Gary Phillips is the co-editor of the well-received Cocaine Chronicles anthology on criminal behavior and has a short story in the recent Dublin Noir collection called The Man for the Job. He writes a regular column for Mystery Scene magazine and is on the board of the Mystery Writers of America. Visit his website at www.gdphillips.com.

Paul Levine is a former trial attorney and the award-winning author of legal thrillers. Solomon vs. Lord was nominated for the Macavity Award and Thurber Prize, and The Deep Blue Alibi was an Edgar award finalist. Levine's latest title is Illegal.

Lisa Scottoline is a New York Times best-selling author of more than 13 legal suspense novels, most recently Look Again. A former trial lawyer and judicial law clerk, Scottoline made the switch from law to writing in 1994 with her Edgar Award-nominated Everywhere that Mary Went.

John Shannon has worked on a newspaper, in TV, taught in the Peace Corps in Malawi, Africa, worked as a technical writer and video producer, and spent much of the 1970s as a political activist in the anti-war movement. Shannon has published the Jack Liffey mystery series about L.A. social history. The 12th book in the series is Palos Verdes Blue.

Stuart Woods is the best-selling author of more than 30 novels. His first novel, Chiefs, won an Edgar Award for Best First Novel. He resides in Key West, Fla; Mount Desert, Maine; and New York City. His most recent book is Loitering with Intent.