Elizabeth Strout is an American novelist known for her work in literary fiction and descriptive characterization. Born and raised in Portland, Maine, her experiences in her youth served as inspiration for her novels. The fictional "Shirley Falls, Maine" is the setting of four of her nine novels.

Strout's first novel, Amy and Isabelle (1998), met with widespread critical acclaim, became a national bestseller, and was adapted into a movie. Her second novel, Abide with Me (2006), also received critical acclaim. In 2008, Olive Kitteridge was published to critical and commercial success, selling over one million copies by 2017 and winning the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It was adapted into a multi Emmy Award-winning mini-series.

Her other works include The Burgess Boys (2013), My Name Is Lucy Barton (2016), and its sequel Anything Is Possible (2017). The sequel to Olive Kitteridge, titled Olive, Again, was published in 2019. Oh, William! and Lucy by the Sea were released in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Strout has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Siegfried Lenz Prize in 2022.