L. “Lyman” Frank Baum was an American author and writer of children’s books. He was born in Chittenango, New York, in 1856. Baum started writing at an early age; throughout his prolific career, he penned over fifty novels, eighty short stories, and two hundred poems. In 1900, Baum wrote his most successful work, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which he shared the copyright for with illustrator W. W. Denslow. The book quickly became a bestseller, and has inspired dozens of popular theater and film adaptations ever since.

W. W. “William Wallace” Denslow was born in 1856 in Philadelphia. He was a renowned American illustrator, reporter, and cartoonist, known mostly for his work in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. He and Baum were partners, but eventually quarreled over royalty shares for the theater adaptation, thus ending their professional relationship. He passed away in 1915

Michael Patrick Hearn is a literary scholar and one of the leading experts on children’s literature in America. His works include The Annotated Wizard of Oz, The Annotated Lewis Carol, The Annotated Huckleberry Finn, The Porcelain Cat, and From the Silver Age to Stalin: Russian Children’s Book Illustration. Additionally, he has written for the New York Times, the Nation, and many other publications. Hearn resides in New York City.