The Illustrator

James Robison (born October 11, 1946, in Worthington, Ohio) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and screenwriter whose work has appeared frequently in The New Yorker and other journals, including the collections Rumor and Other Stories (1985) and the novel The Illustrator (1988). He is a recipient of the Whiting Award for his short fiction and a Rosenthal Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and has taught creative writing at universities including the University of Houston and Loyola University Maryland.