Yūko Tsushima (1947-2016) is considered one of the most important Japanese writers of her generation. She is best known for her novel Mountain of Fire and her short-story collection The Shooting Gallery. Much of her work is influenced by the oral epics and tales of pre-modern Japan, as well as her own experience as a single mother. Her father was the famous Japanese writer Osamu Dazai, who committed suicide when Tsushima was only a year old. Her work has been translated into over a dozen languages. nGeraldine Harcourt (1952-2019) was a translator of modern Japanese literature. Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Harcourt lived in Japan for much of her life. There, she developed a close working relationship with Tsushima and translated five works by the author, including Territory of Light and The Shooting Gallery. n nLauren Groff is the author of the novels Arcadia, The Monsters of Templeton, and Fates and Furies, and two short story collections, Delicate Edible Birds and Florida. She is a two-time National Book Award nominee and was a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow. She lives in Gainesville, Florida.n