庫爾特•馮尼古特（Kurt Vonnegut，Jr.，1922—2007），美國作傢，黑色幽默文學代錶人物之一，躋身當代美國文學少數幾位大師之列。1959年因《泰坦的海妖》成名，代錶作有《貓的搖籃》《冠軍的早餐》《第五號屠宰場》等。他的書對人類想象在探尋基本權利和自由方麵可能達到的高度的書寫，帶來挑釁，又令人著迷。

李•斯金格（Lee Stringer，），美國黑人作傢，20世紀80年代早期到90年代中期是紐約街頭的流浪漢，發現自己具有寫作天賦後，他成為《街頭新聞》的編輯與專欄作傢，並開始文學創作，其作品《中央車站的鼕天：來自街頭的故事》《宿營學校：迴憶錄》等，屢屢獲奬，廣受好評。

譯者簡介

蔣海濤，天津師範大學比較文學與世界文學專業在讀碩士。

In this elegantly produced, extended conversation celebrating the writing craft, Kurt Vonnegut and acclaimed "Grand Central Winter" author Lee Stringer explore what it means to be a writer -- and what it means to be human. It is an increasingly rare occasion these days to find two writers willing to speak candidly, thoughtfully, and concretely about the intersection of life and art. And that these two writers happen to be Kurt Vonnegut and Lee Stringer makes "Like Shaking Hands With God" a truly historic and joyous occasion. The setting is a bookstore in New York City in October 1998. Before a crowd of several hundred, Vonnegut and Stringer jump into the aesthetic fray, taking up humanity, writing, salvation, art, and the challenge of living, day to day. As Vonnegut would say, "It was a magical evening." A passionate and inspiring discourse between two extraordinary writers, "Like Shaking Hands With God" is a book for anyone interested in why the simple act of writing things down can be so much more important than the amount of memory in our computers.