Humorist and journalist Henry Alford is the author of a book about manners called “Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That? A Modern Guide to Manners” (Twelve). His previous books include How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People (While They Are Still on This Earth), and Big Kiss: One Actor’s Desperate Attempt to Claw His Way to the Top, which won a Thurber Prize. He has written for the New Yorker, and currently writes for Vanity Fair and the New York Times.

Steve Coll is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winning author and journalist, whose latest book, “Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power” (Penguin Press), investigates the notoriously secretive ExxonMobil Corporation, revealing the true extent of its power.

Coll is president of New America Foundation, and a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine. Previously he spent 20 years as a foreign correspondent and senior editor at The Washington Post, serving as the paper’s managing editor from 1998 to 2004.  He has authored seven books, including “Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001,” which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, among several others, in 2004.

Mr. Coll graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Cum Laude, from Occidental College in 1980 with a degree in English and history. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Larry Doyle is one of America’s foremost humorists.  His first novel, “I Love You, Beth Cooper” won the 2008 Thurber Prize for American Humor – and that came on the heels of a four-year stint as a writer and producer of The Simpsons.

Doyle’s latest book is “Deliriously Happy” (Ecco), a collection of his humor pieces published in The New Yorker and elsewhere.  In addition to his work as a columnist and author, Doyle wrote the films “Duplex,” “Looney Tunes: Back in Action,” and “I Love You, Beth Cooper.”

According to his bio, Doyle does not keep live monkeys in his house, which would be illegal.   And more, mostly reliable information can be found at larrydoyle.com.

Marvin and Deborah Kalb are a father-daughter journalism team who joined forces to write their new book, “Haunting Legacy: Vietnam and the American Presidency from Ford to Obama” (Brookings Institution Press). Marvin Kalb’s journalism career covers 30 years of award-winning reporting and commentary for CBS and NBC News, including a stint as host of Meet the Press. He is a Guest Scholar in the Foreign Policy Program at Brookings and the Edward R. Murrow Professor of Practice (Emeritus) at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Deborah Kalb followed in her father’s footsteps as a journalist and has reported for the Gannett News Service, Congressional Quarterly, U.S. News & World Report and The Hill.

Linda Killian, author of “The Swing Vote: The Untapped Power of Independents” (St. Martin’s Press), is a Washington journalist and a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She is a columnist and national political writer for The Atlantic, Newsweek/The Daily Beast and has also written for Politico, Politics Daily and U.S. News & World Report.com. Her television appearances include MSNBC, Fox News, C-SPAN, CNN, and ”Hardball.” She is the former senior editor of National Public Radio’s ”All Things Considered” and has a master’s degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Jim Lehrer is best known as the former news anchor for “NewsHour” on PBS and for his role as a frequent debate moderator during presidential elections. He has written 28 non-fiction and fiction books, drawing from his experiences and interests in history and politics. In his latest book, “Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates, from Kennedy-Nixon to McCain-Obama” (Random House), he tells the inside story of what he calls the “major moments” and “killer questions” that defined major televised debates both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.

Timothy Noah writes the TRB column for the New Republic. He wrote for Slate for a dozen years, and previously worked at the Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, and the Washington Monthly. Noah received the 2011 Hillman Prize for public service magazine journalism for the series in Slate that forms the basis of his new book “The Great Divergence” (Bloomsbury Press).

Baratunde Thurston is the author of “How to Be Black” (Harper).   He is the director of digital at The Onion, the cofounder of Jack & Jill Politics, a stand-up comedian, and a globe-trotting speaker. Thurston was named one of the 100 most influential African Americans of 2011 by The Root, one of the 100 most creative people in business by Fast Company magazine, and will be giving the opening keynote address at SXSW Interactive 2012. Then-Senator Barack Obama called him “someone I need to know.” Baratunde resides in Brooklyn and lives on Twitter (@baratunde).