Irene Vallejo is a classicist and the global bestselling author of Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World. She earned her European Doctorate from the Universities of Zaragoza and Florence and is a regular columnist for El Pa s, El Espectador, and La Naci n. Papyrus has sold more than a million copies worldwide and has been translated into forty languages. It was awarded the National Essay Prize in Spain, the Prix Livre de Poche in France, and the Wenjin Book Award in China, among other prizes. Irene is also the author of two children's books, two novels, and three collections of essays, articles, and short fiction.

Charlotte Whittle is an editor, writer, and literary translator whose recent translations include novels by Norah Lange, Jorge Comensal, and Elisa Victoria. Her work has received support from English PEN and Art OMI, and her translation of Norah Lange's People in the Room was nominated for several awards. She won the 2023 Queen Sof a Translation Prize for Irene Vallejo's Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World. She divides her time between Norwich and New York.