Michael Collins was born in 1964. He was educated in Belfast, Dublin and Chicago. His short stories have been awarded the Hennessy/Sunday Tribune Award in Ireland and the Pushcart Prize in America, and his novel The Keepers of Truth was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the International IMPAC literary award. His latest novel is The Death of All Things Seen (July 2016).

Kári Gíslason was born in Reykjavík in 1972. He moved to England at the age of ten, and then to Australia four years later. His first book, The Promise of Iceland, told the story of return journeys that he has made to his birthplace. In 2015, he published a novel The Ash Burner, and in 2016 co-created the Saga Land radio series with Richard Fidler. Kári was awarded a doctorate in 2003 for his thesis on medieval Icelandic literature. As well as memoir and fiction, he publishes scholarly articles, travel writing and reviews. He is currently Associate Professor of creative writing and literary studies at Queensland University of Technology.