Erika Schickel's essays, reviews and reporting appear in the Los Angeles Times , LA Weekly, L.A. City Beat and Bust Magazine. She writes online for LAObserved, HipMama.com, 23/6.com and thedailyreel.com. She is the author of You're Not the Boss of Me: Adventures of a Modern Mom.

Gustavo Arellano's !Ask a Mexican! column has a circulation of more than 2 million nationwide. His aptly titled first book, !Ask a Mexican! was a national best seller. In Orange County, A Personal History, he sheds light on a topic near and dear to him: immigration.

Chris Ayres joined The Times (London) in 1997 and has since been posted in New York, Los Angeles and Iraq. He is the author of two books, War Reporting for Cowards, which is now being developed as a motion picture, and his latest, Death by Leisure.

Rachel Resnick's first book, Go West Young F*cked-Up Chick, was a Los Angeles Times best seller. She has published articles, essays and celebrity profile stories nationally and is a contributing editor at Tin House magazine. Resnick's most recent book is Love Junkie.

Marion Winik is the author of eight books including her latest memoir The Glen Rock Book of the Dead. A longtime commentator on NPR's "All Things Considered," she lives in Glen Rock, Pa.