Otto de Kat was born in 1946, and studied theology and Dutch literature at Leiden University. Since 1986 he has been the publisher of Uitgeverij Balans in Amsterdam. He has also published a volume of poetry and worked as a literary critic. The Figure in the Distance is his first novel.
Arnold J. Pomeran's translations include works by Louis de Broglie, Anne Frank, Sigmund Freud, George Grosz and Jan Huizinga. He was awarded the PEN translation prize for his translation from Dutch and French of The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh.
Erica Pomerans has worked with her husband on more than 40 titles as editor and translator.