Lydia Davis is an author of novels, short stories, and essays. She also translates literature from French and other languages. She is known for her very short short stories characterized by vivid observations of mostly mundane and routine occurrences. Davis has been named a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government for her fiction and translations, received a MacArthur Foundation fellowship, and won an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award of Merit medal and the Man Booker International Prize.