingram Merrill Award, The St. Lawrence Award for Short Fiction, O. Henry and Best American Short Story Award, The John Dos Passos Award, Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. De acelasi autor: „Searching for Survivors”, „Family Life”, „Hamilton Stark”, „The New World”, „The Book of Jamaica”, „Trailerpark”, „The Relation of My Imprisonment”, „Continental Drift”, „Success Stories”, „Affliction Rule of the Bone”, „Cloudsplitter”.