Featured Speakers

Susan Abulhawa
Susan Abulhawa, author of Against the Loveless World, is a Palestinian-American writer and political activist. She is also the author of Mornings in Jenin and The Blue Between Sky and Water. …

Beverly Colwell Adams
Beverly Colwell Adams is a newly retired assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and associate professor emeritus in the department of Psychology at the University of Virginia. …

Sara Adduci
Sara Adduci started working in a cheese shop in 2004 and has never looked back. She currently heads up the cheese department at Belmont Butchery in Richmond, Virginia.

Jasmine Aimaq
Jasmine Aimaq, author of The Opium Prince, has taught History and International Relations and also had a career in nonprofit. She was director of press and corporate relations at the …

Kaveh Akbar
Kaveh Akbar is the author of Calling a Wolf a Wolf: Poems and the forthcoming collection, Pilgrim Bell. Akbar has received honors such as a Levis Reading Prize and multiple …

Ayad Akhtar
Ayad Akhtar, author of Homeland Elegies, is a novelist and playwright. His work has been published and performed in over two dozen languages. He is the winner of the Pulitzer …

Rumaan Alam
Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind, studied writing at Oberlin College. His other novels are Rich and Pretty and That Kind of Mother. His writing has also appeared …

Rabih Alameddine
Rabih Alameddine is the author of the novels The Wrong End of the Telescope, The Angel of History, An Unnecessary Woman, The Hakawati, I, the Divine, Koolaids, and the story collection, The Perv. In 2019, …

Christopher Ali
Christopher Ali, author of Farm Fresh Broadband: The Politics of Rural Connectivity is an associate professor in the Department of Media Studies at the University of Virginia. His work focuses …

Lauren K. Alleyne
Lauren K. Alleyne has authored two collections of poetry, Difficult Fruit and Honeyfish, and co-edited Furious Flower: Seeding the Future of African American Poetry. She is an associate professor of …

Eloisa Amezcua
Eloisa Amezcua is from Arizona. Her debut collection, From the Inside Quietly, is the inaugural winner of the Shelterbelt Poetry Prize selected by Ada Limón. A MacDowell fellow, her second …

Nin Andrews
Nin Andrews, author of The Last Orgasm, has published poems in many literary journals and anthologies including Ploughshares, Agni, The Paris Review, and four editions of Best American Poetry. She …

Tom Angleberger
Tom Angleberger, author of DJ Funkyfoot: Butler for Hire!, is also author of the Origami Yoda series and the Flytrap Files series, as well as many other books for kids. …

Yasmin Angoe
Yasmin Angoe, author of Her Name is Knight, is a first-generation Ghanaian American who grew up in two cultural worlds. She received the 2020 Eleanor Taylor Bland Award for Emerging …

Ryka Aoki
Ryka Aoki, author of Light From Uncommon Stars, is a poet, composer, teacher, and novelist whose books include He Mele a Hilo and two Lambda Award finalists, Seasonal Velocities and …

Andi Arndt
Andi Arndt, award-winning audiobook narrator and co-author of the Audible Original Heidi’s Guide to Four Letter Words, is also the founder of Lyric Audiobooks, a production company serving the indie …

Kerri Arsenault
Kerri Arsenault, author of Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains, is a book critic, book editor at Orion magazine, and contributing editor at Lit Hub. Her work has appeared in …

Danielle Badra
Danielle Badra, author of Like We Still Speak, winner of the 2021 Etel Adnan Poetry Prize, received her MFA in poetry from George Mason University. Her poems have appeared in …

Davarian L. Baldwin
Davarian L. Baldwin, author of In the Shadow of the Ivory Tower, is a leading urbanist, historian, and cultural critic. He serves as the Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of …

Hannah Barnaby
Hannah Barnaby is a children’s book author and creative writing instructor. She holds an MA in children’s literature and an MFA in writing for children and young adults. Her recent …

Yvonne Battle-Felton
Yvonne Battle-Felton, author of Remembered, is an American writer living in the U.K. Her writing has been published in literary journals and anthologies. Remembered, was longlisted for the 2019 Women’s …

Rachel Beanland
Rachel Beanland, author of Florence Adler Swims Forever, writes fiction and essays. Her essays have appeared in Creative Nonfiction and Broad Street, among other places. She has an MFA in …

Sandra Beasley
Sandra Beasley is the author of four poetry collections—Made to Explode, Count the Waves, I Was the Jukebox, and Theories of Falling—as well as Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales …

Jan Beatty
Jan Beatty, author of American Bastard, has also written six other works including The Body Wars, and Jackknife: New and Collected Poems, winner of the 2018 Paterson Prize and named …

Anna Beecher
Anna Beecher, author of Here Comes the Miracle, is a 2020 graduate of UVA’s MFA in Fiction. She’s also a theatre maker, and recently presented shows with Lincoln Center, New …

Ruth Behar
Ruth Behar, author of Letters from Cuba and Tía Fortuna’s New Home, was born in Havana, Cuba, and grew up in New York. She was the first Latina to win …

Reginald Dwayne Betts
Reginald Dwayne Betts, author of Felon: Poems, has written three volumes of poetry and one memoir. He transformed himself from a sixteen-year-old kid sentenced to nine years in prison to …

Anisha Bhatia
Due to unanticipated circumstances, Anisha Bhatia regrets that she is no longer able to take part in the 2022 Festival. Anisha Bhatia, author of The Rules of Arrangement, was born …

Jill Bialosky
Jill Bialosky is Executive Editor, VP at W. W. Norton & Co. She is also author of five collections of poetry, three novels, most recently, The Prize, and a two …

Tasha Birckhead
Tasha Birckhead is a native of Charlottesville, and holds an MLIS from Florida State University along with a certification in Youth Services. She is currently the Supervising Children’s Librarian of …

Elizabeth Birdsall
Elizabeth Birdsall is an independent researcher with broad interests in the various ways we build, maintain, and disrupt family bonds. Her current work asks how children navigate, contest, and (re)produce …

Cara Black
Cara Black, author of Three Hours in Paris, is also the author of nineteen books in the New York Times-bestselling Aimée Leduc series. She has received multiple nominations for the …

Maggie Blackburn
Maggie Blackburn is the author of Once Upon A Seaside Murder. She also writes several mystery series under the name Mollie Cox Bryan. Her books have been selected as finalists …

Regina N. Bradley
Regina N. Bradley, author of Chronicling Stankonia: The Rise of the Hip-Hop South, is an alumna Nasir Jones Hiphop Fellow at Harvard University and an assistant professor of English and …

Barbara Bradley Hagerty
Barbara Bradley Hagerty is a journalist with NPR and The Atlantic and an author working on her third book. She met Bruce Greyson when researching Fingerprints of God, on the …

Jim Brady
Jim Brady is the vice president of Journalism for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Brady, who joined Knight in August 2021, is a longtime digital media innovator …

Adrian Brettle
Adrian Brettle, author of Colossal Ambitions: Confederate Planning for a Post–Civil War World, is lecturer and associate director of the Political History and Leadership Program in the School of Historical, …

Mahogany L. Browne
Mahogany L. Browne, author of Chlorine Sky, is a California-born, Brooklyn-based writer, educator, activist, mentor, and curator. She has published several books of poetry, and she is the artistic director …

Anneliese M. Bruner
Anneliese M. Bruner, author of the afterword to The Nation Must Awake, is the great-granddaughter of Tulsa survivor Mary E. Jones Parrish. She is a writer and editor, and attended …

Eboni Bugg
Eboni Bugg has worked to improve lives in the Charlottesville area in a variety of roles including educator, social worker, therapist and yoga teacher. She is currently the director of …

Elizabeth C. Bunce
Elizabeth C. Bunce, author of the Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery series, lives in Kansas City with her husband and their cats. Premeditated Myrtle is her first book for middle-grade readers. Published …

Keisha Bush
Keisha Bush, author of No Heaven For Good Boys, a New York Times Editors’ Choice, was born in Boston. She has received fellowships from the LMCC Workspace Residency, Tyrone Guthrie …

Ron Butler
Ron Butler is an LA-based performer with over a hundred television, film, and stage credits, as well as close to two hundred audiobooks. He has been nominated for seven Audie …

Sarah Calise
Sarah Calise (she/they) is a public historian dedicated to connecting people with their past and preserving important records through digital, written, and verbal storytelling. She currently cares for political and …
Upcoming Events

David Campos
David Campos, author of American Quasar, is the son of Mexican immigrants, a CantoMundo fellow, and his collection, Furious Dusk, won the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize. His work has appeared …

Anna Caritj
Anna Caritj, author of Leda and the Swan, holds a BA from the University of Virginia, where she studied English and Spanish literature, and an MFA from Hollins University. She …

Brian Castleberry
Brian Castleberry, author of Nine Shiny Objects, has had stories published in The Southern Review, Day One, Narrative, and other literary journals. He lives in Virginia, where he teaches literature …
Elizabeth Catte
Elizabeth Catte, author of Pure America: Eugenics and the Making of Modern Virginia and What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia, is a historian and writer living in Virginia. She …

