Garth Greenwell is an American novelist, literary critic, and educator. He was born on March 19, 1978, in Louisville, Kentucky. Greenwell has published several works of fiction. His novella Mitko appeared in 2011, followed by his debut novel What Belongs to You in 2016, which won the British Book Award for Debut of the Year. He published the novel Cleanness in 2020, and Small Rain in 2024, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Beyond his novels, Greenwell has published stories and criticism in prominent literary magazines including The Paris Review, A Public Space, The Yale Review, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic.