Maxine Hong Kingston was born in Stockton, California, the first of six children born of Chinese immigrants who operated a gambling house and laundry. She grew up listening to the stories of other immigrants and later used her well-developed storytelling skills in her own writing. In 1976, while teaching high school in Hawaii, she published her first book - The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts -a critically acclaimed success. This book combined autobiography and fiction to tell the story of a girl born of Chinese immigrant parents growing up in America during the 1950s. The Woman Warrior is also filled with stories about earlier generations of Chinese women, their tragic lives in the extremely male-dominated society of China, and her attempts to break away from their smothering shadows. Her other books include China Men (1980), Hawaii One Summer (1987), and Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book (1989).

Since 1990, Maxine Hong Kingston has served as a senior lecturer in UC Berkeley's Department of English.

Vince received his B.A and M.A. in English at San Jose State University. He has been an English teacher at Merced College since 1990. His experience includes teaching a wide range of classes from basic writing through critical thinking/composition as well as taking leadership roles on campus committees and in statewide professional organizations. Vince has been president of CATE as well as convention chair.

He believes that students can succeed with dedication, determination, and the right guidance from instructors and counselors. His personal interests are web page design, jazz, reading, of course, and camping and hiking.