Victoria Chang
Victoria Chang, author of Dear Memory, is also the author of Obit, Barbie Chang, The Boss, Salvinia Molesta, and Circle. She lives in Los Angeles and is the program chair …

Felicia Rose Chavez
Felicia Rose Chavez, author of The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom, is an award-winning educator with an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Iowa. …

Charles L. Chavis, Jr.
Charles L. Chavis Jr., author of The Silent Shore: The Lynching of Matthew Williams and the Politics of Racism in the Free State, is is the founding director of the …

Traci Chee
Traci Chee is a bestselling and award-winning author of books for young people, including A Thousand Steps Into Night, a Japanese-influenced young adult fantasy; the Printz Honor Book, Walter Award …

Te-Ping Chen
Te-Ping Chen, author of Land of Big Numbers: Stories, has work published in or forthcoming from The New Yorker, Granta, Guernica, Tin House, and The Atlantic. A reporter with The …

Polina Chesnakova
Polina Chesnakova, author of Hot Cheese: Over 50 Gooey, Oozy, Melty Recipes, is a Seattle-based food writer, recipe developer, and cooking class instructor. Her work has been featured in The …

Grace M. Cho
Grace M. Cho, the author of Tastes Like War, was a finalist for the 2021 National Book Award for Nonfiction. Her writings have appeared in journals such as the New …
Upcoming Events

Kat Chow
Kat Chow, author of Seeing Ghosts: A Memoir, is a reporter and writer. She was most recently a reporter at NPR, where she was a founding member of the Code …

Louis Chude-Sokei
Louis Chude-Sokei, author of Floating In A Most Peculiar Way, is the editor in chief for The Black Scholar and director of the African American Studies Program at Boston University. …

Leone Ciporin
Leone Ciporin’s short stories have appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, Woman’s World, Mystery Weekly, Black Cat Mystery Magazine and numerous anthologies. Leone is a member of Mystery Writers of …

Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle
Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, author of Even As We Breathe, is the first enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to publish a novel. She has served as executive …

Anna Clark
Anna Clark, author of The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water and the American Urban Tragedy, is a journalist in Detroit. Her work was awarded the Hillman Prize for Book Journalism and …

Bill Clegg
Bill Clegg, author of The End of the Day, is a literary agent in New York and author of the memoirs Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man and …

Michele Cobb
Michele Cobb is a partner at Forte Business Consulting, which provides business development services for the publishing industry, and she is publisher of both AudioFile Magazine and MMB Media.

Adam Cohen
Adam Cohen, author of Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck, is a journalist and lawyer, and a former member of The New York Times …

Meredith Cole
Meredith Cole was the winner of the St. Martin’s Press/Malice Domestic competition and her first book, Posed for Murder, was nominated for an Agatha Award. She teaches writing, and her …

Alyssa Cole
Alyssa Cole is a New York Times- and USA Today-bestselling author of romance and thrillers, and her debut thriller, When No One Is Watching, won the 2021 MWA Edgar Award …

Lydia Conklin
Lydia Conklin is a writer who has received a Stegner Fellowship, a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer’s Award, three Pushcart Prizes, a Creative Writing Fulbright, a grant from the Elizabeth George …

Jorge L. Contreras
Jorge L. Contreras, author of The Genome Defense, received his law degree from Harvard and teaches intellectual property, science policy, and genetics law and ethics at the University of Utah. …

Courtney Cook
Courtney Cook, author of the graphic memoir The Way She Feels, is a writer, illustrator, teacher, and lover of naps. Courtney received an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan …

John Copenhaver
John Copenhaver, author of The Savage Kind, won the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel and garnered Anthony, Strand Critics, Barry, and Lambda Literary Award nominations for his previous …

Kia Corthron
Kia Corthron, author of Moon and the Mars, was born in Cumberland, Maryland. Her debut novel, The Castle Cross the Magnet Carter, was the winner of the 2016 Center for …

S.A. Cosby
S. A. Cosby, author of The New York Times bestseller Razorblade Tears, is an Anthony Award-winning writer from Southeastern Virginia. His critically-acclaimed Razorblade Tears and Blacktop Wasteland were both named …

Elle Cosimano
Elle Cosimano’s adult mystery debut, Finlay Donovan is Killing It, has been optioned for TV. She is the award-winning author of several young adult novels including The Suffering Tree, Holding …

Ellen Crosby
Ellen Crosby, author of The French Paradox, has written 12 books in the Virginia wine country mystery series. Her books have been nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award and …

Gilda Daniels
Gilda R. Daniels, the author of Uncounted: The Crisis of Voter Suppression in the United States, is a former Deputy Chief in the U.S. Dept. of Justice Civil Rights Division, …

Shilpa Davé
Shilpa Davé is an assistant dean in the College of Arts and Sciences and an assistant professor in the Department of Media Studies and American Studies at UVA. She is …

Hilary Davidson
Hilary Davidson, author of Don’t Look Down, One Small Sacrifice, and four other novels, has won two Anthony Awards and a Derringer Award for her work. She is also the …

Maya Davis
Maya Davis is the director of the Riversdale House Museum in Prince George’s County, Maryland. She currently serves as a Commissioner on the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission and …

Kathy Davis
Kathy Davis is the author of Passiflora and Holding for the Farrier. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and been a finalist for Best of the Net …

Joseph Davis
Joseph E. Davis is research professor of sociology at UVA and the director of the Picturing the Human project at the university’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. He is …

William deBuys
William deBuys, author of The Trail to Kanjiroba, also wrote River of Traps, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and a Pulitzer Prize nonfiction finalist, as well …

Juli Delgado Lopera
Juli Delgado Lopera is an award-winning Colombian writer based in San Francisco. They’re the author of The New York Times acclaimed novel Fiebre Tropical, a finalist for the 2020 Kirkus Prize for …

Natashia Deón
Natashia Deón, author of The Perishing, is an NAACP Image Award Nominee, practicing criminal attorney, and college professor. A Pamela Krasney Moral Courage Fellow, Deón is the author of the …

Hannah Oliver Depp
Hannah Oliver Depp is the owner of Loyalty Bookstores in Petworth, D.C., and Silver Spring, M.D., a diverse and inclusive bookstore and programming space. She holds a Masters in English …

Chelsea B. DesAutels
Chelsea B. DesAutels is the author of A Dangerous Place. A National Poetry Series finalist, her work appears in Copper Nickel, Missouri Review, The Adroit Journal, Pleiades, Ninth Letter, and elsewhere. …

Matthew Desmond
Matthew Desmond, author of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, is the founder of Princeton University’s Eviction Lab, which maintains the first-ever national dataset of evictions in America, …

Alissa Ujie Diamond
Alissa Ujie Diamond is a mask-maker, a PhD candidate, a mom, a landscape architect, and an artist in Charlottesville, Va.

Alex DiFrancesco
Alex DiFrancesco, author of Transmutation, has published fiction in The Carolina Quarterly, New Ohio Review, and Monkeybicycle. They are a winner of Sundress Academy for the Arts 2017 OutSpoken contest …

Kaki Dimock
Kaki Dimock is an artist and a social worker currently serving as the director of human services for the City of Charlottesville. She believes in the power of humor, human …

Evette Dionne
Evette Dionne, author of Lifting as We Climb: Black Women’s Battle for the Ballot Box, is a Black feminist writer and the editor-in-chief of Bitch Media. Her writings about race, …

Karen Dionne
Karen Dionne is the USA Today and #1 internationally bestselling author of the award-winning psychological suspense The Marsh King’s Daughter, published in 26 languages, and The Wicked Sister, both set …

Alda P. Dobbs
Alda P. Dobbs, author of Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna, is as passionate about connecting children to their past, their communities, and nature as she is about writing. She lives …

Angela Dominguez
Angela Dominguez, author of Stella Díaz Dreams Big, was born in Mexico City and grew up in the great state of Texas. She now resides in Virginia. Angela is also …

Gary Dop
Gary Dop is a writer, storyteller, and professor who founded and directs the Randolph College MFA program. He is the author of the poetry collection Father, Child, Water, and several …

Kate Doughty
Kate Doughty, author of The Follower, is a graduate of the University of Virginia. She lives and works in Washington, D.C., and her debut novel is a spine-tingling YA thriller …

Andrea Douglas
Dr. Andrea Douglas, Jefferson School African American Heritage Center executive director, holds an MA and PhD in art history from the University of Virginia and an MBA in arts management …

Rita Dove
Rita Dove, author of Playlist for the Apocalypse, is a Pulitizer Prize winner and former U.S. Poet Laureate, and the only poet honored with both the National Humanities Medal and …

Laurent Dubois
Laurent Dubois is the director for Academic Affairs at the Democracy Initiative at UVA and the author, most recently, of Avengers of the New World: The Story of the Haitian …

Danielle Beazer Dubrasky
Danielle Beazer Dubrasky, author of Drift Migration, Ruin and Light, and letterpress book Invisible Shores, has been published in Chiron Review, South Dakota Review, and Ninth Letter. Originally from Charlottesville, …

Omar Eaton-Martínez
Omar Eaton-Martínez, assistant division chief, Historical Resources for Prince George’s County Parks & Recreation, is a museum leader whose professional vision is to transform communities through co-stewardship of narratives in …

