Maryse Condé was a novelist, critic, and playwright from Guadeloupe. Condé is best known for her novel Segu. She has won various awards, such as the Grand Prix Littéraire de la Femme (1986), Prix de l'Académie française (1988), Prix Carbet de la Carraibe (1997) and the New Academy Prize in Literature (2018) for her works.

Richard Philcox is one of the leading translators of francophone literature in the world today. Philcox has taught translation on various American college campuses and won grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts for the translation of Maryse Condé's works.