Carl Hiaasen ( /ˈhaɪ.əsɛn/; born March 12, 1953) is an American journalist, columnist, and novelist.

Born in 1953 and raised in Plantation, Florida, of Norwegian heritage, Hiaasen was the first of four children and the son of a lawyer, Kermit Odel, and teacher, Patricia. He married Connie Lyford just after high school graduation and entered Emory University in 1970, where he contributed numerous satiric pieces to the school newspaper, The Emory Wheel. In 1972 he transferred to the University of Florida, where he wrote for The Independent Florida Alligator. Hiaasen graduated in 1974 with a degree in journalism. Carl and Connie divorced in 1996, and he married Fenia Clizer in 1999. He has one son from each of his two marriages.

He was a reporter for Cocoa Today (Cocoa, Florida) for two years, beginning in 1974, then was hired by the Miami Herald in 1976, where he still (as of 2011^[update]) works. In 1979 he switched to investigative journalism, initially focusing on property development and the construction industry, exposing schemes to despoil the natural beauty of Florida for profit; several of his novels have plots based on such themes. He began writing a regular column in 1985; initially three times a week, but after the success of his novels, he cut back to weekly.

Steve Kroft (born August 22, 1945) is an American journalist and a longtime correspondent for 60 Minutes. His investigative reporting has garnered him much acclaim, including three Peabody Awards and nine Emmy awards, one of which was an Emmy for Lifetime Achievement.

Born on August 22, 1945 in Kokomo, Indiana, Kroft attended Syracuse University, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1967. After his graduation, he was drafted into the United States Army and served in the Vietnam War. He was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division in Cu Chi, where he was a reporter for the Armed Forces Network; he covered the Division's participation in the invasion of Cambodia. Kroft won several Army journalism awards for his work and a Bronze Star for Meritorius Achievement. When the Division was redeployed, he was reassigned to the military newspaper Stars and Stripes as a correspondent and photographer.

Shortly after receiving an honorable discharge from the army in 1971, he began his broadcast journalism career as a reporter for WSYR-TV in Syracuse, New York. Kroft returned to academics in 1974, enrolling at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and earning his master's degree in 1975. Upon graduation Kroft moved to Florida, where he worked for two stations owned by the Washington Post Company. As an investigative reporter for WJXT in Jacksonville, his reports on local corruption led to several grand jury investigations and established his reputation. In 1977 he moved to WPLG-TV in Miami, where his work came to the attention of CBS News.

Charles Conrad "Chad" Lowe (born January 15, 1968) is an American actor. He is the younger brother of fellow actor Rob Lowe. He won an Emmy Award for his supporting role in Life Goes On as a man suffering with HIV. He has also had recurring roles on ER, Melrose Place, and Now and Again. One of his recent prominent roles was Deputy White House Chief of Staff Reed Pollock on the sixth season of 24.

Lowe was born in Dayton, Ohio, the son of Barbara Lynn (née Hepler), a teacher, and Charles Davis Lowe, a lawyer. He is the younger brother of actor Rob Lowe.

Lowe began his acting career in his teens. In one of his earlier roles he played the title character in the short-lived sitcom, Spencer, which he abruptly left. Later, he co-starred with Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Urich in the 1987 made-for-TV film April Morning, which depicted the battle of Lexington in the American Revolutionary War.

From 1991-1993, he starred in Life Goes On, for which he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1993.

Margaret Eleanor Atwood, CC OOnt FRSC (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honored authors of fiction in recent history. She is a winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and Prince of Asturias award for Literature, has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize five times, winning once, and has been a finalist for the Governor General's Award seven times, winning twice. Atwood has increasingly been mentioned as a potential candidate for the Nobel Prize for Literature.

While she is best known for her work as a novelist, she is also a poet, having published 15 books of poetry to date. Many of her poems have been inspired by myths and fairy tales, which have been interests of hers from an early age. Atwood has published short stories in Tamarack Review, Alphabet, Harper's, CBC Anthology, Ms., Saturday Night, and many other magazines. She has also published four collections of stories and three collections of unclassifiable short prose works.