April Eberhardt
April Eberhardt joined the literary world after twenty-five years as a corporate strategist and management consultant. She advises and assists authors worldwide as they choose the best path to publication. …

Justene Hill Edwards
Justene Hill Edwards, author of Unfree Markets, is an assistant professor in the Corcoran Department of History at the University of Virginia. Published Works Unfree Markets: The Slaves’ Economy and …

Joanna Eleftheriou
Joanna Eleftheriou, author of This Way Back, is assistant professor of English at Christopher Newport University, a contributing editor of Assay, and a faculty member at the Writing Workshops in …

M. K. England
M. K. England, author of The One True Me and You, lives in a small house in rural Virginia packed with video games, dogs, plants, Star Wars memorabilia, and one …

Mike Errico
Mike Errico, author of Music, Lyrics, and Life, is a New York-based recording artist, writer, and lecturing professor. In addition to his music career, he teaches songwriting at universities including …

Catalina Esguerra
Catalina Esguerra is the programs manager for the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at UVA’s School of Education and Human Development. Her role focuses on creating programming, professional development, …

Leah Esslinger
Leah Esslinger is a freelance writer and researcher in the Charlottesville area and is currently the communications assistant at Virginia Humanities. With an MA in anthropological linguistics from UVA, Leah’s …

Ralph Eubanks
W. Ralph Eubanks is the author of A Place Like Mississippi, Ever Is a Long Time, and The House at the End of the Road. He has written for the …

Georgann Eubanks
Georgann Eubanks is a writer and Emmy-winning documentarian. Her most recent book is Saving the Wild South: The Fight for Native Plants on the Brink of Extinction. Published Works Saving …

Joe Fab
Joe Fab is an Award-winning and Emmy-nominated producer, director and writer with 40 years experience in documentary film production, media, communications, event production and the live presentation of plays and music. …

Daniel Fairley II
Daniel Fairley II currently serves as the Youth Opportunity Coordinator focused on Black Male Achievement for the City of Charlottesville. He received his BA from the University of Richmond and …

Deborah Falaye
Deborah Falaye, author of Blood Scion, is a Nigerian Canadian young adult author. She grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, where she spent her time devouring African literature, pestering her grandma …

Paul Farber
Paul M. Farber is director of Monument Lab. He is author of A Wall of Our Own: An American History of the Berlin Wall and co-editor of Monument Lab: Creative …

Robin Farmer
Robin Farmer, author of Malcolm and Me, is a national award-winning journalist and the 2019 She Writes Press and SparkPress Toward Equality in Publishing contest winner. Malcolm and Me is …

Anita Felicelli
Anita Felicelli, author of Chimerica: A Novel and the story collection Love Songs for a Lost Continent, has been nominated for Pushcart Prizes, won Greater Bay Area Journalism awards, placed …

Nicole Fenton
Nicole Fenton (they/them) is a writer, editor, designer, and the co-author of Nicely Said: Writing for the Web with Style and Purpose.

Cherise Fisher
Cherise Fisher is an agent with Wendy Sherman Associates. Her intention is that all the books she helps bring into the world are relevant, enduring, and help readers maximize joy …

Sarah FitzHenry
Sarah FitzHenry is an educator working to provide equitable and engaging learning experiences for all students. A true teacher at heart, she will share her passions with anyone that will …

Catherine Coleman Flowers
Catherine Coleman Flowers, author of Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret, is the founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice and the rural development manager …

Curdella Forbes
Curdella Forbes, author of A Tall History of Sugar, was born in Jamaica and now lives in Takoma Park, Maryland. She teaches at Howard University. Published Works A Tall History …

Kelli Jo Ford
Kelli Jo Ford, author of Crooked Hallelujah, is a debut author who was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and a Publishers Weekly Best Fiction Books of …

David Francis
David Francis, translator of Footwork: Selected Poems by Severo Sarduy, serves as Dean of Grace Hopper College at Yale University, where he teaches in the Program in Ethnicity, Race, and …

Lauren Francis-Sharma
Lauren Francis-Sharma, author of Book of the Little Axe, also wrote ’Til the Well Runs Dry. She resides near Washington, D.C., with her husband and two children and is the assistant …

Jane Friedman
Jane Friedman has twenty years of experience in the publishing industry. She’s the editor of The Hot Sheet, the essential industry newsletter for authors, and has previously worked for F+W …

Kim Fu
Kim Fu, author of the story collection Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, is also the author of For Today I Am a Boy, winner of the Edmund White …

Cherie Fu
Cherie Fu, author of Little Messy Marcy Su, is the mother of two audacious little girls. Inspired by childhood’s wondrous humor and optimism, she began imagining stories that reflected her …

Lilia Fuquen
Lilia Fuquen is a community engagement consultant with a focus on ecological, agricultural, and land-based education programs in central Virginia. Her passion for wilderness awareness and ecological caretaking are the …

Forrest Gander
Forrest Gander, author of Twice Alive, was born in the Mojave Desert and grew up, for the most part, in Virginia. Trenchant periods of his life were spent in San Francisco, …

Laura Gao
Laura Gao, author and artist of Messy Roots, was born in Wuhan, China, and grew up near Dallas, Texas. Their work has been featured in NPR, HuffPost, and most notably, …

Kellye Garrett
Kellye Garrett, author of Like A Sister, also wrote the Detective by Day lightweight mysteries, which have won the Anthony, Agatha, Lefty and IPPY Awards and been featured on the …

Clifford Garstang
Clifford Garstang, author of Oliver’s Travels, is also the author of the novel The Shaman of Turtle Valley and three short story collections: House of the Ancients, What the Zhang …

Ross Gay
Ross Gay is the author of four books of poetry: Be Holding, Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, Bringing the Shovel Down, and Against Which. He published a collection of essays, The …

Rebecca Giggs
Rebecca Giggs, author of Fathoms, is from Perth, Australia. Her nonfiction has appeared in The Atlantic, Granta, and Best Australian Essays, among other publications. Her writing focuses on our connection …

Benjamin Gilmer
Benjamin Gilmer, author of The Other Dr. Gilmer, is a family medicine physician in Fletcher, North Carolina. Dr. Gilmer has lectured across the country about medical ethics, bias in medicine, …

Grace D. Gipson
Dr. Grace D. Gipson is an assistant professor in the Department of African American Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. As a Black Future Feminist, Black Creative, scholar activist, her research …

Nicole Glover
Nicole Glover, author of The Undertakers and The Conductors, works as a UX researcher. A bike commuter and running enthusiast, she enjoys baking and figuring out what book to read …

Halli Gomez
Halli Gomez, author of List of Ten, writes stories with neurodiverse characters and works at her independent bookstore. When not writing, she sock skates through the house, talks to dogs …

Kristen Green
Kristen Green is the author of Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County, a New York Times bestseller that received the Library of Virginia Literary Award for Nonfiction. A …

Karen Grey
Karen Grey, author of Forget About Me, was a stage, screen and radio drama actor in Boston, New York City, and Los Angeles in the late twentieth century. She started …

Bruce Greyson
Dr. Bruce Greyson, author of After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond, is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry & Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia. …
Lisa Grimes
Lisa Grimes grew up in the Shenandoah Valley. After many years in Williamsburg, Va., she now lives in Charlottesville and works at the University of Virginia.

John Grisham
John Grisham is the author of thirty-five novels, one work of nonfiction, a collection of stories, and six novels for young readers. He is a longtime member of the Board …

Linda LeGarde Grover
Linda LeGarde Grover is a member of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa and professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota Duluth. She is author of novels, …

Laura Lee Gulledge
Laura Lee Gulledge (she/ her/ we) is a Charlottesville-based artist and author of magical realism and graphic medicine graphic novels for young adults. She explores visual storytelling at the intersection …

Adam Gussow
Adam Gussow, author of Whose Blues?: Facing Up to Race and the Future of the Music, is professor of English and Southern Studies at the University of Mississippi and author …

Helon Habila
Helon Habila is a Nigerian/American author who has published four novels, including Oil on Water and Travelers. He is the editor of the Granta Book of African Short Story and …

Rachel Howzell Hall
Rachel Howzell Hall, author of And Now She’s Gone, is also the author of the Anthony Award-, Lefty Award- and ITW-award nominated They All Fall Down. A native of Los …

Cathryn Hankla
Cathryn Hankla is the author of fifteen books of poetry and prose, including the recent memoir, Lost Places: On Losing and Finding Home, and poetry collections Not Xanadu, Galaxies, and …

Chris Harding Thornton
Chris Harding Thornton, author of Pickard County Atlas, is a seventh-generation Nebraskan. She holds an MFA from the University of Washington and a PhD from the University of Nebraska, where …

Claudrena N. Harold
Claudrena N. Harold, author of When Sunday Comes: Gospel Music in the Soul and Hip-Hop Eras, is a professor at the University of Virginia, where she teaches courses in labor …

Sharon Harrigan
Sharon Harrigan, author of Half, has a BA in English from Barnard College of Columbia University and an MFA in creative writing from Pacific University. Her essays and stories have …

Mark Harris
Mark Harris, author of Mike Nichols: A Life, is also the author of Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood, which was a New …

