N. K. Jemisin is a Brooklyn-based author and the winner of three Hugo Awards for her novels The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate and The Stone Sky.

She previously won the Locus Award for her first novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and her short fiction and novels have been nominated multiple times for Hugo, World Fantasy and Nebula awards, and shortlisted for the Crawford and the James Tiptree, Jr. Awards.

She is a science fiction and fantasy reviewer for the New York Times.

An avid reader of fantasy literature since age six, Naomi Novik is also a history buff with a particular fascination with the Napoleonic era and a fondness for the work of Patrick O'Brian and Jane Austen.

She lives with her husband and daughter in New York City along with many purring computers.

Garth Nix was born in 1963 in Melbourne, Australia. A full-time writer since 2001, he previously worked as a literary agent, marketing consultant, book editor, book publicist, book sales representative, bookseller, and as a part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve.

Garth's books include the award-winning young adult fantasy novels Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen and Clariel; the dystopian novel Shade's Children; the space opera A Confusion of Princes; and a Regency romance with magic, Newt's Emerald. His fantasy novels for children include The Ragwitch; the six books of the Seventh Tower sequence; the Keys to the Kingdom series; and the Troubletwisters series and Spirit Animals: Blood Ties (co-written with Sean Williams).

More than five million copies of his books have been sold around the world, his books have appeared on the bestseller lists of the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, the Times and The Australian, and his work has been translated into forty-one languages. He lives in a Sydney beach suburb with his wife and two children.

Yoon Ha Lee (yoonhalee.com) is the author of several critically acclaimed short stories and the Machineries of Empire trilogy for adults: Ninefox Gambit, Raven Strategem, and Revenant Gun. Yoon draws inspiration from a variety of sources, e.g. Korean history and mythology, fairy tales, higher mathematics, classic moral dilemmas, and genre fiction.

Tade Thompson is the author of Rosewater, which was the winner of the 2019 Arthur C. Clarke Award, inaugural winner of the Nommo Award and a John W. Campbell finalist. He has written a trilogy set in the world of Rosewater and is working on a space opera. His Shirley Jackson Award-shortlisted novella The Murders of Molly Southbourne has recently been optioned for screen adaptation. Born in London to Yoruba parents, he lives and works on the south coast of England where he battles an addiction to books.

Zen Cho was born and raised in Malaysia and now lives in Birmingham.

She was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer for her short fiction and won the Crawford Award.

Her debut novel, Sorcerer to the Crown, won the 2016 British Fantasy Society Award for Best Newcomer.

Elizabeth Bear was the recipient of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2005. She has won two Hugo Awards for her short fiction, A Sturgeon Award, and the Locus Award for Best First Novel. Bear lives in Brookfield, Massachusetts.

Alyssa Wong writes award-winning fiction, comics, and games. Their stories have won the Nebula Award, the World Fantasy Award, and the Locus Award.

Alyssa was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and their fiction has been shortlisted for the Hugo, Bram Stoker, and Shirley Jackson Awards.

Alyssa’s comics credits include Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, Marvel (Shang-Chi, Iron Fist, Alligator Loki, Extreme Carnage), DC (Batwoman, Wonder Woman), and Adventure Time. Alyssa has also written for Overwatch and Blizzard Entertainment’s Story and Franchise Development.