Jane Ciabattari is author of the short story collections Stealing the Fire and California Tales. She is a National Book Critics Circle VP (NBCC President 2008-2011) and contributes to BBC.com (Between the Lines columnist), NPR.org, the Daily Beast, Boston Globe, and NYTBR.

Anthony Marra is the author of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, which was longlisted for the National Book Award and won the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the Barnes and Noble Discover Award, and the California Book Award, among others.

Jayne Anne Phillips, author of Quiet Dell, Lark and Termite, MotherKind, Shelter, Machine Dreams, Fast Lanes, and Black Tickets, is a National Book Award and two-time NBCC finalist. Distinguished Professor of English, she directs the Rutgers University-Newark MFA program.

Lily King is the author of The Pleasing Hour, The English Teacher, Father of the Rain, and Euphoria. She is winner of the Kirkus Prize, two-time winner of the New England Book Award for Fiction, and a New York Times Book Review Top Ten Book of the Year author. She lives with her family in Maine.