John Updike (1932-2009) was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, and literary critic. He is best known for his Rabbit series, which chronicles the life of the middle-class everyman Harry Angstrom over the course of several decades. His other works include The Centaur, Couples, and The Witches of Eastwick. He won two Pulitzer Prizes for Fiction and was a National Book Award finalist.