About Ada Palmer
Ada Palmer is the author of the Terra Ignota fiction series and winner of the John W. Campbell Award. She is a professor in the history department of the University of Chicago, specializing in Renaissance history and the history of ideas. She is also a composer of folk and Renaissance-tinged a cappella music, most of which she performs with the group Sassafrass. She writes about history for a popular audience at exurbe.com and about SF and fantasy-related matters at Tor.com.
About T. Ryder Smith
T. Ryder Smith is an American actor. A native of New York state and long-time resident of New York City, he has appeared frequently on stage, particularly in avant-garde theater works, and in film, sometimes as a voice actor.