Taylor Harris
Taylor Harris, author of This Boy We Made, is a writer, wife, and mom to three who lives in Pennsylvania. Her work has appeared in O Quarterly, The Washington Post, …

Vashti Harrison
Vashti Harrison, author-illustrator of Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History and Little Dreamers: Visionary Women Around the World, is an artist and filmmaker with a passion for storytelling. She …

Melanie Hatter
Melanie S. Hatter, author of Malawi’s Sisters, is an award-winning author of two novels and one short story collection. Selected by Edwidge Danticat, Malawi’s Sisters won the inaugural Kimbilio National …

Paul Heitsch
Paul Heitsch is an audiobook narrator and producer with more than 240 titles completed to date. In addition to his voice-over work, Paul is a professional pianist, composer, sound designer, …

Emily Henry
Emily Henry, author of People We Meet on Vacation, also wrote Beach Read, as well as several young adult novels. She lives and writes in the Cincinnati and the part …

Daisy Hernández
Daisy Hernández, author of The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family, an Insect, and a Nation’s Neglect of a Deadly Disease, is a former reporter for The New …

Catherine Hernandez
Catherine Hernandez, author of Crosshairs, is a queer woman of color, theater practitioner, and the artistic director of b current Performing Arts and the Sulong Theatre. Her debut novel, Scarborough, …

Judith Heumann
Judith Heumann, author of Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist, is an internationally recognized leader in disability rights advocacy at home and abroad, serving in the …

Talia Hibbert
Talia Hibbert, author of Wrapped Up In You, is a novelist who lives in a bedroom full of books. She writes steamy, diverse romance because she believes that people of …

Meredith Hindley
Meredith Hindley is a historian and author of Destination Casablanca: Exile, Espionage, and the Battle for North Africa in World War II. She has also written for The New York …

Naomi Hirahara
Naomi Hirahara, author of Clark and Division and The Eternal Lei, is the Edgar Award–winning author of the Mas Arai mystery series, including Summer of the Big Bachi, which was …

Shannon Hitchcock
Shannon Hitchcock, author of She Sang for the Mountains: The Story of Jean Ritchie, Singer, Songwriter, Activist, was born in North Carolina and grew up in the foothills of the …

Jody Hobbs Hesler
Jody Hobbs Hesler’s stories, essays, articles, and book reviews can be found in The Los Angeles Review, Arts & Letters, CRAFT, The Bangalore Review, The Rumpus, The Georgia Review, Charlottesville Wine …

Ron Hogan
Ron Hogan, author of Our Endless and Proper Work, has served in various capacities in and around the book publishing industry over the years. What’s important here is that he’s the …

Henry Hoke
Henry Hoke is the author of Sticker and the novel The Groundhog Forever, the story collection Genevieves, and The Book of Endless Sleepovers. He co-created and directs the performance series …

Vanessa M. Holden
Vanessa M. Holden, author of Surviving Southampton: African American Women and Resistance in Nat Turner’s Community, is an assistant professor of history at the University of Kentucky. Her writing has …

Hilary Holladay
Hilary Holladay, author of The Power of Adrienne Rich: A Biography, is a poet, novelist, and literary critic as well as a biographer. Her previous books include Tipton: A Novel …

Mai-Linh K. Hong
Mai-Linh K. Hong, co-editor of The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care, and Racial Justice, is assistant professor of Asian Diaspora and Asian American Literature at the …

Anushay Hossain
Anushay Hossain, author of The Pain Gap, is a writer and a feminist policy analyst focusing on women’s health legislation. She is a regular on-air guest at CNN, MSNBC, and …

Jennifer Howard
Jennifer Howard, author of Clutter: An Untidy History, is a former contributing editor and columnist for The Washington Post and a former senior reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education. …

Erika Howsare
Erika Howsare, author of How is Travel a Folded Form?, is a writer from Central Virginia. She will publish a nonfiction book in 2024 about the relationship between humans and …

Libby Hubscher
Libby Hubscher, author of Meet Me in Paradise, lives in North Carolina with her husband, two young children, and a menagerie of pets. She writes women’s fiction and contemporary romance. …

Cathy Hwang
Cathy Hwang is the Barron F. Black Research Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, where her research and teaching focus on business law. Her work …

Jordan Ifueko
Jordan Ifueko, author of Raybearer, is a Nigerian American writer who grew up eating fried plantains while reading comic books under a blanket fort. She now lives in Los Angeles …

Luisa A. Igloria
Luisa A. Igloria, author of Maps for Migrants and Ghosts, a co-recipient of the 2020 Crab Orchard Poetry Open, thirteen other books of poetry, and four chapbooks, is originally from …

Elizabeth Irvin
Elizabeth Irvin is the executive director of The Women’s Initiative, a Charlottesville based nonprofit that provides trauma-informed, culturally responsive mental health care. She believes that every person possesses the strength …

Emma Ito
Emma Ito (she/her) is the director of education at Virginia Humanities where she is responsible for the development, coordination, and implementation of educational resources for teachers, students, and lifelong learners. …
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Leslie Jamison
Leslie Jamison is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Make it Scream, Make it Burn, The Recovering, and The Empathy Exams, and the novel The Gin Closet. She …

Tiffany Jana
Tiffany Jana, author of Subtle Acts of Exclusion: How to Understand, Identify, & Stop Microaggressions, is a non-binary entrepreneur Awareness Artist and Pleasure Activist. They use their work and art …

Caroline E. Janney
Caroline E. Janney is the author of Ends of War: The Unfinished Fight of Lee’s Army after Appomattox, which received the Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize, presented annually for a work …

Kasey Jernigan
Kasey Jernigan is an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and American Studies at UVA. Her work examines the ways shifting patterns of participation in food and nutrition assistance …

Gayle Jessup White
Gayle Jessup White, author of Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant’s Search for Her Family’s Lasting Legacy, is a former award-winning television reporter and anchor who started her …

Micaiah Johnson
Micaiah Johnson, author of The Space Between Worlds, was raised in California’s Mojave Desert. She holds a BA in creative writing and an MFA in fiction, and currently studies American …

Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
Jocelyn Nicole Johnson, author of My Monticello, lives in Charlottesville, Virginia. A fellow at TinHouse, Hedgebrook, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, her writing has appeared in Guernica, …

Sadeqa Johnson
Sadeqa Johnson, author of Yellow Wife, has been honored with the National Book Club Award, the Phillis Wheatley Book Award, and the USA Best Book Award for Best Fiction. She …

Stephen Mack Jones
Stephen Mack Jones is the Hammett Prize and Nero Wolf Award-winning author of the Detroit-based August Snow thriller series, which is in development for a TV series. Jones’ third entry …

Ashley Jones
Ashley M. Jones, author of Reparations Now!, is the Poet Laureate of Alabama, holds an MFA in Poetry from Florida International University, and has also written Magic City Gospel and …

Martha S. Jones
Martha S. Jones, author of Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All, is the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and professor …

Chip Jones
Chip Jones, author of The Organ Thieves, has been a journalist for nearly 30 years at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Roanoke Times, Virginia Business magazine, and others. As part of …

Robert Jones, Jr.
Robert Jones, Jr., author of The Prophets, a New York Times-bestselling novel and finalist for the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction, has written for numerous publications including The New …

Zeyn Joukhadar
Zeyn Joukhadar, author of The Thirty Names of Night, is also the author of the novel The Map of Salt and Stars. He is a member of the Radius of Arab American Writers (RAWI). …

Andrew Kahrl
Andrew W. Kahrl is associate professor of history and African-American Studies at the University of Virginia, where he specializes in the history of race, real estate, and governance in 20th …

Naoko Fujimoto
Naoko Fujimoto, author of Glyph, was born and raised in Nagoya, Japan, and studied at Nanzan Junior College. She was an exchange student and received a BA and MA from …

Alma Katsu
Alma Katsu, author of Red Widow, is the international award-winning author of six novels. Prior to her writing career, she had a 30+ year career working at CIA, NSA, and …

Jonathan M. Katz
Jonathan M. Katz, author of Gangsters of Capitalism, received the Medill Medal for Courage in Journalism for reporting from Haiti. His book, The Big Truck That Went By, was shortlisted …

Kenn Kaufman
Kenn Kaufman, author of A Season on the Wind: Inside the World of Spring Migration, has observed bird migration on all seven continents. He’s editor and coauthor of seven titles …

Andrew D. Kaufman
Andrew D. Kaufman, author of The Gambler Wife, is an associate professor, General Faculty, and lecturer in Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Virginia. He is the creator …

Bettye Kearse
Dr. Bettye Kearse, author of The Other Madisons: The Lost History of A President’s Black Family, is a retired pediatrician, a descendant of a slave and President James Madison, and …

Hena Khan
Hena Khan, author of Amina’s Song, is a Pakistani American writer. She is also the author of the middle-grade novels Amina’s Voice and More to the Story, as well as …

Annie Kim
Annie Kim, author of Eros, Unbroken and Into the Cyclorama, is a poet, educator, and former attorney. Her books have been awarded the Washington Prize and Michael Waters Poetry Prize, …

Benjamín Naka-Hasebe Kingsley
Benjamín Naka-Hasebe Kingsley, author of Dēmos: an American Multitude belongs to the Onondaga Nation. He is the author of two more books in the past four years, Not Your Mama’s …

