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Shawn Wong is an author and scholar specializing in creative writing and Asian American studies. Wong chaired the Department of English and directed the University Honors Program (2003–06) and Creative Writing Program (1995–97) at the University of Washington. Wong is the author and co-author of numerous novels and anthologies including Yardbird Reader Volume 3 (1974), Homebase (1979), The Big Aiiieeeee! An Anthology of Chinese American and Japanese American Literature (1991), The Before Columbus Foundation Fiction Anthology: Selections from the American Book Awards 1980-1990 (1992),The Literary Mosaic: An Anthology of Asian American Literature (1995), American Knees (1996), Aiiieeeee! An Anthology of Asian American Writers (1997), Asian Diasporas: Cultures, Identities, Representations (2004). In 2010, the novel American Knees was adapted to film, titled Americanese, by Eric Byler. Wong is a recipient of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award and the 15th Annual Governor's Writers Day Award of Washington. He is featured in the PBS documentaries Shattering the Silences (1997), Becoming American: The Chinese Experience (2003), and What's Wrong With Frank Chin? (2005).

Afton Nance was a teacher in Southern California during World War II. She corresponded with some of her former Japanese-American students while they were imprisoned.