Raymond DeCapite, a native Clevelander, drew on his family and his community heritage as inspiration for his books. He knew the harder side of fighting for a living just as his characters did, having worked as a shipping clerk, a restaurant employee, a cashier, and a crane oiler. DeCapite was the recipient of an Ohioana Award for Literature, a Cleveland Critics Circle Award as a playwright, and a Cleveland Arts Prize for lifetime achievement. His novels The Coming of Fabrizze and A Lost King are also available from Kent State University Press.

Aaron Cometbus is a publisher, writer, and bookseller with a love for the small press.