Robert Olmstead was born and raised in New Hampshire. He is the author of River Dogs, a collection of short stories, and two novels, Soft Water and A Trail of Heart's Blood Wherever We Go. His third novel, America by Land, is forthcoming from Random House. His stories have appeared in Story, The Graywolf Annual Four, Black Warrior Review, Granta, and Cutbank. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and currently is Writer in Residence at Dickinson College.