KAREN HALL grew up in south-central Virginia and attended the College of William and Mary, where she majored in English and minored in Religion and spent most of her time in the Department of Theatre and Speech. She studied playwriting under her mentor, Dr.Louis E. Catron, and several of her one act plays were produced by Premiere Theatre. In 1979 she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in television. Since then she has written for and produced many of the most acclaimed television shows of the 1980s and 1990s, and received Emmy nominations for her work on M*A*S*H, Hill Street Blues, Moonlighting and The Women of Brewster Place. She has also written for Northern Exposure and I'll Fly Away and spent five years on the CBS show Judging Amy, where she moved up the ladder to become the showrunner/Executive Producer. She was also Executive Producer of the Showtime series Brotherhood. In 1996 Random House published her novel Dark Debts, which was a main selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. She has been on the faculty of the Act One Screenwriting Program for ten years and is a member of their Board of Directors. She is a member of the Humanitas Foundation Board of Trustees.

JEFFERY DEAVER  A former journalist, folk singer and attorney, Jeffery Deaver is an international number-one bestselling author. His novels have appeared on a number of bestseller lists around the world, including The New York Times, The Times of London and The Los Angeles Times. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into 25 languages.
     The author of twenty-five novels and two collections of short stories, he's been awarded the Steel Dagger and Short Story Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association, is a three-time recipient of the Ellery Queen Reader's Award for Best Short Story of the Year and is a winner of the British Thumping Good Read Award. His thriller The Cold Moon won a Grand prix from the Japanese Adventure Fiction Association and was named Book of the Year by the Mystery Writers Association of Japan. He's been nominated for six Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, an Anthony Award and a Gumshoe Award. He was shortlisted for the ITV3 Crime Thriller Award for Best International Author. Jeff won a "Lovey Readers Award" for best series of 2008, for the Lincoln Rhyme series, at the Love Is Murder writers' conference.
     His book A Maiden's Grave was made into an HBO movie starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin, and his novel The Bone Collector was a feature release from Universal Pictures, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. His most recent books are The Bodies Left Behind, The Broken Window, The Sleeping Doll and More Twisted: Collected Stories, Volume II. And, yes, the rumors are true, he did appear as a corrupt reporter on his favorite soap opera, As The World Turns.
     Jeff is presently alternating his series featuring Kathryn Dance, who will make her appearances in odd number years, and Lincoln Rhyme, who will appear in even.

JOHN GILSTRAP is The New York Times bestselling author of six thrillers, the latest of which, NO MERCY will be released on July 7, 2009. His previous books include SIX MINUTES TO FREEDOM, SCOTT FREE, EVEN STEVEN, AT ALL COSTS, and NATHAN'S RUN, four of which were selections of the Literary Guild. His novels have been translated into more than 20 languages. John has also adapted four bestselling novels for the big screen: RED DRAGON (uncredited) from the Thomas Harris novel, for Dino DeLaurentiis Productions, WORD OF HONOR (from the Nelson DeMille novel, for Dino DeLaurentiis Productions); YOUNG MEN AND FIRE (from the Norman Maclean book, for Baltimore/Spring Creek Pictures/Warner Brothers); and NATHAN'S RUN (from his own novel, also for Warner Brothers). Last month, he signed on to write the screenplay for SIX MINUTES TO FREEDOM for Sesso Entertainment. A former firefighter and EMT, John holds a master's degree in safety engineering from the University of Southern California and a bachelor's degree in history from the College of William and Mary in Virginia. Please visit www.johngilstrap.com.

PATRICK BARNEY is member of the Washington Area film Critics association (WAFCA) and Founder of the RainMaker Media Foundation, Inc.  For over fifteen years (15) he's producing and co-hosting with Susan "Sam" Shockley "His and Her Movie View".  This weekly TV show, illustrating the male/female view of movies has aired  over 500 shows.  He has given many presentations on the film industry and taught classes in film making.