John T. Shawcross (1924–2011) was Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Kentucky. He was the author of numerous books, including With Mortal Voice: The Creation of Paradise Lost, and a two-time winner of the James Holly Hanford Book Award for the most distinguished book on Milton. Michael Lieb (1940–2022) was Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He was the author, editor, or coeditor of numerous books, including Theological Milton: Deity, Discourse and Heresy in the Miltonic Canon and The Miltonic Samson, the latter of which won the 1996 Irene Samuel Memorial Award of the Milton Society of America.