Philip Athans is the founding partner of Athans & Associates Creating Consulting and the New York Times best-selling author of Annihilation and a dozen other fantasy and horror books, including The Guide to Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Haunting of Dragon's Cliff and Devils of the Endless Deep. Born in Rochester, New York, he grew up in suburban Chicago, where he published the literary magazine Alternative Fiction & Poetry. His blog, Fantasy Author's Handbook, is updated every Tuesday, and you can follow him on Twitter (@PhilAthans).

Jay Lake is the author of the Mainspring and Green series from Tor, as well as several independent press novels and numerous short stories. In 2013, his steampunk novella, "The Stars Do Not Lie," was nominated for the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus awards. He lives and writes in Portland, Oregon.