About the Authors
S. J. Rozan is the author of the popular Lydia Chin and Bill Smith mystery series, as well as several stand-alone novels and novellas. She has won multiple awards for her fiction, including the Edgar, Shamus, Anthony, Nero, and Macavity awards, the Japanese Maltese Falcon, and the Private Eye Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award.
Walter Mosley is the New York Times author of more than fifty novels in several series, most notably fourteen Easy Rawlins mysteries, several of which have been made into major motion pictures. In 2020 he was a recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and from the National Book Foundation. In 2013, he was inducted into the New York State Writers Hall of Fame, and he is the winner of numerous awards, including an Edgar Award, O. Henry Award, the Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master Award, PEN America’s Lifetime Achievement Award, a Grammy Award, and and several NAACP Image Awards. His work has been translated into twenty-five languages.
Gary Phillips has written novels, short stories, graphic novels, and is executive story editor on FX’s Snowfall, about crack and the CIA in 1980s South Central.
Colleen Delany has
been a sparkling jewel in the crown of Washington’s vastly talented acting
community for thirty-seven days now and will confidently challenge to a fierce
best out of three in “paper-rock-scissors” anyone wishing to topple her from
that lofty perch. Primarily a stage actress,—having played roles at Shakespeare
Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Arena Stage, Signature Theatre, Folger
Shakespeare Library, Studio Theatre, Olney Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, Theater J,
Washington Stage Guild, Theater of the First Amendment, and Source Theatre,
among others—Ms. Delany does a you-name-it of various acting jobs, including
audiobook narration.
Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) was born in Odense, Denmark, the son of a poor shoemaker and a washerwoman. As a young teenager, he became quite well known in Odense as a reciter of drama and as a singer. When he was fourteen, he set off for the capital, Copenhagen, determined to become a national success on the stage. He failed miserably, but made some influential friends in the capital who got him into school to remedy his lack of proper education. In 1829 his first book was published. After that, books came out at regular intervals. His stories began to be translated into English as early as 1846. Since then, numerous editions, and more recently Hollywood songs and Disney cartoons, have helped to ensure the continuing popularity of the stories in the English-speaking world.
Tori Eldridge is the nationally bestselling author of the Anthony, Lefty, and Macavity Award–nominated Lily Wong series, including The Ninja Daughter and The Ninja’s Blade. Her shorter work appears in Weird Tales and numerous anthologies. Learn more about Tori, a modern-day 5th degree black belt ninja, at torieldridge.com.
Naomi Hirahara is the Edgar Award–winning author of the Mas Arai mystery series, including Summer of the Big Bachi, which was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and one of Chicago Tribune’s Ten Best Mysteries and Thrillers. She is also the author of the Ellie Rush mysteries. She is a former editor of the Rafu Shimpo newspaper, and she has co-written nonfiction books like Life after Manzanar and the award-winning Terminal Island: Lost Communities of Los Angeles Harbor. She is a graduate of Stanford University.
About the Narrators
Bahni Turpin, winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and several prestigious Audie Awards for her narrations, was named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine in 2019. Publishers Weekly magazine named her Narrator of the Year for 2016. She is an ensemble member of the Cornerstone Theater Company in Los Angeles. She has guest starred in many television series, including NYPD Blue, Law & Order, Six Feet Under, Cold Case, What about Brian, and The Comeback. Film credits include Brokedown Palace, Crossroads, and Daughters of the Dust. She is also a member of the recording cast of The Help, which won numerous awards.
Cindy Kay is a Chinese Thai American narrator and educator who grew up in the California Bay Area and lives in the Rockies. Her work has been described as listening to a “cozy best friend.” She narrates fiction and nonfiction, and has studied Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, and Japanese.
Charles Constant is an actor whose professional storytelling career began at the age of thirteen, when he became an Actors’ Equity Association apprentice. An accomplished audiobook narrator, he has recorded many popular titles, including How to Win at the Sport of Business by Mark Cuban.
Bahni Turpin, winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and several prestigious Audie Awards for her narrations, was named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine in 2019. Publishers Weekly magazine named her Narrator of the Year for 2016. She is an ensemble member of the Cornerstone Theater Company in Los Angeles. She has guest starred in many television series, including NYPD Blue, Law & Order, Six Feet Under, Cold Case, What about Brian, and The Comeback. Film credits include Brokedown Palace, Crossroads, and Daughters of the Dust. She is also a member of the recording cast of The Help, which won numerous awards.
Leon Nixon is a professional actor, playwright, and filmmaker. A Los Angeles native, he has performed in short films, web series, and on stage in dramatic and comedic roles. He is also an improviser and part of the group that appears in the Guinness Book of World Records for Longest Continuous Improv Show.
Michael Crouch is an actor based in New York City. His audiobook narration has won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, numerous Earphones Awards from AudioFile magazine, and Best of the Year accolades from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. He can also be heard on national commercials, cartoons, video games, and the animé series Pokémon XY and Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V.
Iva-Marie Palmer is the author of The Summers and The End of the World as We Know It. She grew up in Chicago’s south suburbs and now lives in Los Angeles with her husband.
Iva-Marie Palmer is the author of The Summers and The End of the World as We Know It. She grew up in Chicago’s south suburbs and now lives in Los Angeles with her husband.
Reba Buhr is a performer based in Los Angeles, CA, specializing in acting, hosting, and voiceover work. Reba is best known for her work as host of Disney Channel’s Disney 365. As a voice artist she can be heard as the voice of Clovis in Zagtoon’s Zak Storm: Super Pirate, Numi Tahiro in Knights of Sidonia, Ponzu in Hunter × Hunter, Shan Shan in Mattel’s BattleClaw, as well as national commercials. Other work includes her self-produced online talk show LittleBit Tipsy and several years as Princess Jasmine in Aladdin! A Musical Spectacular at Disney’s California Adventure. Reba is a Groundlingstrained improvisor, a classically trained vocalist, and a Jedi Knight.
Janina Edwards, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is a native of Chicago and a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts acting program. Her 2016 performance of Voice of Freedom was a finalist for the Audie Award.
Emily Woo Zeller is an artist, actor, dancer, choreographer, and voice artist who has won Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration in 2018. She began her voice-over career by voicing animation in Asia. AudioFile magazine named her one of the Best Voices of 2013 for her work in Gulp. Other awards include the 2009 Tristen Award for Best Actress as Sally Bowles in Cabaret and the 2006 Roselyn E. Schneider Prize for Creative Achievement.
Jesse Vilinsky is a classically trained actress and voice actor, having graduated from the USC School of Dramatic Arts and BADA in London. She has lent her voice to numerous film and television projects and has worked on various video games, animation, and commercial projects as well. As a narrator, Jesse has garnered recognition in AudioFile magazine for her expertly voiced characters and ability to bring forth the strength and truth of their stories.
James Langton, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, trained as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and later as a musician at the Guildhall School in London. He has worked in radio, film, and television, also appearing in theater in England and on Broadway. He is also a professional musician who led the internationally renowned Pasadena Roof Orchestra from 1996 to 2002.