David Foster Wallace was an American novelist, essayist and teacher best known for his 1996 novel Infinite Jest. He was found dead in his home on September 12, 2008, from an apparent suicide.Houston Chronicle: Writer David Foster Wallace found hanged at home (September 13, 2008) His style is often described as meta-fiction or post-modern, for its self reflexive and fragmented narrative style.

In March 2009 Little, Brown & Company, Wallace's long-time publisher, announced that his final novel would be published posthumously. The work, The Pale King, is scheduled for release in April of 2011. The book was unfinished when Wallace died, but the publisher indicates it still runs in the hundreds of thousands of words.Arts Beat (NYT): David Foster Wallace's Last Novel ... (March 2, 2009)

In March 2010, the University of Texas' Ransom Center acquired Wallace's papers. The collection contains early manuscripts of Infinite Jest, letters to other writers, a sample of heavily-notated books from Wallace's personal library and a poem about Vikings written when the writer was six years old.http://www.statesman.com/life/books/ut-gets-papers-of-infinite-jest-author-332300.html?srcTrk=RTR_169636

• 1987: The Broom of the System
• 1989: Girl with Curious Hair
• 1990: Rap and Race in the Urban Present (Nonfiction)
• 1996: Infinite Jest
• 1997: A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again (Nonfiction)
• 1999: Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
• 2003: Everything and More (Nonfiction)
• 2004: Oblivion
• 2005: Consider the Lobster (Nonfiction)

David Foster Wallace fan Nancy Martira started a WordPress blog devoted to words she's learned while reading the late author's work. Known for his esoteric vocabulary, each post analyzes a passage using a difficult word, and presents its true meaning and context from the original source. One example is the word "undurate," which means physically or morally hardened.Official Site: Words I Learned Reading David Foster Wallace