TJ Klune
TJ Klune, author of Flash Fire, is the Lambda Literary Award-winning author of The House in the Cerulean Sea, The Extraordinaries, and more. Being queer himself, Klune believes it’s important—now …

Lawson Koeppel
Lawson Koeppel, MSW, is a person in long-term recovery whose focus is on active substance use, policy, and mental health. He co-founded Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition (VHRC) in 2018 to …

Dorothy Koomson
Dorothy Koomson, author of I Know What You’ve Done, is the award-winning author of fifteen novels including the Sunday Times bestsellers My Best Friend’s Girl, The Ice Cream Girls, and …

Amanda Korman
Amanda Korman is a fiction writer whose work has appeared in the Virginia Quarterly Review. She is also the community relations liaison for the Charlottesville City Schools and a teacher …

Suzanne Koven
Suzanne Koven, author of Letter to a Young Female Physician, is an internist and writer-in-residence at Massachusetts General Hospital and teaches at Harvard Medical School. Her writing has appeared in …

Michael Krepon
Michael Krepon, author of Winning and Losing the Nuclear Peace, is co-founder of the Stimson Center in Washington, D.C. He worked for President Jimmy Carter and on Capitol Hill. He …

Vera Kurian
Vera Kurian, author of Never Saw Me Coming, is a writer and scientist living in Washingto,n D.C. Her short fiction has been published in magazines such as Glimmer Train and …

William Kurtz
Will Kurtz is the managing director and digital historian at the John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History at the University of Virginia. Published Works Soldiers of the …

John Lanchester
John Lanchester, author of Reality and Other Stories, is also author of the novels The Debt to Pleasure, Capital, and The Wall, and a regular contributor to the London Review …

Andrew F. Lang
Andrew F. Lang, author of A Contest of Civilizations: Exposing the Crisis of American Exceptionalism in the Civil War Era, is an associate professor of history at Mississippi State University. …

Tara Laskowski
Tara Laskowski, author of The Mother Next Door, is a novelist and short story writer. Her debut suspense novel One Night Gone won the Agatha Award, Macavity Award, and the …

Cecilia Laslo
Cecilia Laslo is a Romanian writer and journalist. She writes on topics such as women’s health, memory and trauma in the city of Sarajevo, and politicians’ disrespect to women. Laslo …

Chrissy Yee Lau
Chrissy Yee Lau, co-editor of The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care, and Racial Justice, is assistant professor of History at California State University, Monterey Bay. She …

Jennifer L. Lawless
Jennifer L. Lawless, author of News Hole: The Demise of Local Journalism and Politics Engagement, is the Leone Reeves and George Spicer Professor of Politics at UVA, where she serves …

Lara Lee
Lara Lee, author of Coconut & Sambal: Recipes from My Indonesian Kitchen, is an Indonesian and Australian chef and food writer. She trained at Leiths School of Food and Wine …

Dustin Lee
Dustin Lee is a fourth grade teacher at Virginia Run Elementary School in Fairfax, Virginia. He enjoys pursuing new challenges, spending time with his wife and two amazing kids, and …

Amy Lee-Tai
Amy Lee-Tai is the author of A Place Where Sunflowers Grow, a picture book informed by her family’s Japanese American incarceration experiences. Born in NYC and raised there and in …

Dub Leffler
Dub Leffler, author of Once There Was A Boy, is an Australian illustrator, writer, animator, and mixed media artist, working in the arts through books, film, television, muralism, and art …

Whitney Leopard
Whitney Leopard is the senior editor at Random House Graphic. She has been editing comics for nearly a decade with notable titles like Lumberjanes, Adventure Time, and R.L. Stine’s Just …

Tony Tian-Ren Lin
Tony Tian-Ren Lin, author of Prosperity Gospel Latinos and Their American Dream, is vice president of Institutional Advancement and Research at New York Theological Seminary. Previously, he was a research …

Ed Lin
Ed Lin, author of David Tung Can’t Have a Girlfriend Until He Gets Into an Ivy League College, is a native New Yorker of Taiwanese and Chinese descent. He is …

Jacqueline Lipton
Jacqui Lipton, author of Law and Authors: A Legal Handbook for Writers is a literary agent, law professor, and attorney with international experience in teaching authors and creative artists about …

Sylvia Liu
Sylvia Liu, author of Manatee’s Best Friend, grew up with books and daydreams in Caracas, Venezuela. Once an environmental attorney protecting the oceans, she now spins stories for children, inspired …

James Livingood
Jeb Livingood is the associate director of the UVA Creative Writing Program and the series editor for Best New Poets.

Karen Long
Karen Long is manager of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, established in 1935 and the only juried prize for the best books each year to confront racism and celebrate the rich …

Verity Lowell
Verity Lowell, author of Meet Me in Madrid, is a professor and occasional curator who writes queer of color romance. She likes imagining and describing a world where ambition, travel, …

Meg Lowman
Meg Lowman, author of The Arbornaut, is an American biologist, educator, ecologist, writer, editor, and public speaker. Nicknamed the “real-life Lorax” by National Geographic and “Einstein of the treetops” by …

Amber Loyacano
Amber Loyacano is in her sixteenth year as an English teacher in Waynesboro, Virginia. As an educator she is passionate about sharing her love of reading and advocating for her …

Joe Loyacano
Joe Loyacano teaches scriptwriting in the School of Media Arts & Design at James Madison University. His love of story has led him to teach courses in English, honors, writing, …

Donna Lucey
Donna M. Lucey, media editor at Virginia Humanities, is an award-winning biographer whose books include Sargent’s Women: Four Lives Behind the Canvas, the New York Times-bestselling Archie and Amélie: Love …

Kyle Lucia Wu
Kyle Lucia Wu, author of Win Me Something, has received the Asian American Writers’ Workshop Margins Fellowship as well as residencies from Millay Arts, The Byrdcliffe Colony, Plympton’s Writing Downtown Residency, …

Alec MacGillis
Alec MacGillis, author of Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America, is a senior reporter for ProPublica and the recipient of the George Polk Award, the Robin Toner prize, and …

Rhonda V. Magee
Rhonda V. Magee, author of The Inner Work of Racial Justice, is professor of Law at the University of San Francisco and a leading thought and practice innovator in the …

Kat Maier
Kat Maier, author of Energetic Herbalism, has been a practicing clinical herbalist for over 30 years. She founded Sacred Plant Traditions, a center for herbal studies in Charlottesville, Va., and …

Steve Majors
Steve Majors, author of High Yella: A Modern Family Memoir, is a former television news journalist. His essays on race, culture, and identity have been published in the The New …

Megha Majumdar
Megha Majumdar, author of A Burning, was born and raised in Kolkata, India. She moved to the United States to attend college at Harvard University, followed by graduate school in …

Michael E. Mann
Michael E. Mann, author of The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet, is Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Pennsylvania State University, with joint appointments in the …

Tif Marcelo
Tif Marcelo, author of Once Upon a Sunset and In a Book Club Far Away, is a veteran army nurse. She writes about the strength of families, the endurance of …

Nev March
Nev March, author of Murder in Old Bombay, is the winner of the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America 1st Crime Novel Award. Leaving a career in business analysis in 2015 …

Micheline Aharonian Marcom
Micheline Aharonian Marcom was born in Saudi Arabia and raised in Los Angeles. She has published six novels, and founded The New American Story Project [NASP]. Marcom splits her time …

Rachel Marcus
Rachel Marcus is the Medical Director of the Latin American Society of Chagas, a non-profit based in the Metropolitan Washington DC area that provides free screening and treatment for Chagas …

Aurielle Marie
Aurielle Marie, author of Gumbo Ya Ya, winner of the 2020 Cave Canem Poetry Prize, selected by Douglas Kearney, is a 2019 Ploughshares Emerging Writer award recipient. She has received …

Ramona Martinez
Ramona Martinez is a visual artist, writer, and tarot reader living in Charlottesville, Virginia. She has spent the last decade producing audio content, most recently as the producer of The …

Brendan Mathews
Brendan Mathews is the author of The World of Tomorrow and This Is Not A Love Song. His stories have twice appeared in the Best American Short Stories. The World …

Irène Mathieu
Dr. Irène Mathieu is a pediatrician and the award-winning author of three poetry collections, Grand Marronage, OROGENY, and THE GALAXY OF ORIGINS. She works as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics …

Courtney Maum
Courtney Maum, author of Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer’s Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting and Surviving Your First Book, is also author of the novels Costalegre, Touch, …

Andrea Mayfield
Andrea Mayfield is the deputy director of The Women’s Initiative, where she is responsible for operations, resilience programs, and cultural humility. She is passionate about equity in access and outcomes …

Amber McBride
Amber McBride, author of Me (Moth), teaches English and writing at the University of Virginia. Her work has been published in Ploughshares, The Rumpus, Decomp and more. Me (Moth) is …

Shara McCallum
Shara McCallum, author of No Ruined Stone, is from Jamaica and has six books published in the United States and the United Kingdom, and a Spanish translation of her poetry, La …

