Ms. Arana moderated a discussion on writing and the creative process. She is the editor of the book The Writing Life: Writers on How They Think and Work: A Collection from the Washington Post Book World, published by PublicAffairs. The book is a collection of more than fifty essays from contemporary writers who share experiences relating to their chosen vocation. Ms. Arana had solicited the essays for her “Writing Life” column in the Washington Post. She also wrote the introduction to the collection and a brief biography of each contributor. Three authors, who are contributors to The Writing Life, joined Ms. Arana to discuss topics such as when they first realized they were writers, personal working and writing techniques and whether writing can be taught. A question and answer period followed the authors' remarks.

Journalist Stanley Karnow won the Pulitzer Prize for In Our Image: America’s Empire in the Philippines. He is also the author of Vietnam: A History.
Kay Redfield Jamison is an international authority and researcher on manic depressive illness and suicide whose books include An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness, Touched With Fire, Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide, and Exuberance: The Vital Emotion. George Pelacanos is the author of eleven detective novels set in and around Washington, D.C. including Soul Circus, Right as Rain and Hell to Pay. He has written for The Washington Post, GQ, Esquire and other publications.