Eggers is the founder of the independent publishing house, McSweeney’s, as well as being the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia with teacher Ninive Calegari. 826 Valencia is a non-profit organization to help young people develop their writing skills and have extended this project all across the U.S. and are under the sponsorship of 826 National. In 2007 he was awarded the Heinz Award for all the contributions he has made to improve the lives of others. Eggers has also made many musical contributions such as designing the album covers for artists such as “Thrice” and “Paul Banks and the Carousels.” He has also provided lyrics for One Ring Zero’s song “The Ghost of Rita Gonzolo,” from their album “As Smart as We Are.” Dave Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1970. He has three siblings, Bill, Christopher and Beth. He attended high school in Lake Forest, near Chicago and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. He and wife Vendela Vida, who is also a writer, and their two children, are currently living in San Francisco.