Geoffrey Wolff is the acclaimed author of three works of nonfiction-"Black Sun, "a biography; "The Duke of Deception, "a memoir; and "A Day at the Beach, "a collection of personal essays-as well as six novels, most recently "The Age of Consent." In 1994 he received the Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Mr. Wolff is the director of the graduate fiction program at the University of California, Irvine.