Kyle McCarthy
Kyle McCarthy, author of Everyone Knows How Much I Love You, lives in Brooklyn, New York. Her fiction and essays have appeared in Best American Short Stories, American Short Fiction, …

Jill McCorkle
Jill McCorkle is the award-winning, bestselling author of Hieroglyphics and Life After Life. She has written for the New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and …

Kevin McDonald
Kevin McDonald is the University of Virginia’s Vice President for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Community Partnerships. He joined UVA after serving as the chief diversity officer and vice chancellor for …

Kevin McFadden
Kevin McFadden is the author of the poetry collection Hardscrabble and the chapbook City of Dante, a collaboration with illustrator Jeff Pike. He is a letterpress printer and chief operating …

Bill McKibben
Bill McKibben wrote The End of Nature, the first book for a general audience about climate change, in 1989; his 20th book, The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: …

Welford “Mack” McLellan Jr.
Welford “Mack” McLellan Jr. is a Baltimore native who moved to Charlottesville in 2016. In an effort to decrease the academic achievement gap, he created Simunye (Zulu for “we are …

Anna-Marie McLemore
Anna-Marie McLemore, author of Lakelore, was born in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and taught by their family to hear la llorona in the Santa Ana winds. They’ve …

Peace Adzo Medie
Peace Adzo Medie, author of His Only Wife, is senior lecturer in Gender and International Politics at the University of Bristol. She is also the author of Global Norms and …

Juana Medina
Juana Medina, author and illustrator of multiple children’s books, including the chapter book series Juana & Lucas, was born and grew up in Bogotá, Colombia. At school, she got into …

Yahusef Medina
Yahusef Medina is the associate director of Community Initiatives at Virginia Humanities. He also serves on the Latino Advisory Board for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Much of his career has …

Erika Meitner
Erika Meitner is a professor of English at Virginia Tech. Her most recent book, Holy Moly Carry Me, was the winner of the 2018 National Jewish Book Award, and a …

Jean Meltzer
Jean Meltzer, author of The Matzah Ball, studied dramatic writing at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts and has earned numerous awards for her work in television, …

Yamile Saied Méndez
Yamile Saied Méndez, author of Furia, is a fútbol-obsessed Argentine American who lives in Utah with her family. She is an inaugural Walter Dean Myers Grant recipient, and part of …

Maaza Mengiste
Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Maaza Mengiste received a 2020 Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Also a Fulbright Scholar and a professor at Queens …

Lindsay Merbaum
Lindsay Merbaum, author of The Gold Persimmon, is a queer feminist and high priestess of home mixology. Her short fiction has been nominated for a Pushcart, among other prizes, and …

Lincoln Michel
Lincoln Michel, author of The Body Scout, has had his fiction appear in The Paris Review, F&SF, Granta, and elsewhere. He is also the author of the story collection Upright …

Adrian Miller
Adrian Miller, author of Black Smoke, is a certified Kansas City Barbecue Society judge and recipient of a James Beard Foundation Book Award for Soul Food: The Surprising Story of …

Patricia Miller
Patricia Miller is the editor of Encyclopedia Virginia and the author of Bringing Down the Colonel: A Sex Scandal of the Gilded Age. Her writing on feminism, power, and politics …

Lulu Miller
Lulu Miller, author of Why Fish Don’t Exist, is a Peabody award-winning science journalist, co-host of the award-winning WNYC Studios show Radiolab, and cofounder of NPR’s Invisibilia—a show about the …

Reuben Jonathan Miller
Reuben Jonathan Miller, author of Halfway Home, is a sociologist, criminologist and a social worker who teaches at the University of Chicago in the School of Social Service Administration where …

Oliver Milman
Oliver Milman is a British journalist and the environment correspondent at the Guardian US. His forthcoming book, The Insect Crisis, will publish in March 2022. He lives in New York …

Sarah Morgenthaler
Sarah Morgenthaler, author of Mistletoe and Mr. Right, is a geologist and lifelong science nerd. She is a passionate supporter of chocolate chip cookies, geeking out over rocks, and playing …

Matthew D. Morrison
Matthew D. Morrison, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, is an assistant professor in the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. …

Walter Mosley
Walter Mosley, author of Blood Grove, is one of America’s most celebrated and beloved writers. A Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America, Mosley has written more than sixty …

N. West Moss
N. West Moss, author of Flesh & Blood, has published a collection of short stories, and her award-winning work has appeared in The New York Times, McSweeney’s, and many other …

Jason Mott
Jason Mott, author of Hell of a Book, winner of the National Book Award for Fiction, has published four novels. His first novel, The Returned, was a New York Times …

Joni Murphy
Joni Murphy, author of Talking Animals, is a writer from southern New Mexico who lives in New York. Her debut novel, Double Teenage, was named one of The Globe and …

Sean Murphy
Sean Murphy, a columnist for PopMatters, has also appeared in Salon, The Village Voice, Washington City Paper, The Good Men Project, Memoir, and others. His chapbook, The Blackened Blues, is …

Shelley Murphy
Dr. Shelley Murphy, a genealogical researcher for more than thirty years, is the Descendant Project Researcher for the University of Virginia, an Instructor at the Midwest African American Genealogical Institute, …

Amita Murray
Amita Murray, author of Arya Winters and the Tiramisu of Death, is based in London, by way of Delhi and California. She’s held writerly residencies with Leverhulme/University College London and …

Pete Myers
Pete Myers received a PhD from U.C. Berkeley for work on the migratory ecology and behavior of sandpipers. This work took him from Arctic Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. In …

BettyJoyce Nash
BettyJoyce Nash, a 2013 MacDowell fellow, has published fiction and journalism in the Christian Science Monitor, North Dakota Quarterly, and Across the Margin. She co-edited Lock & Load: Armed Fiction, literary stories that probe …

Jennie Nash
Jennie Nash, author of Blueprint for a Book: Build Your Novel from the Inside Out, is the founder and CEO of Author Accelerator, a company on a mission to lead …

Adam Nemett
Adam Nemett is the author of the debut novel We Can Save Us All, and serves as creative lead and author for History Factory, where he’s written award-winning nonfiction history …

Brian Neumann
Brian C. Neumann earned his PhD from the University of Virginia in 2020 and now serves as the managing director and digital historian of the John L. Nau III Center …

Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments, is also the author of four books of poetry, including Oceanic, winner of the …

Trung Le Nguyen
Trung Le Nguyen, author of The Magic Fish, is a comic book artist and illustrator working out of Minnesota. He received his BA from Hamline University in 2012, majoring in …

Jennifer Niesslein
Jennifer Niesslein, author of Dreadful Sorry: Essays on an American Nostalgia, is the editor of Full Grown People, two FGP anthologies, and the author of one memoir. Originally from western …

Michelle Nijhuis
Michelle Nijhuis, author of Beloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in an Age of Extinction, is a project editor at The Atlantic, a contributing editor at High Country News, and an …

Tara Nurin
Tara Nurin, author of A Woman’s Place is in the Brewhouse, is passionate about promoting women’s challenges and achievements, and the history of women in beer. Tara is also a …

Erin O’Hare
Erin O’Hare is a reporter for Charlottesville Tomorrow who reports on neighborhoods and communities, with a particular focus on housing. She DJs a couple rock shows on WTJU 91.1 FM, …

Andrew J. O’Shaughnessy
Andrew J. O’Shaughnessy, author of The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind, is Vice President of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello and Saunders Director of the Robert H. Smith International …

Daniel A. Olivas
Daniel A. Olivas, author of How to Date a Flying Mexican: New and Collected Stories, is the author of ten books and editor of two anthologies. He has also written for …

Priscilla Oliveras
Priscilla Oliveras, author of Anchored Hearts and Summer in the City, writes contemporary romance with a Latinx flavor. Her work has garnered praise and starred reviews from The Washington Post, …

A.E. Osworth
A.E. Osworth, author of We Are Watching Eliza Bright, is a queer, trans, and non-binary writer and part-time faculty at The New School, where they teach digital storytelling to undergraduates. …

Kwame Otu
Kwame Edwin Otu is an assistant professor of African American and African Studies at the Carter G. Woodson Institute of African American and African Studies at UVA. His forthcoming book …

Nadia Owusu
Nadia Owusu, author of Aftershocks, is a Brooklyn-based writer and urban planner. She is the recipient of a 2019 Whiting Award. Her lyric essay, “So Devilish a Fire,” won The …

Amelia Pang
Amelia Pang, author of Made in China: A Prisoner, an SOS Letter, and the Hidden Cost of America’s Cheap Goods, is an award-winning journalist who has written for publications such …

Meredith Pangrace
Meredith Pangrace, editor of Rust Belt Vegan Kitchen, is a home cook and book designer from Cleveland, Ohio. Published Works Rust Belt Vegan Kitchen

Lorelei Parker
Lorelei Parker, author of Crushing It, lives and works in Central Virginia. In her free time, when she isn’t playing video games, she writes contemporary romantic comedy. Published Works Crushing …

Shelley Parker-Chan
Shelley Parker-Chan, author of She Who Became the Sun, is an Asian Australian former diplomat who worked on human rights, gender equality, and LGBT rights in Southeast Asia. Raised on Greek …

