Roz Chast, a native of Brooklyn, began selling her cartoons to The New Yorker in 1978 and since then, over 800 of her drawings have appeared in the magazine. Her notably witty humor is regularly seen in such publications as Bon Appetit, The Harvard Business Review and Scientific America. In addition, she has published several collections of cartoons, illustrated children's books, and designed book jackets, CD covers and theater posters. A cartoonist who sees humor in all human interaction, Chast is known for casting a new and distinctly different twist on the everyday foibles of the human race. Chast originally studied painting at The Rhode Island School of Design, but her quirky sense of humor lead her instead to frequent the pages of The New Yorker.

In 1982, David Milch, a lecturer in English literature at Yale University and neophyte screenwriter, wrote a script for Hill Street Blues. The episode, "Trial by Fury," premiered Hill Street's third season and won the Emmy®, the Writers Guild Award, and the Humanitas Prize for that season.

Judith Thurman is widely regarded as one of the great literary journalists of our time. She is renowned for her style, depth, and penetration of her subjects. Her first major work, the biography of Isak Dinesen, won the National Book Award, was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize, and served as the basis for the Sydney Pollack film Out of Africa. Her biography of Colette was shortlisted for every major U.S. literary prize, including the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and the National Book Critic's Circle Award. It won the LA Times Book Award for biography and the Salon Book Award for biography. She is a staff writer for The New Yorker and lives in New York.