Novelist and playwright Ira Levin (1929-2007) was a native New Yorker whose books include A Kiss Before Dying, Rosemary's Baby, This Perfect Day, The Stepford Wives, The Boys from Brazil, Sliver, and Son of Rosemary. His plays include No Time for Sergeants, Critic's Choice, and the longest-running thriller in Broadway history, Deathtrap. An alumnus of New York University, Levin also wrote the lyrics of the Barbra Streisand classic "He Touched Me," and was the recipient of three Edgar Allan Poe Awards from the Mystery Writers of America (including 2003's 'Grand Master'), as well as the Horror Writers Association's Bram Stoker Award for lifetime achievement.

Rockne S. O'Bannon began his screenwriting career as story editor on CBS's 1980s revival of The Twilight Zone and writer on NBC's Amazing Stories. Since then he has created/showrun five highly regarded speculative-fiction series: Alien Nation (based on his 1988 film), Farscape, SeaQuest DSV (with Steven Spielberg), Defiance, and Cult. He has served as executive producer on the NBC series Revolution and Constantine, and is currently in his fourth year as an executive producer on the Paramount+ series Evil. For his work in film and TV, he has won an unprecedented nine Saturn Awards, presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. His work has also received nominations for the Hugo Award, for the cable Ace Award, and from the Writers Guild of America.