James L. Haley is the author of more than twenty books, including several on Texas history. They include The Texas Supreme Court: A Narrative History, 1836–1986; Passionate Nation: The Epic History of Texas; Sam Houston; and a seventh-grade biography, Stephen F. Austin and the Founding of Texas. He is also author of Captive Paradise: A History of Hawaii and Wolf: The Lives of Jack London. He has won the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America twice and the Texas Historical Commission book award twice, among others. In fiction, the fourth in Haley’s tall-ship naval action series, Captain Putnam for the Republic of Texas, won the Virginia M. Law Award from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas in 2022 as the outstanding book on Texas history for young readers.

Marilyn P. Duncan is an Austin-based writer, editor, and publications consultant. As the Publications Director for the University of Texas Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs for many years, she led a variety of publishing programs, including the multi-year Guide to Texas State Agencies project. In addition to coauthoring the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society’s Taming Texas Book Series, she developed and edited the books in the Society’s Texas Legal Studies Series, including The Laws of Slavery in Texas, The Texas Supreme Court: A Narrative History, 1836–1986, and Common Law Judge: Selected Writings of Chief Justice Jack Pope of Texas. She also served as managing editor of the Society’s e-journal from 2011 to 2020. Duncan received the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.