Arianne Cohen

Arianne Cohen has devoted her life to being worderrific. She is now a book and magazine writer, and a rousing speaker about the Word Nerd lifestyle, but it wasn't always a smooth path: She spent her teen years splitting her time between lap swimming as a nationally ranked swimmer, and studying frantically, in SAT study sessions that frequently involved tears. She took her PSATs, SSATs and two sets of SATs next to Eve Cohen, whose main strategy was to noisily underline every sentence of the entire exam.

Since drying off, Arianne graduated from Harvard University, and spent a year in Cambodia working as a news reporter for the Cambodia Daily Newspaper. She is now a writer in New York City, where her work has recently appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine, Marie Claire, Self, Fast Company Magazine and The New York Times Magazine. Her new book, The Tall Book (Bloomsbury, July 2008) explores the tall life--why tall people make more money, live longer, and are smarter. You can catch up with her at www.ariannecohen.com

Colleen Kinder

Colleen Kinder loves words. She made it through the SAT by lugging around piles of flash cards (and now recommends Confessions as an alternative!). She graduated from Yale University, and is author of the post-grad guide to unconventional jobs, Delaying the Real World: A Twentysomething's Guide to Seeking Adventure (Running Press, January 2005). In between her travels to Cuba and Africa, Colleen has written for The New Republic, Salon.com, Ms Magazine, and The Washington Post. She is completing her MFA at the University of Iowa's Nonfiction Writing Program.