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H. Lee Barnes is the author of ten books, including four novels and four short story collections. His short fiction has received the Willamette Fiction Award and the Arizona Author's Association Fiction Award. His last collection, Life Is a Country Western Song, garnered the 2019 New Mexico/Arizona Book Award for Fiction Other. In addition, Barnes was honored by the Vietnam Veterans of America with an Excellence in the Arts Award for his Vietnam War books, and in 2009 he was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame. He earned his MFA in creative writing from Arizona State University and taught English and creative writing at the College of Southern Nevada, retiring emeritus in 2017. Barnes lives in the Hualapai Valley in northern Arizona. 

Stephen Greenblatt is the Cogan University Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University. He has written extensively on English Renaissance literature and acts as general editor of The Norton Anthology of English Literature and The Norton Shakespeare. He is the author of fifteen books, including The Swerve, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, and Will in the World, a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Dark Renaissance is his latest. 

Kathy Watson is a chef and author. But she wasn't always. Before opening her two restaurants and writing her first books, she spent twenty years as a journalist and public relations executive. The Orphans of the Living is her debut novel. In her previous life, she was press secretary to the Oregon State Senate Democrats, and director of communications for two state agencies. She served a brief (but disastrous) stint as press secretary to the mayor of Portland, Bud Clark. She was also as editor-in-chief of Oregon Business magazine for six years. In 1998, she started a media relations firm with her husband and fellow writer, Stu Watson. In 2004, she said goodbye all that and became the chef and owner of Viento in Bingen, Washington, and the acclaimed Nora's Table in Hood River, Oregon. In addition to Orphans of the Living, she has written a memoir, Last Morning at Nora's Table and is at work on a second novel, A Place Far Down the River.Her community activities include serving as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for children. Kathy attended the University of Oregon School of Journalism, but left one term shy of graduation to take her first newspaper job at the Lake County Examiner in Lakeview, OR. She lives in Hood River, OR and runs and hikes the trails in the Columbia River Gorge with her dog, Satchel and husband, Stu. 

Stacy has been capturing the essence of place through an intuitive use of light, color and composition for almost two decades. Her signature images of architecture, interiors and gardens have resulted in three solo exhibitions and numerous awards. Her photography has been featured extensively in books and magazines including at home (where she was lead photographer for more than 10 years), Garden Design, Luxe Interiors + Design, House Beautiful, Elle Décor, Veranda, AD, Horticulture, Living Etc., British Homes & Gardens, The Wall Street Journal and many more. She is the author of two bestselling and critically acclaimed monographs celebrating the American landscape: In the Garden (Melcher Media/Perseus Books, 2012) and Gardens at First Light (Moffly Media, 2015). Lightkeeper is her first memoir.

Melissa Fraterrigo’s memoir, The Perils of Girlhood is published by the University of Nebraska Press in Fall 2025. She is also the author of the novel Glory Days (University of Nebraska Press), which was named one of “The Best Fiction Books of 2017” by the Chicago Review of Books as well as the short story collection The Longest Pregnancy (Livingston Press). Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies from storySouth and Shenandoah to Notre Dame Review, Sou’wester and The Millions. A graduate of the University of Iowa (BA) and Bowling Green State University (MFA), she teaches creative writing at Purdue University, and is also the founder and executive director of the Lafayette Writers’ Studio in Lafayette, Indiana, where she offers classes on the art and craft of writing. She lives with her husband and two daughters in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World. Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Today Show, Wired, Fox News, and BBC.

Peter Rosch is the author of multiple dark fictions born from the various addictions he chased while living in New York City as an award-winning writer and creative director. He’s many years sober now but remains an addict’s addict. WHAT THE DEAD CAN DO is his debut novel.  Peter grew up in the Southwest, lived in New York for nearly 20 years, and now resides midway between Austin and San Antonio in Wimberley, TX where he works as an author, freelance creative director and copywriter in advertising, and most importantly, full-time dad. Learn more about Peter Rosch at www.peterrosch.com and on IG: @Peterrosch; Facebook: @AuthorPeterRosch; BlueSky: @Peterrosch; and Threads: @PeterRosch.     

Nikki Nash, a debut memoirist with a vibrant Hollywood background, shares her unconventional journey from TV associate director to writer. She delves into her chaotic upbringing in 1970s Los Angeles, influenced by politically active artists. With humor, she recounts her aspirations sparked by Warren Beatty and the realities of pursuing dreams. Nikki also emphasizes the importance of authenticity in writing and the valuable lessons learned through constructive feedback and empathy, celebrating the goodness found in people's unique stories.

Leigh Dunlap is the screenwriter behind the hit movie, A Cinderella Story starring Hilary Duff.  She also wrote Spy Girls, based on the popular teen book series, for producer Lawrence Bender (Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting) and Camp Rockaway for Sony Pictures and producers Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher (Gladiator, Stuart Little).  Her movie, 16-Love was one of Gravitas’ and Warner Digital’s top titles and The Standoff, starring Olivia Holt and Alex Wolff, was released on Netflix. 

Micah Thorp is a physician, writer, and lifelong Oregonian. His research has been published in numerous medical journals, and his literary works have appeared in Blind Corner, Cleaver Magazine, The Raven’s Perch, and The Write Launch. His debut novel, Uncle Joe’s Muse, won a 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Award and a Foreword Indies Book of the Year Award. His sequel, Uncle Joe’s Senpai, was published in 2023 and was a finalist for the Foreword Indies Book of the Year Award. Aegolius Creek, Micah’s forthcoming novel, is the recipient of a 2025 IPPY Independent Publisher Book Award: West-Pacific Best Regional Fiction.