Richard Wollheim (1923-2003) was born in London and educated at Westminster School and Balliol College, Oxford. He fought in France and Germany during World War II and taught philosophy at numerous colleges, including the University of California, Berkeley from 1985 until his death in 2003. He was best known for his philosophical work on art and psychoanalysis, and he served as president of the British Society of Aesthetics from 1992 until his death. He wrote and edited over a dozen books, including On the Emotions, The Mind and Its Depths, On Art and the Mind, and Painting as an Art.

Sheila Heti is the author of eight books of fiction and nonfiction, including the novels Ticknor, Motherhood, and How Should a Person Be?, and the story collection, The Middle Stories. She lives in Toronto.