Alice McDermott is the award-winning author of seven previous novels- Someone (shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award 2014 and longlisted for the National Book Award 2013), After This, Child of My Heart, Charming Billy (winner of the National Book Award 1998), At Weddings and Wakes, That Night and A Bigamist ‘s Daughter. She has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize three times, and has also been nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award. She lives with her family outside Washington DC.