Andrés Barba first became known in 2001 when his novel La hermana de Katia, shortlisted for the Herralde Prize, was published to considerable public and critical acclaim. It was followed by Ahora tocad música de baile, Versiones de Teresa, winner of the Torrente Ballester award, and Agosto, octubre, Muerte de un caballo, for which he won the 2011 Juan March short novel award, Ha dejado de llover, and his latest work, En presencia de un payaso. His books have been translated into ten languages.

Lisa Dillman translates from Spanish and Catalan and teaches in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Emory University. Some of her recent translations include Signs Preceding the End of the World, by Yuri Herrera, which won the 2016 Best Translated Book Award; Rain Over Madrid, by Andrés Barba; Monastery, co-translated with Daniel Hahn, by Eduardo Halfon; and Salting the Wound, by Víctor del Árbol.

Edmund White has written biographies of Jean Genet, Marcel Proust, and Arthur Rimbaud. He has also written several novels; the most recent is Jack Holmes and His Friend: A Novel. He teaches creative writing at Princeton.