Charles Stross is a full-time science fiction writer and resident of Edinburgh, Scotland. The author of seven Hugo-nominated novels and winner of three Hugo awards for best novella, two of which are part of the Laundry Files series, Stross's works have been translated into over twelve languages.

As the owner of degrees in pharmacy and computer science, he graduated as the world's only academically qualified cyberpunk writer just as cyberpunk died. Today he describes his job as telling lies for money and tormenting his imaginary friends.

Stephen Baxter is the pre-eminent SF writer of his generation. With Terry Pratchett he has co-authored the Long Earth novels. Published around the world he has also won major awards in the UK, US, Germany, and Japan. Born in 1957 he has degrees from Cambridge and Southampton. He lives in Northumberland with his wife.

Gwyneth Jones lives in Brighton with her husband and son. She won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for BOLD AS LOVE; CASTLES MADE OF SAND was shortlisted for the British Science Fiction Award.

She is the previous winner of the James Tiptree Memorial Award and two World Fantasy Awards; four of her previous books have been shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award

Greg Bear is one of the world's leading hard SF authors. A multiple Hugo and Nebula award winner, he sold his first short story, at the age of fifteen, to Robert Lowndes's Famous Science Fiction.

His novels Blood Music and Eon are both Gollancz Masterworks. A full-time writer, he lives in Washington with his family.

Karl Schrooeder is a professional futurist as well as one of Canada's most popular science fiction and fantasy authors. He divides his time between writing and conducting workshops and speaking on the potential impacts of science and technology on society. His short novels Crisis in Zefra (2005) and Crisis in Urlia (2011) are innovative 'scenario fictions' commissioned by the Canadian army as study and research tools.

Hannu Rajaniemi is from Finland and has a PhD in String Theory. He lived, taught and worked in Edinburgh for many years where he was a member of the high profile writing group that also included Hal Duncan and Alan Campbell. He currently lives in California.

His first novel, The Quantum Thief was widely and hugely praised and has been published in several countries. As well as writing novels he also works in the areas of number and game theory and artificial intelligence.

Jonathan Strahan has co-edited The Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy series of anthologies for HarperCollins Australia, co-edits the Science Fiction: The Best of...and Fantasy: The Best of...anthology series with Karen Haber for Simon & Schuster/ibooks, edits the Best Short Novels anthology series for the Doubleday Science Fiction Book Club, and co-edited The Locus Awards for Eos with Charles N. Brown. He is also the Reviews Editor for Locus: The Magazine of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Fields, and reviews for the magazine regularly. He is currently working on The New Space Opera II.