From short stories like the S&M-tinged "Secretary" (the inspiration for the indie film of the same name) to her 2005 National Book Award-nominated novel, Veronica, Mary Gaitskill's words are often etched on a dark canvas -- but still manage to illuminate. "Gaitskill is an unforgiving writer, harsh, caustic and raw," reads the National Book Award judges' citation. "All that masks the enormous accomplishment of her work, the ability to use the dark to cast light."