Mary Gaitskill (born November 11, 1954) is an American author of essays, short stories and novels. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, Esquire, The Best American Short Stories (1993 and 2006), and The O. Henry Prize Stories (1998).
Won the prestigious "Hopwood Prize" for creative writing from the University of Michigan's Hopwood Program. The prize is named after the playwright Avery Hopwood, a Michigan alumnus who left a bequest in his will establishing the awards. The Hopwood Program at Michigan now administers the Arthur Miller Award of the U-M Club of New York Scholarship and the Kasdan Scholarship in Creative Writing, among other award/scholarship programs.