Louise Erdrich is a writer of novels, poetry, and children's books. Her work often focuses on Native American life and issues of identity. She is a member of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa tribe. Erdrich's first novel, Love Medicine, was published in 1984. It tells the story of two families, the Kashpaws and the Lamartines, on a North Dakota reservation. The book was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Erdrich has continued to write about the lives of Native Americans in such novels as The Bingo Palace (1994), The Antelope Wife (1998), and The Round House (2012). She has also written a series of mystery novels featuring a Native American detective, Joe Leaphorn. Erdrich's work has been praised for its lyrical prose and insight into the lives of Native Americans. She is one of the most important writers of fiction working today.