Thad Ziolkowski is the author of Our Son the Arson, a collection of poems; the surf memoir On a Wave, which was a finalist for the PEN/Martha Albrand Award in 2003; and Wichita, a novel. His essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, Slate, Bookforum, Artforum, Travel & Leisure, Interview and Index. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and has a Ph.D. in English literature from Yale University. His most recent book, The Drop: How the Most Addictive Sport Can Help Us Understand Addiction and Recovery (Harper Wave), was published in July and explores the relationship between surfing and addiction.