American novelist and essayist. Born in Pittsburgh, Chabon grew up there and in Columbia, Maryland. He was educated at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of California, Irvine, where he received an M.F.A. in creative writing. The commercial and critical success of his first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (1988), written as his master's thesis, was followed by his second novel, Wonder Boys (1995). The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (2000), a Pulitzer Prize winner, features Chabon's characteristic themes: family ties, a search for Jewish identity, and a fascination with "lowbrow" genre fiction and comic books. Subsequent books have included the novel The Yiddish Policemen's Union (2007) and the essay collections Maps and Legends (2008) and Manhood for Amateurs (2009). See also michaelchabon.com.