Ioanna Karystiani was born on the island of Crete, Greece, in the town of Chania and now lives in Athens. Her literary debut came with the collection of short stories, I kyria Kataki (Ms. Kataki). She has since written three novels, all of which have been translated into several languages. She wrote the screenplay for The Brides, directed by Pandelis Vulgaris and produced by Martin Scorsese, and Estrella mi vida, directed by Costa Gavras. She received the Greek state prize for literature and the Athenian Academy prize for her first novel, and the Diavaso literature prize for her second. Konstantine Matsoukas was born in 1959 in Athens, Greece. His most recent book, For Four Hands, which he co-wrote with poet Maria Topali, was published in fall 2009. He lives and works in Athens as a translator, freelance writer and literary critic.