Kristin Koval is a recovering lawyer who always wanted to be a writer but initially wandered down other paths. Penitence is her debut novel, and it was included on the Goodreads list of Readers’ Most Anticipated Books of January, on the Goodreads list of the Hottest Debuts of 2025, was named as an Indie Next, and was the Barnes & Noble Discover Pick. Kristin attended Phillips Exeter Academy, Georgetown University, and Columbia Law School. She lives in Boulder, Colorado, and Park City, Utah, with her husband, two sons, and two Great Danes.

Mary Beth Keane is a John S. Guggenheim Fellow in the Creative Arts and the The New York Times–bestselling author of the novels The Walking People, Fever, Ask Again, Yes, and The Half Moon. She has received citations from the National Book Foundation, PEN America, the Hemingway Society. Her books have been translated into twenty-three languages. She is currently at work on her fifth novel.