Erskine Preston Caldwell was an American author. His writings about poverty, racism, and social problems in his native Southern United States in novels such as Tobacco Road and God's Little Acre won him critical acclaim. Caldwell wrote 25 novels, 150 short stories, twelve nonfiction collections, two autobiographies, and two books for young readers. He also edited the influential American Folkways series, a 28-volume series of books about different regions of the United States.

With cumulative sales of 10 million and 14 million copies, respectively, Tobacco Road and God's Little Acre rank as two of the best-selling American novels of all time, with the former being adapted into a 1933 play that set a Broadway record for consecutive performances, since surpassed.