Leanne Shapton is an artist, illustrator, and writer who was born in Toronto and lives in New York. She is the author of several books, including Swimming Studies , The Native Trees of Canada , Women in Clothes (with Sheila Heti and Heidi Julavits) and Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris , Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry . She has contributed to The New York Times , Harper's and The New Yorker among other publications, and teaches creative writing at Columbia University. She is one of the founders of J&L Books, a non-profit imprint specializing in photography.