This Is Not Chick Lit by Elizabeth Merrick

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Nigeria. Her first novel,
"Purple Hibiscus, "won the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the
Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, was shortlisted for the Orange Prize and
the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, and longlisted for the Booker. Her short
fiction has won the 2003 O. Henry Prize and has appeared in various literary
publications, including "Granta "and the "Iowa Review. "She is a
2005/2006 Hodder Fellow at Princeton University and divides her time
between the United States and Nigeria. Her second novel, "Half of a Yellow
Sun, "will be published in September 2006.
Aimee Bender is the author of three books, most recently the story collection
"Willful Creatures. "Her short fiction has been published in
"Granta, GQ, Harper's, The Paris Review, Tin House, "and other publica-
tions and has been heard on Public Radio International's "This American
Life. "She lives in Los Angeles.
Judy Budnitz's stories have appeared in "The New Yorker, Harper's, Story,
The Paris Review, "the "Oxford American, Glimmer Train, Fence, "and
"McSweeney's. "She is the recipient of an O. Henry Prize, and her debut
collection, "Flying Leap, "was a "New York Times "Notable Book in 1998.
Budnitz is also the author of the novel "If I Told You Once, "which won the
Edward Lewis Wallant Award, and was shortlisted for the Orange Prize in
Britain. Her most recent book is the collection "Nice Big American Baby.
"She lives in San Francisco.
Jennifer S. Davis is the author of "Her Kind of Want, "winner of the
2002 Iowa Award for Short Fiction. Her fiction has appeared in such
magazines as the "Oxford American, The Paris Review, Grand Street, "and
"One Story. "Her new collection of short stories, "Our Former Lives in Art,
"is forthcoming from Random House in spring 2007.
Jennifer Egan is the author of the novels "The Invisible Circus "and
"Look at Me, "which was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2001,
and a short-story collection, "Emerald City. "Her short stories have appeared
in "The New Yorker, Harper's, "and "McSweeney's, "among other
publications. Also a journalist, she writes frequently for "The New York
Times Magazine. "Her new novel, "The Keep, "will be published in August
2006.
Carolyn Ferrell is the author of the short-story collection "Don't
Erase Me, "which won the Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, the
John C. Zacharis First Book Award, given by "Ploughshares, "and the New
Voices Award from Quality Paperback Book Club. Her stories have been
published in several anthologies, including "The Best American Short Stories
of the Century, "edited by John Updike, and "Children of the Night:
The Best Short Stories by Black Writers, 1967 to the Present, "edited by
Gloria Naylor. A recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship,
Ferrell teaches at Sarah Lawrence College. She lives in the Bronx
with her husband and two children.
Mary Gordon's novels include "Pearl, Spending, The Company of
Women, The Rest of Life, "and