Maggie Paxson
Maggie Paxson, author of The Plateau, is a writer, anthropologist, and performer. She is the author of Solovyovo: The Story of Memory in a Russian Village, and her essays have …

Christopher K. Peace
Christopher K. Peace represented Virginia’s 97th District in the House of Delegates from 2006 to 2020. He is an attorney with a general practice in the metro Richmond region and …

Imani Perry
Imani Perry, author of South to America, is the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University where she also teaches in Gender and Sexuality Studies, Law and Public …

Kiki Petrosino
Kiki Petrosino is the author of White Blood: a Lyric of Virginia and three other books of poetry. Her awards include a Pushcart Prize and a Fellowship in Literature from …

Deesha Philyaw
Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, is a Kimbilio Fiction Fellow and a past Pushcart Prize nominee. Her writing on race, parenting, gender, and culture has …

Deborah Prum
Deborah Prum’s fiction has appeared in The Virginia Quarterly Review, Across the Margin, The Sweetbay Review and other outlets. Her essays air on NPR and have appeared in The Washington Post. …

Nick Pyenson
Nick Pyenson, author of Spying on Whales, is the curator of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. His work has taken …

Khalisa Rae
Khalisa Rae, author of Ghost in a Black Girl’s Throat, is a poet, queer rights activist, journalist, and educator in Durham, N.C., and a graduate of the Queens University MFA …

Sana Rafi
Sana Rafi, author of Little Seeds of Promise, earned her MFA from Columbia University. She is a Pakistani American who is passionate about showcasing Muslim and immigrant characters in her …

RV Raman
RV Raman is the author of the New York Times Editor’s Choice book A Will to Kill and A Dire Isle, as well as the Inspector Ranade and Inspector Dhruvi …

NoNieqa Ramos
NoNieqa Ramos wrote The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary, a 2018 New York Public Library Best Book for Teens, a 2019 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection, and a 2019 In …

Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin, author of A Song for the Dark Times and dozens of other bestselling novels in the John Rebus series and others, has received the Chandler-Fulbright Award; four Crime …

John W. Reid
John W. Reid, coauthor of Ever Green, is a conservationist and economist whose writing has appeared in outlets including The New York Times and Scientific American. He lives in Sebastopol, …

Justin G. Reid
Justin G. Reid is director of community initiatives at Virginia Humanities, where he leads statewide partnership-building and engagement efforts. He is a public historian, preservationist, and native of Farmville, Virginia, …

Allissa Richardson
Allissa V. Richardson is the author of Bearing Witness While Black: African Americans, Smartphones and the New Protest #Journalism. She is an assistant professor of journalism at USC Annenberg, and …

Chuck Robb
Chuck Robb, author of In the Arena: A Memoir of Love, War, and Politics, served as the 64th Governor of Virginia from 1982 to 1986 and as a United States …

Valencia Robin
Valencia Robin is the author of Ridiculous Light, winner of Persea Books’ Lexi Rudnitksy First Book Prize, finalist for the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and one of Library Journal’s best …

Libby Roether
Libby Roether is innovation brewmaster at Devils Backbone Brewing Co. She discovered brewing while studying operations at Miami University and then the VLB in Berlin, Germany. Going on to work …

Samantha Rosenthal
Samantha Rosenthal, author of Living Queer History, is Associate Professor of History and Coordinator of the Public History Concentration at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. She is the author of …
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Hank Phillippi Ryan
Hank Phillippi Ryan is the USA Today bestselling author of twelve thrillers, winning five Agatha Awards and the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. She is an on-air investigative reporter with …

Matthew Salesses
Matthew Salesses, is the author of Craft in the Real World, an Esquire Best Book of 2021; three novels, Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear, The Hundred-Year Flood, and I’m Not Saying, I’m …

Zak Salih
Zak Salih, author of Let’s Get Back to the Party, lives in Washington, D.C. His writing has appeared in Crazyhorse, The Chattahoochee Review, The Millions, The Rumpus, and other publications. …

Enrique Salmón
Enrique Salmón, author of Iwígara: American Indian Ethnobotanical Traditions and Science, is head of the American Indian Studies Program at California State University–East Bay, in Hayward, California. His own Rarámuri …

Albert Samaha
Albert Samaha, author of Concepcion: An Immigrant Family’s Fortunes, is a Whiting Foundation Creative Nonfiction Grant recipient and inequality editor at BuzzFeed News. Published Works Concepcion: An Immigrant Family’s FortunesNever …

Nelson Camilo Sánchez
Nelson Camilo Sánchez is director of the International Human Rights Law Clinic at the University of Virginia School of Law. His research focuses on justice in post-conflict scenarios, land governance …

Rayhané Sanders
Rayhané Sanders began her career at Penguin Books USA before moving to William Morris Endeavor. She joined Massie & McQuilkin in 2014, where she remains on the lookout for literary, …

Katharine Schellman
Katharine Schellman, author of Silence in the Library, is a former actor, one-time political consultant, and now mystery writer. She currently lives and writes in the mountains of Virginia in …

Jalane Schmidt
Jalane Schmidt is associate professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia, where she is the director of the Democracy Initiative’s Memory Project. She is a scholar-activist in Charlottesville, …

Todd S. Sechser
Todd S. Sechser is professor of Politics and Public Policy at the University of Virginia and a Senior Fellow at the Miller Center of Public Affairs. An expert on nuclear …

Vijay Seshadri
Vijay Seshadri is the author of the poetry books Wild Kingdom, The Long Meadow, The Disappearances, 3 Sections, and, in 2020, That Was Now, This Is Then, as well as …

Aimee Seu
Aimee Seu, the author of Velvet Hounds, graduated from the University of Virginia Creative Writing MFA Poetry Program in 2020 as a Poe/Faulkner Fellow where she was recipient of the …

Robert Shetterly
Robert Shetterly, author of Portraits of Racial Justice, is an internationally acclaimed, Maine-based artist, best known for his Americans Who Tell the Truth portrait series of more than 250 brave …

SJ Sindu
SJ Sindu, author of Blue-Skinned Gods, and the Lambda Literary Award finalist for Marriage of a Thousand Lies, holds an MA in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a …

Julietta Singh
Julietta Singh, author of The Breaks, is a writer and academic whose work engages the enduring effects of colonization, current ecological crisis, and queer-feminist futures. She is the author of …

Erin Siwert
Erin Siwert is an elementary school librarian at Virginia Run Elementary School in Fairfax County, Virginia. She has taught for twenty-two years as a classroom teacher and librarian, and is …

Angie Smibert
Angie Smibert, author of The Truce, lives in Roanoke, Virginia. The Truce is the third novel in her middle-grade Ghosts of Ordinary Objects series. The first book, Bone’s Gift, won …

Valerie Soe
Valerie Soe, contributor to The Auntie Sewing Squad Guide to Mask Making, Radical Care, and Racial Justice, is a writer and experimental videomaker living and working in San Francisco. Published …

Leni Sorensen
Dr. Leni Sorensen works as a university lecturer, museum consultant, hands-on presenter and researcher with a focus on African American slavery, American agriculture, and women’s work in colonial and post-colonial …

Lisa Russ Spaar
Lisa Russ Spaar is the author of over ten books, including Madrigalia: New & Selected Poems and Orexia: Poems. Her debut novel, Paradise Close, will appear in April 2022. Her …

Kris Spisak
Kris Spisak, author of The Novel Editing Workbook: 105 Tricks & Tips for Revising Your Fiction Manuscript, Get a Grip on Your Grammar, and The Family Story Workbook, is on …

Bella Stander
Bella Stander is the publisher of Bella Terra Maps. Stander has reviewed books for Publishers Weekly, the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and Wall St. Journal; and written eight lighthouse guides.

Dariel Suarez
Dariel Suarez, author of The Playwright’s House, was born in Havana, Cuba, and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1997. His debut story collection, A Kind of …

Maia Szalavitz
Maia Szalavitz, author of Undoing Drugs: The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction, is an award-winning journalist who specializes in science and health. She is the …

Art Taylor
Art Taylor is the author of The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74 and Other Tales of Suspense. His stories have won the Edgar, Agatha, Anthony, Derringer, and Macavity …

Brian Teare
Brian Teare is the author of six critically acclaimed books, most recently Doomstead Days, winner of the Four Quartets Prize and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle, Kingsley …

Emily Temple
Emily Temple, author of The Lightness, earned a BA from Middlebury College and an MFA in fiction from the University of Virginia, where she was a Henry Hoyns fellow and …

Lisa Tener
Lisa Tener, author of The Joy of Writing Journal: Spark Your Creativity in 8 Minutes a Day, is an authority on nonfiction book writing, publishing and creativity, and winner of …

Nikki Terpilowski
Nikki Terpilowski established Holloway Literary in 2011. A full-service boutique literary agency based in Raleigh, North Carolina, her list includes bestselling and critically acclaimed authors.

Emily Thiede
Emily Thiede is the author of This Vicious Grace (forthcoming). A former teacher, she co-hosts the Basic Pitches podcast, mentors through Pitch Wars, and is a WriterHouse board member.

