Valerie Steele is director and chief curator of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she has personally organized more than 25 exhibitions, including The Corset: Fashioning the Body, Gothic: Dark Glamour, A Queer History of Fashion, and Paris, Capital of Fashion. She is founder and editor in chief of Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture, the first peer-reviewed, scholarly journal in Fashion Studies. Described in The Washington Post as one of fashions...

Mark Seliger was born in Amarillo, Texas. He was Rolling Stones chief photographer for 20 years, where he shot over 150 covers silica shoots frequently for Vanity Fair, GQ, Italian Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, L, and other magazines. His advertising work includes projects for Adidas, Anheuser-Busch, Levi's, Netflix and Ralph Lauren. Seliger received the Alfred Eisenstadt Award, Clio Grand Prix, the C Award, Cannes Lions Grand Prix, The One Show, ASME, SPG and the Texas Medal of Arts were exhibited...

John Marciari is Charles W. Engelhard Curator and Head of the Department of Drawings and Prints at the Morgan Library & Museum. Marciari oversees a collection that is renowned throughout the world. Drawings and Prints is one of the largest of the Morgan’s curatorial departments and its approximately 25,000 works span the fourteenth century through the nineteenth century. The department is especially strong in drawings from the Italian, French, Dutch, and British schools, and the list of...

Dyer is the author of four novels: Paris Trance, The Search, The Colour of Memory, and Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi; two collections of essays, Anglo-English Attitudes and Working the Room; and six genre-defying titles: But Beautiful, The Missing of the Somme, Out of Sheer Rage, Yoga For People Who Can’t Be Bothered To Do It, The Ongoing Moment and Zona, about Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Stalker. A collection of essays from the last twenty years entitled Otherwise Known as the Human...

Dyer is the author of four novels: Paris Trance, The Search, The Colour of Memory, and Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi; two collections of essays, Anglo-English Attitudes and Working the Room; and six genre-defying titles: But Beautiful, The Missing of the Somme, Out of Sheer Rage, Yoga For People Who Can’t Be Bothered To Do It, The Ongoing Moment and Zona, about Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Stalker. A collection of essays from the last twenty years entitled Otherwise Known as the Human...

"I went up to Bennington, to the writing seminars, with my husband to give a talk. And while I was giving the talk, I sat in on some of the graduate lectures that the writing seminars MFA candidates have to do. And I got in the car to drive home, and I said to my husband, “I want to grad school. I want to go there.” And I had already published two books at that point. I really, there was no logical reason I would be going to grad school, but I had always sort of thought that there was...

Susan Scarf Merrell is the author of Shirley: A Novel, which is a film starring Elisabeth Moss and Michael Stuhlbarg. She is also the author of A Member of the Family, and The Accidental Bond: How Sibling Connections Influence Adult Relationships. She co-directs the Southampton Writers Conference, is program director (along with Meg Wolitzer) of the novel incubator program, BookEnds, and teaches in the MFA in Creative Writing & Literature at Stony Brook Southampton. She served as fiction...

Actor, producer, writer and director, Joe Mantegna began his career on the stage with the 1969 musical Hair. He later earned a Tony Award for portraying Richard Roma in the first American production of David Mamet's play Glengarry Glen Ross, the first of many collaborations with Mamet. Mantegna has appeared in Three Amigos, The Godfather Part III, Forget Paris, and Up Close & Personal and other films. From 2007 to 2020 he starred in the CBS TV series Criminal Minds as FBI Supervisory...

Actor, producer, writer and director, Joe Mantegna began his career on the stage with the 1969 musical Hair. He later earned a Tony Award for portraying Richard Roma in the first American production of David Mamet's play Glengarry Glen Ross, the first of many collaborations with Mamet. Mantegna has appeared in Three Amigos, The Godfather Part III, Forget Paris, and Up Close & Personal and other films. From 2007 to 2020 he starred in the CBS TV series Criminal Minds as FBI Supervisory...

Howard A. Rodman is a screenwriter, author and educator. His novels include The Great Eastern and Destiny Express. As a screenwriter, Rodman wrote Savage Grace, with Julianne Moore and Eddie Redmayne, nominated for Best Screenplay at the 2009 Spirit Awards, and AUGUST, starring Josh Hartnett and David Bowie. He also wrote Joe Gould’s Secret, the opening night film of the Sundance Film Festival, based on the memoir by iconic New Yorker writer Joseph Mitchell. He is the past president of the...

Howard A. Rodman is a screenwriter, author and educator. His novels include The Great Eastern and Destiny Express. As a screenwriter, Rodman wrote Savage Grace, with Julianne Moore and Eddie Redmayne, nominated for Best Screenplay at the 2009 Spirit Awards, and AUGUST, starring Josh Hartnett and David Bowie. He also wrote Joe Gould’s Secret, the opening night film of the Sundance Film Festival, based on the memoir by iconic New Yorker writer Joseph Mitchell. He is the past president of the...

James McDaniel is an actor and director best known for his award winning performances on NYPD Blue, Detroit 187, and Edge of America. When he’s not acting in front of the camera you can find James on and off-Broadway starring in works like Before it Hits Home, August Wilson’s Joe Turners Come and Gone, and most recently A Soldier’s Play. James also created the role Paul, in Six Degrees of Separation, setting the stage for future Black actors like Will Smith, who reprised the role in 1993. His...

