William Cuthbert Faulkner (1897–1962). American writer, Nobel Prize laureate and Pulitzer winner. He worked in a variety of written media, including novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays. Known for his novels and short stories, many of which are set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha, a setting he created based on Lafayette County., where he spent most of his life. Is one of the most important writers in both American literature generally and Southern literature specifically.