Richard Zimler was born in Manhasset, a suburb of New York, in 1956. After earning a bachelor's degree in comparative religion from Duke University (1977) and a master's degree in journalism from Stanford University (1982), he worked for eight years as a journalist, mainly in the San Francisco Bay area. In 1990, he moved to Porto, Portugal, and he currently teaches journalism at the University of Porto. He has published more than 20 short stories in recent years, as well as three novels: "Unholy Ghosts," "The Angelic Darkness," and "The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon." His books have appeared on bestseller lists in 10 different countries, and he has won numerous prizes for his work, including a 1994 National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship in Fiction. Richard also writes reviews for the L.A. Times and The Literary Review.