Claire Huot is an internationally recognized sinologist. She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and has been living in and out of China since 1980. She has a doctorate in Chinese studies from the Université de Montréal (1987), where she taught Chinese film, visual arts and literature for thirteen years. She served as Canada’s Cultural Counselor in the People’s Republic of China in 2000-2002. She is also the author of two major critical books on Chinese contemporary culture, one in French (La Petite révolution culturelle, France: Philippe Picquier, 1994), and the other in English, (China’s New Cultural Scene, USA: Duke University Press, 2000). Dr. Huot has also published a murder mystery entitled THE PRISON TANGRAM. She is presently an Associate Professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Calgary.

Robert Majzels is a novelist, playwright, poet and translator, born in Montréal, Québec. In 2007, he won the Alcuin Society Prize for Excellence in Book Design for the limited edition of his book, Apikoros Sleuth. This Night the Kapo, an award winning full-length play, was produced at the Berkley Street Theatre in Toronto, in March 2004. He was attributed the Governor General’s Award of Canada for his translation of France Daigle’s Just Fine in 2000. With Erin Moure, Robert has also translated several books of poetry by Nicole Brossard, for which he was nominated for the prestigious Griffin Poetry Award. From 2000 to 2002, he lived and studied Chinese in Beijing, China. He is presently an Associate Professor in English at the University of Calgary. His most recent novel is a murder mystery entitled THE HUMBUGS DIET.

Nathan Tremblay is a visual artist with a Masters degree in Computational Media Design from the University of Calgary. He is the principal Director / Designer for Palette Industries (www.paletteindustries.com), a multi-disciplinary design firm located in Calgary, AB, Canada. Palette strives to construct unique situations that explore the intrinsic nature of our own embedded narratives, personally and communally, creating a continuously evolving dialogue between the object, the individual and the environment. The collective has attracted attention from publications such as Azure Magazine, Design Boom, Western Living, Grazia Casa Italy, Architectural Digest France and many more. It has been recognized for design excellence by UNESCO, the European Greenlight Programme, and the Industrial Designers Society of America. Its work has been exhibited worldwide, including: the Light + Building Trade Show in Frankfurt, Germany; Interior Design Show in Toronto, Canada; IDEA Thaw exhibit in Edmonton, Canada; and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC. Palette has collaborated on projects in Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, and Seoul, with clients like Pure Design, and renowned artists Janet Cardiff, George Bures Miller and Massie Office.