Yvan Alagbé was born in Paris and spent three years of his youth in West Africa. He is a cofounder of the publishing house Amok, which later merged with the Belgian publishing group Fréon to become Frémok, now a major European graphic novels publisher. He is the author of Yellow Negroes and Other Imaginary Creatures. He teaches at Haute école des arts du Rhin in Strasbourg.

Donald Nicholson-Smith is a translator of French literature. He has translated works by writers such as Guy Debord, Henri Lefebvre, and Guillaume Apollinaire, as well as the noir fiction of Jean-Patrick Manchette and Thierry Jonquet. He is a Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Born in Manchester, England, he lives in New York City.