O. Henry, the pen name of William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), was a prolific American short story writer whose collections included Cabbages and Kings, The Four Million, Whirligigs, and The Heart of the West.
Ben Yagoda, editor, is professor of journalism and English at the University of Delaware, and the author or editor of twelve books, mostly recently The B-Side: The Death of Tin Pan Alley and the Rebirth of the Great American Song (2015). His work has been published in The New Leader, The New York Times, Newsweek, and Rolling Stone, among other publications.