Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Jon Avnet attended Penn in the late 1960's. Since then, he has gone on to become a successful feature film producer and director. Included in his directing credits are such successes as "Red Corner" (1997) with Richard Gere, "Up Close and Personal" (1996), featuring Michele Pfeifer and Robert Redford, and the critically acclaimed film "Fried Green Tomatoes" (1991), starring Kathy Bates and Jessica Tandy. Over the past twenty years, Avnet has also produced a number of hit movies including "Risky Business" (1983), "Tango and Cash" (1989), "The Mighty Ducks" (1992), "The Three Musketeers" (1993), as well as the recent blockbuster "George of the Jungle" (1997).

Pinkenson is the Executive Director of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office, appointed by Mayor Ed Rendell. Through this office Pinkenson markets the City of Philadelphia and the surrounding region to the film, video, and television industry. She is also the liaison between city service departments and the visiting production company. During her tenure at the Film Office Pinkenson has worked on such films as Philadelphia, 12 Monkeys, Up Close & Personal, Fallen, and Beloved. Previously, Pinkenson worked eight years as a costume designer and wardrobe stylist in the film industry.

Not able to keep his ambitions inside any longer, Jordan E. Rockwell enrolled in a filmmaking class during his sophomore year of high school and has been hooked ever since, showing three of his short films to the entire student body of St. Paul's School in Baltimore, Maryland, his hometown. The Fallen is his first foray into film at Penn. His next film September Song, which is currently in production, explores the complexities of inter-religious relationships. Rockwell counts Ridley Scott, David Fincher, and Michael Bay as his biggest influences, and hopes to pursue a career in the movie business upon graduation from Penn.

Gay Talese is the author of many books in a category of nonfiction writing that has sometimes been called "the literature of reality," sometimes "the New Journalism," sometimes "fact fiction." Among these works are Thy Neighbor's Wife (1980), Unto the Sons (1992), The Kingdom and the Power (1969), Honor Thy Father (1971), and The Overreachers (1965). For the Spring 1999 semester, Gay Talese will be the first Kelly Writers House Fellow, a project made possible by a generous grant from Paul Kelly. He will be teaching Literary Non-fiction at the Writers House.

Barbara Savage is the author of Broadcasting Freedom: Radio, War, and the Politics of Race, 1938-1948 (University of North Carolina Press, spring 1999) and recipient of the Smithsonian Institution Post-Doctoral Fellowship. She received her JD from Georgetown University and worked as a Senior Staff Attorney for the Reagan Administration. She is currently an Assistant Professor of History at The University of Pennsylvania.