Tony Dierckins, Publisher and Designer
Dierckins has worked in publishing since 1988 and in the graphic design/printing industry since 1982. He holds a Masters degree in English from the University of Minnesota Duluth and has authored several plays and over a dozen books, including the nationally bestselling Duct Tape books and calendars, The Mosquito Book, Crossing the Canal: An Illustrated History of Duluth’s Aerial Bridge, and X-comm’s series of unique color history books illustrated with vintage lithographic postcards. Dierckins also created the CoasterBook series, published by Running Press. He lives on Chester Creek in Duluth’s Hillside with his dogs, Stella, Max, and Gilda.

Scott Pearson, Editorial Guru
Pearson is a writer/editor from Carlton, Minnesota. His short stories have appeared in Resort to Murder (Nodin Press, 2007), Star Trek: The Sky’s the Limit (Simon & Schuster, 2007), and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds VII and 9 (also from Simon & Schuster). His story, “The Mailbox,” received Minnesota Monthly’s Tamarack Award, and he coauthored X-comm’s Mosquito Book. He is also an editor for Zenith Press, working on books such as Tales from a Tin Can: The USS Dale from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay, which received a starred review in Publishers Weekly. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with his wife, Sandra, and daughter, Ella.

Maryanne Norton, Research Maven
A retired librarian and archivist, Norton has a long history of historic research, including work as archivist for the Marathon (Wisconsin) County Historical Society and as a former assistant director at the St. Louis County Historical Society in Duluth. She also coauthored Images of America: Duluth, Minnesota with Sheldon Albaut and is at work on two upcoming X-communication books about Duluth’s historic architecture. She spends her weekdays at the Duluth Public Library helping individuals research local history and family geneology (and as many weekends as possible with her husband Dan at their cabin just off the Gunflint Trail).

At-Large Editorial Assistance
X-comm books are also put together with the help of a team of copy editors and proofreaders all of whom are experienced published authors or college writing instructors—or both.

Interns from the University of Minnesota Duluth
X-comm is proud to work with UMD’s English and Composition departments to help give students some real-world experience, mostly doing historic research. As a very small company, we are very grateful for that help.