Who wrote “Election,” the novel that introduced the ambitious Tracy Flick to the world and that was later adapted into a 1999 film starring Reese Witherspoon?

From a 2019 Times article by A.O. Scott:

Even if you’ve never seen “Election,” Alexander Payne’s 1999 comedy about high school politics run amok, you probably know something about Tracy Flick. She is, after all, a pop-culture archetype. In the 20 years since the movie, adapted from a novel by Tom Perrotta, was released to critical praise and disappointing ticket sales, Tracy’s name has become a synonym for relentless drive and obnoxious self-confidence. Her image — sending her hand skyward in class when she knows the answer, which is always; passing out cupcakes frosted with her own name; haranguing her schoolmates at Carver High to “Pick Flick” for student body president — has been immortalized in countless memes. Reese Witherspoon may have gone on to win an Oscar and run with the mean moms on “Big Little Lies,” but Tracy remains (along with Elle Woods from “Legally Blonde”) her defining role.