James McDaniel is an actor and director best known for his award winning performances on NYPD Blue, Detroit 187, and Edge of America. When he’s not acting in front of the camera you can find James on and off-Broadway starring in works like Before it Hits Home, August Wilson’s Joe Turners Come and Gone, and most recently A Soldier’s Play. James also created the role Paul, in Six Degrees of Separation, setting the stage for future Black actors like Will Smith, who reprised the role in 1993. His...

Film editor Alan Edward Bell has cut three of The Hunger Games series. He also edited (500) Days of Summer, Water for Elephants, Red Sparrow, The Dark Tower, The Amazing Spiderman, and other films. A former competitive rock-climber and guide, Alan transitioned to editing after spending time around film people while taking them on climbing expeditions. That his editing often pushes the boundaries of what is technically possible is more amazing when you consider he is self-taught. After years...

Film editor Alan Edward Bell has cut three of The Hunger Games series. He also edited (500) Days of Summer, Water for Elephants, Red Sparrow, The Dark Tower, The Amazing Spiderman, and other films. A former competitive rock-climber and guide, Alan transitioned to editing after spending time around film people while taking them on climbing expeditions. That his editing often pushes the boundaries of what is technically possible is more amazing when you consider he is self-taught. After years...

Michael Maren is a journalist, filmmaker and former aid worker. He’s written scripts for HBO, Sony Pictures, and many independent producers. His film, A Short History of Decay was a funny and moving examination of a writer Bryan Greenberg visiting his ailing parents, played by Linda Lavin and Harris Yulin. His forthcoming film is an adaptation of Chris Belden’s novel Shriver. It’s a comedy set at a writers conference and stars Michael Shannon, Kate Hudson, Don Johnson, and Zach Braff. ...

Michael Maren is a journalist, filmmaker and former aid worker. He’s written scripts for HBO, Sony Pictures, and many independent producers. His film, A Short History of Decay was a funny and moving examination of a writer Bryan Greenberg visiting his ailing parents, played by Linda Lavin and Harris Yulin. His forthcoming film is an adaptation of Chris Belden’s novel Shriver. It’s a comedy set at a writers conference and stars Michael Shannon, Kate Hudson, Don Johnson, and Zach Braff. ...

Doug Wright is an award winning playwright whose plays include I am My Own Wife, for which he won a Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize, Posterity, and Quills, for which he won an Obie Award. He has written books for the Tony-nominated musical Grey Gardens, the Drama Desk nomination “Hands on a hardbody”, The Little Mermaid, and War Paint. He adapted and directed August Strindberg’s Creditors for the La Jolla Playhouse in 2009.  Films include the screen adaptation of Quills, which won a Paul Selvin...

Stuart Dryburgh is a British born, New York based cinematographer. His credits include ‘The Great Wall’, ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’, ‘Bridget Jones’ Diary’, ‘The Piano’ (AAN 1994) and ‘An Angel at my Table’. Stuart Dryburgh was born in the UK in 1952, and migrated with his family to New Zealand in 1961, where he spent most of his childhood and young adult life. He earned a Bachelor of Architecture from Auckland University in 1977. Stuart started out working on early NZ films such as...

Stuart Dryburgh is a British born, New York based cinematographer. His credits include ‘The Great Wall’, ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’, ‘Bridget Jones’ Diary’, ‘The Piano’ (AAN 1994) and ‘An Angel at my Table’. Stuart Dryburgh was born in the UK in 1952, and migrated with his family to New Zealand in 1961, where he spent most of his childhood and young adult life. He earned a Bachelor of Architecture from Auckland University in 1977. Stuart started out working on early NZ films such as...

Robert Nathan is an award-winning television producer, screenwriter, journalist, and novelist. Best known for his work on the Law & Order television franchise and his novel The White Tiger. He has worked in politics, broadcast and print journalism, film, and television. Nathan joined the original writing staff of Law & Order, working on three series in the franchise. Nathan’s script for the episode “Manhood,” co-written with Walon Green, holds the franchise’s only Emmy nomination for...

Robert Nathan is an award-winning television producer, screenwriter, journalist, and novelist. Best known for his work on the Law & Order television franchise and his novel The White Tiger. He has worked in politics, broadcast and print journalism, film, and television. Nathan joined the original writing staff of Law & Order, working on three series in the franchise. Nathan’s script for the episode “Manhood,” co-written with Walon Green, holds the franchise’s only Emmy nomination for...

David Auburn's plays include Proof (Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award®, New York Drama Critics Circle Award), An Upset and Amateurs (EST Marathons) and Skyscraper. Films include The Girl in the Park (writer/director) and The Lake House. Recent directing credits include A Delicate Balance for BTF. His short plays have been collected in the volume “Fifth Planet and Other Plays” (DPS). His work has been published in Harper’s, New England Review, and Guilt and Pleasure; and he was a contributing editor...

Salvador Perez’s work is very diverse. He has designed for many TV series including Castle, Moonlight, Veronica Mars and 6 Seasons of The Mindy Project where he was nominated for an Emmy for costume design. Salvador has also worked on movies such as Pitch Perfect 1, 2 and 3, Think Like a Man 1 and 2, Men of Honor and Drumline. Born and raised in Central California, Perez moved to Los Angeles to attend The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising to pursue a career in fashion design. Once...

Salvador Perez’s work is very diverse. He has designed for many TV series including Castle, Moonlight, Veronica Mars and 6 Seasons of The Mindy Project where he was nominated for an Emmy for costume design. Salvador has also worked on movies such as Pitch Perfect 1, 2 and 3, Think Like a Man 1 and 2, Men of Honor and Drumline. Born and raised in Central California, Perez moved to Los Angeles to attend The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising to pursue a career in fashion design. Once...