E. T. A. Hoffmann was a German Romantic author of fantasy and horror, as well as a lawyer, composer, music critic, and artist. Jack Zipes is professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota and an esteemed scholar of fairy tales. Natalie Frank is an acclaimed artist known for her previous books of fairy tales, including Tales of the Brothers Grimm. Karen Russell is an American fiction writer whose work includes the story collections Orange World and Vampires in the Lemon Grove and the novel Swamplandia!