PAMELA ERENS is the author of Matasha, a novel for readers age 10 to 14, and the adult novels The Virgins, Eleven Hours, and The Understory. Erens's books have been named finalists for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction, the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, and the John Gardner Fiction Book Award. Her essays and criticism have appeared in publications including The New York Times, Vogue, Elle, Slate, Virginia Quarterly Review, and Los Angeles Review of Books.