George Saunders is hands-down my favorite author. I was thrilled to see him speak at Symphony Space tonight and get a signed copy of the new edition of CivilWarLand in Bad Decline.
He introduced a reading of "Offloading for Mrs. Schwartz" by saying it was the first story he ever sold to The New Yorker. His wife threw him a "cupcake party" to celebrate and decorated with a banner of New Yorker covers she took off magazines at the dentist.