James Shapiro is currently the Larry Miller Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, where he has taught since 1985. In 2011, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has written several award-winning books on Shakespeare including The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606, which won the James Tait Black Prize as well as the Sheridan Morley Prize. He serves on the board of directors of the Royal Shakespeare Company and he is currently the Shakespeare Scholar in Residence at the Public Theater in New York City.