Richard Flanagan was born in Longford, Tasmania, in 1961. He received a Master of Letters degree from Oxford University. His first novel, Death of a River Guide, won Australia's National Fiction Award. His works include The Sound of One Hand Clapping, The Unknown Terrorist, and four history books. He has received numerous awards including the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Gould's Book of Fish, the 2011 Tasmania Book Prize for Wanting, and the 2014 Man Booker Prize for The Narrow Road to the Deep North. He directed a feature film version of The Sound of One Hand Clapping.In 2012 Sean Conway gave up his photography job to try to break the record for cycling around the world. His dream came… to an abrupt end when he was hit by a truck and badly injured in Arkansas, USA. After two weeks of recovery he managed to get back on his bike and continue his journey. In addition to swimming the length of Britain, Sean has cycled the length of Britain and is planning to run it unsupported. This will make him the first person to complete a Britain 'triathlon'. Sean has also climbed Kilimanjaro dressed as a penguin and once dislocated his shoulder cheese-rolling in Gloucestershire. He lives in Cheltenham and is currently restoring a Second World War boat. www.seanconway.com
Lee Alan Buttala and Sean Conway are the executive producers of the PBS series Cultivating Life. Lee, who directs the show, has written about gardening and design in The New York Times, New York, and other major periodicals.