Florian Werner studied American, British, and German literature in both Germany and Scotland and earned his PhD in 2007. His short-story collection Wir sprechen uns noch (We still talk) was published in 2005. In 2007, he published Rapocalypse, a study of millenarianist hip-hop lyrics, and in 2011 a cultural history of human excrement, Dunkle Materie: Die Geschichte der Scheiße (Dark matter: the history of shit). When he is not writing, he tours with his band, Fön, and plays soccer for the German national team of writers, Autonama. He lives with his family in Berlin.

Doris Ecker is a full-time translator and writer with a ba in Literature and an ma in Linguistics. Pursuing an eclectic career as a researcher, copy editor, linguistic adviser, and bookbinder she has lived and travelled widely in Asia, Europe, and North America. Currently based in Vancouver, Canada, she combines her professional life as a linguist with outdoor activities and frequent travels.