Charles Vess was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, and received a degree in Fine Art from Virginia Commonwealth University. He lived in New York City for many years, working as an illustrator for National Lampoon, Heavy Metal, Readers Digest, and many other magazines, as well as producing hundreds of pages of comic book art for both Marvel and DC comics. He is one of the most respected artists in the comic book field today.

Throughout his career, Charles' illustrations have graced many publications, including an edition of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, a retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood," a Dunsanian fantasy created with Neil Gaiman called Stardust, and a collaboration with writer Jeff Smith on Rose, a full-color graphic novel. Through his own Green Man Press he has published the Ballads comic book series, with stories based on English and Scottish folksongs, featuring Charles' illustrations with text by Jane Yolen, Charles de Lint, Midori Snyder, Neil Gaiman, and others. The entire Ballads series has been collected (and expanded) in The Book of Ballads

Recently, Charles has begun a number of collaborations with noted writer Charles de Lint, including the children's picture book A Circle of Cats, and a series of illustrated novellas beginning with Seven Wild Sisters. Charles' art has twice been awarded a World Fantasy Award, and he has also been the recipient of the two Eisner Awards for comic art excellence.

Karen Shaffer is an arts/education/cultural events advocate and promoter (ArtsHouse), as well as partner in Green Man Press. She graduated with a BS in Communications from the University of Tennessee, worked for a Madison Avenue ad agency in NYC, then left to become a freelance proofreader/editor/secretary/personal assistant for a variety of publishers and authors. Before a serious car accident in 1998 diverted her energies, Karen served in an editorial capacity for the local arts magazine, and worked tirelessly to help restore and gain recognition for the conversion of an old school building into a regional arts center, now an Affiliate of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. She has a goal to return to her mandolin playing as medical research for Spinal Cord Injuries progresses (thank you Christopher Reeve).

For three years, Karen co-produced the Good Goddess Arts Exhibition, a month-long series of poetry, music and arts events celebrating Women's History Month in Abingdon, Virginia; Johnson City, Tennessee; and Asheville, North Carolina. Presently she is active on the Board of Directors (Secretary) for the Appalachian Independence Center, an organization working for people with disabilities by raising awareness and increasing accessibility in the community. Karen is also involved promoting the work of the Appalachian Women's Alliance, an organization working on issues of economic justice, racism, heterosexism, and violence against women in Appalachian communities.

Together Charles and Karen curated "Ancient Spirit, Modern Voice," a mythic art exhibition (and catalog) that ran in conjunction with the first Mythic Journeys conference in Atlanta, Georgia (2004). In 1994 they organized a traveling museum exhibition of fifteen contemporary fantasy artists ("DreamWeavers") that toured museums across the U.S. for a year.

Karen and Charles live in the countryside of Bristol, Virginia, sharing a renovated old farmhouse with a variety of animals. Their interests include Celtic folklore, mythic literature, traditional and contemporary acoustic music, single maltwhiskeys, visiting independent bookstores and small museums, and traveling—particularly in the British Isles.

For more information on Charles Vess and Karen Shaffer, visit the Green Man Press website.