Hilton Als was named a staff writer for the New Yorker magazine in November 1996. He is also a former editor for the Village Voice and editor at large of Vibe magazine. Als was the recipient of a 2000 Guggenheim grant for creative writing, as well as a George Nathan Award for Dramatic criticism (2003). His first book, The Women, a meditation on gender and race and their roles in forging personal identity, was published in November 1996 and received substantial critical acclaim. In 2009, Als worked with the performer Justin Bond on “Cold Water,” an exhibition of paintings, drawings, and videos by performers, at La MaMa Gallery. In 2010, he co-curated “Self-Consciousness,” at the Veneklasen Werner Gallery in Berlin, and published Justin Bond/Jackie Curtis (After Dark Publishing), his second book. Als has taught at Smith College, Wesleyan, and Yale University, and his work has also appeared in The Nation, The Believer, and the New York Review of Books. He lives in New York City.