PARINOUSH SANIEE is a sociologist and psychologist. She was formerly manager of the research department at the Supreme Coordination Council for Technical and Vocational Education in Iran. She has written several novels, of which The Book of Fate is the first; The Father of the Other One, her second novel, has also been published to great acclaim in Iran. Her other books are awaiting approval by the censorship board.

SARA KHALILI is an editor and translator of contemporary Iranian literature. Her translations include The Book of Fate by Parinoush Saniee, Censoring an Iranian Love Story by Shahriar Mandanipour, and Kissing the Sword: A Prison Memoir by Shahrnush Parsipur. She has also translated several volumes of poetry by Forough Farrokhzad, Simin Behbahani, Siavash Kasraii, and Fereydoon Moshiri. Her translations of short stories by Shahriar Mandanipour have appeared in The Literary Review, The Kenyon Review, The Virginia Quarterly Review, EPOCH, Words Without Borders, and PEN America. She lives and works in New York City.