Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Fredric Brown (1906-1972) published more than 35 books and 200 short stories during his life, both science fiction and mystery. He was considered a master of "Flash fiction" and has received high praise from colleagues such as Stephen King and Phillip K. Dick.

Dan J. Marlowe (1914-1986) worked as the credit manager for a tobacco company and, on occasion, as a professional gambler until, when his wife died unexpectedly in 1956, he moved to New York City to begin a new life as a crime novelist, rising to prominence with The Name of the Game is Death.

Charles Williams (1909-1975) was born in San Angelo, Texas, and served in the Merchant Marine and later worked as an electronics inspector before publishing his first novel at the age of 42. He would publish 26 novels over the next two decades. Twelve of his novels were adapted to film, including Dead Calm, which gave Nicole Kidman her breakthrough role in 1989.

Trained as a journalist, Dorothy B. Hughes (1904-1993) was a remarkable literary figure during the mid-20th century-she wrote poetry, history, crime fiction, and critical studies. Her first book, Dark Certainty, won the Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition in 1931. She wrote The So Blue Marble, her first mystery novel, in 1940 entitled and followed it with thirteen more. In 1978, she received the Grand Master award from the Mystery Writers of America.

Donald Westlake (1933-2008) wrote over a hundred books, ranging from crime fiction to biography written under his own name and various pseudonyms, most famously Richard Stark. He was the recipient of three Edgar Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, their highest honor.

Geoffrey O'Brien, editor, is a poet, a widely published critic, and the author of books on crime fiction, film, music, and cultural history, including Hardboiled America, The Phantom Empire, Sonata for Jukebox, Where Did Poetry Come From: Some Early Encounters, and Arabian Nights of 1934. He was for many years editor-in-chief of Library of America.