Larissa Lai was born in La Jolla, California and grew up in Newfoundland. She graduated with honours in Sociology from the University of British Columbia and obtained an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. She has worked in various cultural communities as researcher, editor and organizer. In 1997-98, Larissa was the Writer-in-Residence at the University of Calgary. Her poetry and prose have appeared in publications such as Fuse, Kinesis, West Coast Line, Room of One's Own, Rungh, and the anthology Many-Mouthed Birds. Her first novel, When Fox Is a Thousand (Press Gang, 1995; Arsenal Pulp Press, 2004), was shortlisted for the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award, while her second, Salt Fish Girl (Thomas Allen, 2002), was shortlisted for the Sunburst Award, the Tiptree Award and the City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Award. In 2003, TVOntario's Imprint named her one of the Top Ten Writers to Watch Under 40. Larissa lives in Vancouver.
Janet McNaughton was born in Toronto and obtained an Honours B.A. from York University in 1978, an M.A. in folklore from Memorial University in Newfoundland in 1983, and a Ph.D. in folklore from Memorial in 1989. Her junior and YA novels include Catch Me Once, Catch Me Twice (1994), Make or Break Spring (1998), To Dance at the Palais Royale (1999), The Secret Under My Skin (2000), The Saltbox Sweater (2001) and An Earthly Knight (2003) and have won numerous awards. Janet's first picture book, the original fairytale Brave Jack and the Unicorn, was published by Tundra Books in 2005. She lives in St. John's, Newfoundland.
Uppinder Mehan is the co-editor, with Nalo Hopkinson, of So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction and Fantasy (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2003). He teaches science fiction and fantasy and anglophone postcolonial literature, and his essays have appeared in journals such as The Journal of the American Comparative Literature Association, Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics, Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction, and Genre 18, and in the sourcebooks Asian-American Novelists and Asian-American Playwrights. He has a B.A. from the University of Windsor, an M.A. from York University, and a B.Ed. and Ph.D from the University of Toronto. After having taught at the University of Toronto and various schools in New York and Boston, his latest teaching institution is Victoria College in Victoria, Texas. He is currently at work on a book on spiritual possession in postcolonial literature.
Derryl Murphy has been writing for about 15 years. His stories are frequently anthologized: for example, "Cold Ground" in Arrowdreams: An Anthology of Alternate Canadas (Signature Editions, 1997), and "Mayfly," co-authored by Peter Watts, in Tesseracts Nine (Edge, 2005). His first book, the story collection Wasps at the Speed of Sound, was released in 2005 by Prime Books. Formerly an editor with On Spec magazine, Derryl is currently its Art Director. He lives in Prince George, B.C.
Élisabeth Vonarburg: Born to life in 1947 (France) and to science fiction in 1964. Teaches French Literature and Creative Writing on and off at various universities in Quebec (since immigration in 1973). Full-time writer since 1990 (despite Ph.D. in Creative Writing, 1987)—i.e., translator, SF convention organizer, literary editor (Solaris magazine) and essayist. Still managed to publish five short story collections in French and one in English (Slow Engines of Time, Tesseract Books, 2001). Four novels have been translated into English (The Silent City; In the Mothers' Land a.k.a. The Maerlande Chronicles, a 1993 Philip K. Dick's Special Award and a finalist of the 1993 Tiptree Award; Reluctant Voyagers; and Dreams of the Sea [Tyranaäl I, 2003]); nine have been published in French. The recent five-book Tyranaäl series has received three major awards in Quebec. Élisabeth has written numerous short stories in French and English, and also writes for children and YA. She has received about 30 awards from France, Canada, Quebec and the States, the most recent being the Prix du Conseil québécois de la Femme en littérature (1998; a one-time literary award given by the Québécois Council for Women's Affairs on its 20th anniversary), and the Aurora Award 2004 (Best Short Story, << La course de Kathryn >>).
