There is, apparently, no story that Jennifer Egan can't tell. Her five books of fiction range from an achingly

gorgeouscoming-of-agenovel(TheInvisibleCircus)toagothictaleofbetrayal(TheKeep)toa

multidecadekaleidoscopicdepictionofthemusicbusiness(AVisitfromtheGoonSquad,thisyear's

Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction). Uniting disparate settings and characters is Egan's ferocious intelligence;

she writes with the clarity and sharpness of a pane of glass.

For the past 15 years, she has also brought her distinctive lucidity to journalism, writing pieces about

subjects such as gay teenagers and homeless families. No matter what the topic is, I know if Egan wrote

the article, I'll want to read it.

I've had the pleasure of crossing paths with Egan, 48, over the years (yes, her cheekbones really are as

magnificent as they look in the picture), and once at a reading I heard her say something I've thought of

often since: that she wouldn't want to start writing a book she knew from the outset she was definitely

capable of pulling off. Her ambition and innovation inspire me as a writer and delight me as a reader.