Tom Bissell is the author of Chasing the Sea (named by Conde Nast Traveler as one of the 86 greatest travel books of all time), God Lives in St. Petersburg (winner of the Rome Prize), and The Father of All Things. He is a contributing editor to Harper's Magazine and the Virginia Quarterly Review, and his work has appeared in many magazines, including The New Republic, The New York Times Magazine, and Granta. He currently lives in Las Vegas, where he is a fellow at UNLV's Black Mountain Institute.

John Bissell was born in 1942 in Escanaba, Michigan, where he also grew up. He graduated third in his class in high school and attended Georgetown University, graduating with a BSBA in 1963. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in March 1964, served in Vietnam, and was discharged in July 1967. Upon leaving the Marine Corps he took a position as a Trust Officer and presently serves as a Senior Vice President and Trust Officer at First Bank in Escanaba, Michigan.

Morgan Meis is a founding member of Flux Factory, an arts collective in New York City. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the New School and is an editor of 3quarksdaily.com, a filter blog treating literature, science, and the arts. He is the author of a weekly column at The Smart Set (thesmartset.com) called Idle Chatter and has written for the Believer, Harper's, and VQR.

Bill Meis was raised in Decatur, Illinois, moved to Chicago, became involved in the Civil Rights struggle, and then, anti-Vietnam war protests. Drafted in 1968, he went to Montreal, Canada where Morgan was born. Bill returned as a major test case against the Ford Re-entry Program. His return was featured in Time, Newsweek, major newspapers and British and PBS programs. He is a published novelist and long-time editor. He currently lives in Southern California and completing his MFA in Creative Writing.

Tran Luong has been inspired by memories of his childhood in the countryside where he was taken to escape the bombing in Hanoi. Living there he was able to explore nature and absorb nature's patterns into his art. As his paintings progressed from realistic to more abstract, he continued to branch out into video and installation art, and has begun an Art Center in Hanoi for artists to share in creative discussions and to give younger artists a place to show their work.