Gary Phillips' acclaimed crime novels chronicle the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles through the jaundiced eyes of his African-American investigator Ivan Monk. He is a long-standing LA political activist and labor organizer. His new political murder mystery, Citizen Kang, is currently being serialized online by The Nation.
Mike Davis is the author of several books including Planet of Slums, City of Quartz, Ecology of Fear, Late Victorian Holocausts, and Magical Urbanism. He was recently awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. He lives in Papa'aloa, Hawaii.
John Shannon is one of America's leading writers of neo-noir. His Jack Liffey series of novels is one of the most critically praised mystery series in the genre and includes Terminal Island, Dangerous Games, The Dark Streets, The Devils of Bakersfield, and Palos Verdes Blue. Shannon lives in Los Angeles.