Shaunna J. Edwards is a writer and historian whose work focuses on American history, with particular attention to the experiences of Black communities during the nineteenth century. Alyson Richman is a novelist known for historical fiction that explores themes of memory, identity, and cultural history. Together they co authored the historical novel The Thread Collectors, published by HarperCollins in 2022. The book is set during the American Civil War and follows the lives of enslaved and free characters connected through sewing, craft, and resistance. Edwards and Richman collaborated to combine historical research with narrative fiction centered on overlooked perspectives from the era.