Todne Thomas
Todne Thomas, author of Kincraft: The Making of Black Evangelical Sociality is an anthropologist and assistant professor of African American Religions at Harvard Divinity School. Her work examines the racial, …

John Charles Thomas
John Charles Thomas was the first Black and, at 32 years old, the youngest Supreme Court Justice in Virginia history. A Norfolk native, he earned his BA with distinction from …

Morgan Thomas
Morgan Thomas, author of Manywhere, has had work published in The Atlantic, The Kenyon Review, American Short Fiction, VICE, Electric Literature, Ploughshares, them., and StoryQuarterly, where their story won the …

William G. Thomas III
William G. Thomas III, author of A Question of Freedom, is the Angle Chair in the Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Nebraska. He has been a …

Brittany J. Thurman
Brittany J. Thurman, author of Fly, illustrated by Anna Cunha, has always listened to stories told by her grandmother. Those same stories hold space in her writing today. Brittany is …

Kim Thúy
Kim Thúy, author of Em, left Vietnam with the boat people when she was ten years old and settled in Quebec with her family. Her debut novel, Ru, was published …

Christopher Tilghman
Christopher Tilghman is the author of four novels and two short story collections, most recently the novel Thomas and Beal in the Midi. He retired last spring as a professor …

Raisa Tolchinsky
Raisa Tolchinsky is a poet and teacher. She has lived and worked in Chicago, New York, Italy, and Iceland and is trained as an amateur boxer. Currently, Raisa is a …

David J. Toscano
David J. Toscano, author of Fighting Political Gridlock, is a veteran of twenty-five years of public service. He served as a city councilor and as Mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia, and …
Anne Trubek
Anne Trubek, author of So You Want to Publish a Book?, is the founder and publisher of Belt Publishing and Belt Magazine, the author of two previous books, and the …

Rachel True
Rachel True, author of True Heart Intuitive Tarot, is an actress who has appeared in many hit and cult films including The Craft, Half Baked, and Nowhere. She was nominated …

Ann Tucker
Ann L. Tucker, author of Newest Born of Nations: European Nationalist Movements and the Creation of the Confederacy, is a historian of the U.S. South and Civil War in an …

Jessie van Eerden
Jessie van Eerden, author of Call It Horses, is the author of two other novels, Glorybound and My Radio Radio, and the essay collection The Long Weeping. Her work has …

Jay Varner
Jay Varner is a lecturer in the School of Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication at James Madison University. He is the author of Nothing Left to Burn and the co-host …

John Vercher
John Vercher is the MWA Edgar Award-nominated and CWA Dagger-Shortlisted author of Three-Fifths, the Agora Books launch title for which, to date, rights have been sold in seven countries. Published …

Olinka Vištica
Olinka Vištica is co-founder and director of the Museum of Broken Relationships and co-author of The Museum of Broken Relationships book. Published Works Museum of Broken Relationships – Modern Love …

Ran Walker
Ran Walker, author of Keep It 100: 100-Word Stories, is an award-winning author of 23 books. He teaches creative writing at Hampton University and for Writer’s Digest University. Ran lives …

David Heska Wanbli Weiden
David Heska Wanbli Weiden, author of Winter Counts, is an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota Nation. He received his MFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts, and was …

Lesley Wheeler
Lesley Wheeler, author of Unbecoming, is also author of five poetry collections, most recently The State She’s In, and the forthcoming essay collection Poetry’s Possible Worlds. Poetry editor of Shenandoah, she lives in …

Karen White
Karen White has been narrating audiobooks since 1999 with more than 400 titles to her credit. Honored to be included in AudioFile Magazine’s Best Voices, she’s also a three-time Audie …

Jonathan W. White
Jonathan W. White, author of A House Built By Slaves: African American Visitors to the Lincoln White House and editor of To Address You As My Friend: African Americans’ Letters …

Tamara Whyte
Tamara Whyte is a professor of English at Piedmont Virginia Community College. She is also the faculty advisor for the school newspaper, The Forum. She combined her lifelong love of …

Kim Wilkens
Kim Wilkens is the founder of Tech-Girls, a founding board member of Charlottesville Women in Tech, and co-host of the Once Upon a Tech podcast. Now a UVA Ed.D. student …

Crystal Wilkinson
Crystal Wilkinson, author of Perfect Black, is the Poet Laureate of Kentucky. She is also the author of The Birds of Opulence, winner of the Ernest J. Gaines Award, and …

Allison K. Williams
Allison K. Williams, author of Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro from Blank Page to Book, has edited and coached writers to deals with Big Five and small presses. She …

Diane Wilson
Diane Wilson (Dakota), author of The Seed Keeper, is a writer, speaker, and editor, who has published two award-winning books, as well as essays in numerous publications. She is the …

Randy Winston
Randy Winston is the fiction editor at Slice Literary Magazine and creator of “Milkshake Scholar,” a milkshake interview series on Instagram. He earned his MFA in Creative Writing from The New …
John Wodatch
John Wodatch is a disability rights attorney, specializing in the Americans with Disabilities Act and international disability rights work. He wrote the U.S. Government’s Section 504 regulations in the 1970’s, …

David Wojahn
David Wojahn is the author of nine collections of poetry. Interrogation Palace, his selected poems, was a named finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University. Published …

Jacqueline Woodson
Jacqueline Woodson, author of Before the Ever After, is the bestselling author of more than two dozen award-winning books, including the 2014 National Book Award-winning memoir in verse, Brown Girl …

Amy Woolard
Amy Woolard is a legal aid attorney working on civil rights policy & legislation in Virginia as director of policy of the Legal Aid Justice Center. Her debut poetry collection, …

Lisa Woolfork
Lisa Woolfork is an associate professor of English at the University of Virginia, where she specializes in African American literature and culture. Her teaching and research explore Black women writers, …

Allison Wright
Allison Wright is the executive editor and publisher of the Virginia Quarterly Review. Her writing has appeared in the Atlantic, VQR, CNN, and elsewhere. She teaches journalism in the master’s program at …

Lisa Yee
Lisa Yee, author of Maizy Chen’s Last Chance, is the award-winning author of Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time, Millicent Min, Girl Genius, and many other books, including the DC Super Hero Girls …

Joe Yonan
Joe Yonan is the Food and Dining editor of The Washington Post, where he writes the Weeknight Vegetarian column. He is the author of Cool Beans, the editor of America …

Katherine E. Young
Katherine E. Young is the author of Woman Drinking Absinthe and Day of the Border Guards and editor of Written in Arlington. She is also an award-winning translator of Russian-language …

Heather Young
Heather Young, author of The Distant Dead, won a Strand Award and an Edgar nomination for her debut novel, The Lost Girls. She holds an MFA from the Bennington Writing …

Rafia Zakaria
Rafia Zakaria is the author of The Upstairs Wife: An Intimate History of Pakistan, Veil, and Against White Feminism: Notes on Disruption. She is a columnist for Dawn (Pakistan) and …

Diane Zinna
Diane Zinna, author of The All-Night Sun, created the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) Writer to Writer Mentorship Program and taught creative writing for ten years in the …
Speakers

Jim Brady
Jim Brady is the vice president of Journalism for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Brady, who joined Knight in August 2021, is a longtime digital media innovator …

Adrian Brettle
Adrian Brettle, author of Colossal Ambitions: Confederate Planning for a Post–Civil War World, is lecturer and associate director of the Political History and Leadership Program in the School of Historical, …

Mahogany L. Browne
Mahogany L. Browne, author of Chlorine Sky, is a California-born, Brooklyn-based writer, educator, activist, mentor, and curator. She has published several books of poetry, and she is the artistic director …

Anneliese M. Bruner
Anneliese M. Bruner, author of the afterword to The Nation Must Awake, is the great-granddaughter of Tulsa survivor Mary E. Jones Parrish. She is a writer and editor, and attended …

Eboni Bugg
Eboni Bugg has worked to improve lives in the Charlottesville area in a variety of roles including educator, social worker, therapist and yoga teacher. She is currently the director of …

Elizabeth C. Bunce
Elizabeth C. Bunce, author of the Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery series, lives in Kansas City with her husband and their cats. Premeditated Myrtle is her first book for middle-grade readers. Published …

Keisha Bush
Keisha Bush, author of No Heaven For Good Boys, a New York Times Editors’ Choice, was born in Boston. She has received fellowships from the LMCC Workspace Residency, Tyrone Guthrie …

Ron Butler
Ron Butler is an LA-based performer with over a hundred television, film, and stage credits, as well as close to two hundred audiobooks. He has been nominated for seven Audie …

Sarah Calise
Sarah Calise (she/they) is a public historian dedicated to connecting people with their past and preserving important records through digital, written, and verbal storytelling. She currently cares for political and …
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David Campos
David Campos, author of American Quasar, is the son of Mexican immigrants, a CantoMundo fellow, and his collection, Furious Dusk, won the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize. His work has appeared …

Anna Caritj
Anna Caritj, author of Leda and the Swan, holds a BA from the University of Virginia, where she studied English and Spanish literature, and an MFA from Hollins University. She …

Brian Castleberry
Brian Castleberry, author of Nine Shiny Objects, has had stories published in The Southern Review, Day One, Narrative, and other literary journals. He lives in Virginia, where he teaches literature …
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