It Takes Two

Elizabeth Crane is the author of several short-story collections, including Turf and When the Messenger Is Hot, which was adapted for the stage by Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater Company, as well as the novels The History of Great Things and We Only Know So Much, which was adapted into a feature film. Crane teaches in the UCR–Palm Desert low-residency MFA program. A memoir, This Story Will Change, will be out from Counterpoint Books in August 2022.

Lauren Groff is the author of six books, including Fates and Furies and Florida, both of which were finalists for the National Book Award; her latest, the novel Matrix, was published in September 2021. She is a winner of the Story Prize, a Guggenheim Fellow, and in 2017, she was named one of the Best of Young American Novelists by the literary magazine Granta. Her work has been translated into over thirty languages.

Rachel Khong’s debut novel, Goodbye, Vitamin, was honored with the California Book Award for First Fiction and named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, O magazine, Vogue, Esquire, Huffington Post, Nylon, and Booklist, among other publications. Her writing has appeared in The Paris Review, American Short Fiction, The Cut, and The San Francisco Chronicle. She previously served as Executive Editor of Lucky Peach.

Cynthia Nixon made her film debut in Little Darlings at 12 and her Broadway debut at 14 in The Philadelphia Story. Since then she’s appeared in more than 40 plays, scores of films and TV shows, and won 2 Emmys, 2 Tonys, and a Grammy. Best known for her role as Miranda on HBO’s Sex and the City, she co-stars in the sequel series And Just Like That…. Nixon appeared on numerous "Best Actress of 2018" lists for her portrayal of Emily Dickinson in Terrence Davies' much-lauded film A Quiet Passion. In 2018 she also ran for Governor of New York state. She currently co-stars in Julian Fellowes’ The Gilded Age on HBO.

Hettienne Park is an actress and writer best known for her roles on Gossip Girl, Don’t Look Up, The Outsider, and Hannibal. Additional screen credits include The OA, Blacklist, High Maintenance, Bride Wars, Damages, The Good Wife, Young Adult, Blindspot, 9-1-1: Lonestar, and Prodigal Son. Park appeared on Broadway in Seminar and off-Broadway in The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures; her stage work earned her a Theatre World Award, honoring her outstanding debuts on and off-Broadway.

Kate Walsh is widely known for her starring role as Dr. Addison Montgomery in the ABC dramas Grey’s Anatomy / Private Practice as well as Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why, The Umbrella Academy, and Emily in Paris. Most recently, she co-starred with Liam Neeson in the film Honest Thief, with Donal Logue in Sometime Other than Now, and can be seen in the forthcoming series Sprung. Walsh is an advocate and voice for change. She is passionate about carbon offsets, climate change, as well as ocean and marine life conservation. She has always been a strong voice in the fight for women’s rights, serving as a member of Planned Parenthood’s Board of Advocates for more than 10 years, as well as being an ambassador for Operation Smile. Walsh created and founded the award-winning fragrance, Boyfriend Perfume, and continues to grow and expand the company.

Meg Wolitzer is the New York Times bestselling author of The Female Persuasion, The Interestings, The Ten-Year Nap, and The Wife, which was adapted to film in 2018, starring Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce. She was the guest editor of The Best American Short Stories 2017, and has also published books for young readers, most recently a picture book, Millions of Maxes. Wolitzer is a faculty member in the MFA program at Stony Brook Southampton, where she co-founded and co-directs BookEnds, a one-year, non-credit intensive in the novel. She is excited to be the new host of the literary radio show and podcast Selected Shorts.

Credits

“Once” by Lauren Groff, from McSweeney’s Issue 49 (May 2017). Copyright © 2017 by Lauren Groff. Used by permission of The Clegg Agency.

“Slow and Steady,” by Rachel Khong, from The Cut (April 2020). Copyright © 2020 by Rachel Khong. Used by permission of Janklow & Nesbit Associates.

“Something Shiny” by Elizabeth Crane, from When The Messenger Is Hot (Little, Brown and Company, 2003). Copyright © 2003 by Elizabeth Crane. Used by permission of Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc.