About the Authors
Sylvia Spruck Wrigley was born in Germany and spent her childhood in Los Angeles. She emigrated to Scotland where she guided German tourists around the Trossachs and searched for the supernatural. She now splits her time between South Wales and Andalucia where she writes about plane crashes and faeries, which have more in common than most people might imagine. Her fiction was nominated for a Nebula in 2014 and her short stories have been translated into over a dozen languages.
Daniel Polansky was born in Baltimore in 1984. His first book, Low Town, was released in 2011. Two sequels followed, Tomorrow, the Killing (2012) and She Who Waits (2013). His follow up series, the Empty Throne, began with Those Above (2015) and concluded with Those Below (2016). His novella, The Builders, was nominated for the 2016 Hugo Award. He currently lives in Brooklyn.
Nnedi Okorafor is an author of fantasy and science fiction for both adults and younger readers. Her books include the novella Binti, which won the 2015 Hugo and Nebula Awards; the children's book Long Juju Man, which won the 2007-08 Macmillan Writer's Prize for Africa; the novel Who Fears Death, winner of the World Fantasy Award winner; and the novel Akata Warrior, winner of the Lodestar and Locus awards. She is an associate professor of creative writing and literature at the University at Buffalo. She was born to Igbo Nigerian parents in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Kai Ashante Wilson lives in New York City. His first published story can be found in the Bloodchildren anthology published earlier this year.
Alter S. Reiss is an archaeologist and writer who lives in Jerusalem with his wife Naomi and their son Uriel. He likes good books, bad movies, and old time radio shows.
K. J. Parker is the author of a number of popular fantasy series, including the Engineer, Fencer, and Scavenger trilogies as well as several stand-alone novels, novellas, and numerous short stories. Parker has previously worked in law, journalism, and numismatics (and yes—we had to look it up, too), and currently lives in the south of England.
Matt Wallace is the Hugo Award–winning author of Rencor: Life in Grudge City, the Sin du Jour series, and Savage Legion. He has also penned over one hundred short stories in addition to writing for film and television. In his youth he traveled the world as a professional wrestler and unarmed combat and self-defense instructor before retiring to write full-time. Visit him at www.matt-wallace.com.
Angela Slatter is the author of the Aurealis Award–winning The Girl with No Hands and Other Tales, the World Fantasy Award finalist Sourdough and Other Stories, Aurealis finalist Midnight and Moonshine (with Lisa L. Hannett), among others. She is the first Australian to win a British Fantasy Award, holds an MA and a PhD in creative writing, is a graduate of Clarion South and the Tin House Summer Writers Workshop, and was an inaugural Queensland Writers Fellow.
Michael R. Underwood has circumnavigated the globe, danced the tango with legends and knows why Thibault cancels out Capo Ferro. He also rolls a mean d20. His novels include Geekomancy, Celebromancy, and Shield and Crocus. He lives in Baltimore with his wife and an ever-growing library, and when he’s not writing/gaming/living the dream he’s the North American sales and marketing manager for Angry Robot Books. He’s also part of the Hugo-nominated podcast, The Skiffy and Fanty Show.
Paul Cornell is an award–winning writer of novels, comics, short fiction, and nonfiction, as well as a television screenwriter for Doctor Who and many other series.
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.
About the Narrators
Christopher Price is
a professional actor, director, and voice artist who has worked extensively in
regional theater, radio, and television. His many theater credits include works
by Shakespeare, Arthur Miller, Sam Shepard, and David Mamet. He lives in
Portland, Maine where he also practices scenic design.
JD Jackson is a theater professor, aspiring stage director, and award-winning audiobook narrator. He is a classically trained actor, and his television and film credits include roles on House, ER, Law & Order, Hack, Sherrybaby, Diary of a City Priest, and Lucky Number Slevin. He is the recipient of more than a dozen Earphones Awards for narration and an Odyssey Honor for G. Neri’s Ghetto Cowboy, and he was also named one of AudioFile magazine’s Best Voices of the Year for 2012 and 2013. An adjunct professor at Los Angeles Southwest College, he has an MFA in theater from Temple University.
P. J. Ochlan is an Audie Award–winning, multiple Earphones Award–winning, and Voice Arts Award–nominated narrator of hundreds of audiobooks. His acting career spans more than thirty years and has also included Broadway, the NY Shakespeare Festival under Joseph Papp, critically acclaimed feature films, and television series regular roles.
Robin Miles, named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, has twice won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, an Audie Award for directing, and many Earphones Awards. Her film and television acting credits include The Last Days of Disco, Primary Colors, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order, New York Undercover, National Geographic’s Tales from the Wild, All My Children, and One Life to Live. She regularly gives seminars to members of SAG and AFTRA actors’ unions, and in 2005 she started Narration Arts Workshop in New York City, offering audiobook recording classes and coaching. She holds a BA degree in theater studies from Yale University, an MFA in acting from the Yale School of Drama, and a certificate from the British American Drama Academy in England.
Neil Hellegers grew up in New Jersey and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a BA in theater arts and a minor in psychology before getting an MFA in acting from the Trinity Rep Conservatory in Providence, Rhode Island. He moved to New York City in 2003 and, since then, has made a career of theatrical performance, percussion, theater education, and audiobook narration. He currently lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son.