David Foster Wallace was an acclaimed American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and university professor of English and creative writing. He is widely regarded as one of the most innovative literary voices of his generation.

Wallace's 1996 novel, Infinite Jest, was listed by Time magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005. His unfinished final novel, The Pale King, was published posthumously in 2011 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2012.

Born in Ithaca, New York, Wallace grew up in Illinois. He attended Amherst College and the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he earned his MFA. He taught English at Emerson College, Illinois State University, and Pomona College. In addition to his fiction, Wallace was known for his nonfiction and critical essays that explored the complexities of consciousness, irony, and the human condition.

Wallace struggled with depression for many years and died by suicide in 2008 at the age of 46.