Irwin Shaw was an American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and short-story writer born in the South Bronx, New York City.

Born on February 27, 1913, Shaw attended James Madison High School before going on to study at the City University of New York. He worked in English across multiple forms throughout his career, moving between the stage, the page, and the screen with enough range that no single label quite covers him. He also worked as a film producer, adding yet another dimension to a career already spread across fiction, drama, and screenwriting.

His plays included Bury the Dead, and his fiction reached a wide readership over the course of his life. The novel Rich Man, Poor Man became one of his notable works, and his written output as a whole sold more than fourteen million copies — a figure that points to a readership extending well beyond literary circles. His contributions were recognized with the O. Henry Award and the Lucien Barrière Literary Award, two distinct honors that reflect both his short fiction and his broader literary standing.

Shaw was a United States citizen who wrote in English across novels, plays, screenplays, and short stories. He died on May 16, 1984, in Davos. The O. Henry Award, given for short fiction, and the more than fourteen million copies his written works sold together offer a concrete measure of both his critical recognition and his popular reach.