William Lychack is the American author of the novel, The Wasp Eater, and a forthcoming collection of stories, The Architect of Flowers. His work has appeared in The Pushcart Prize, The Best American Short Stories, Ascent, Ploughshares, The Southern Review, The Seattle Review, The Missouri Review, and other places, including The American Scholar and Public Radio's This American Life. He has published children's books, corporate histories, and has worked as a teacher, editor, speechwriter, ghostwriter, journalist, lifeguard, carpenter, bartender, janitor, Mr. Softee Ice Cream Man, and a Judo instructor. He was the Writer-in-Residence 2006?2010 at Phillips Academy, and is currently a member of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Lesley University.