Steve Stern is an author of numer­ous nov­els and sto­ry col­lec­tions, includ­ing The Wed­ding Jester, which won the Nation­al Jew­ish Book Award, and Lazar Malkin Enters Heav­en, which won the Edward Lewis Wal­lant Award for Jew­ish fic­tion. Steve has also been a recip­i­ent of a Guggen­heim grant and a Ful­bright fel­low­ship to teach in Israel.