2026 Washington Writers Conference Panelists & Speakers

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Kim Alexander grew up in the wilds of Long Island, NY, and slowly drifted south until she reached Key West. After spending 10 years working as a disc jockey in the Keys, she moved to Washington, DC, where she reported the traffic and spun the oldies. After a career upgrade, she became the co-programmer of SiriusXM Book Radio, which gave her the opportunity to interview some of her writing heroes, including Anne Rice, George R.R. Martin, Stephen King, and Margaret Atwood, among many hundreds of others. Kim is the author of the epic fantasy Demon Door series and the paranormal romance New World Magic series. She currently writes full time and lives with two cats, an angry fish, and her extremely patient husband close enough to the National Zoo to hear the lions and the monkeys (at least, she hopes that’s what those noises are). Find her on Instagram and Facebook.

Cathy Alter’s articles and essays have appeared in O, the Oprah Magazine, the Cut, WIRED, Oldster, Narratively, and the Washington Post, among others. She is the author of Virgin Territory: Stories From the Road to Womanhood, the memoir Up for Renewal: What Magazines Taught Me About Love, Sex, and Starting Over, and CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Lasting Power of Their First Celebrity Crush. She lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, Karl, and their son, Leo. Find her on Facebook, Instagram, and on X at @CathyAlter.

Samuel Ashworth is the author of The Death and Life of August Sweeney, described by the Washington Post as a debut that “deserves to be savored.” He writes for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Eater, Longreads, and others. He is a professor of creative writing at George Washington University and a New York Times bestselling ghostwriter. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and two sons. Find him at @samuel.b.ashworth on Instagram and @samuelashworth on Bluesky and Twitter.

E.A. Aymar, an Anthony Award nominee, is the author of multiple thrillers. Says Booklist of his most recent novel, When She Left, “This would appeal to fans of Elmore Leonard…with high-stakes violence tempered by humor and disarmingly sympathetic antiheroes.” In 2025, When She Left was chosen by PEN/Faulkner as one of three books for their prestigious DC Reads program. His previous thriller, No Home for Killers, received praise from the New York Times, Kirkus, and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and it was an instant Amazon Bestseller. A frequent contributor to the Washington Post and a past columnist for the Independent, Aymar is a former member of the national board of the International Thriller Writers and is an active member of Crime Writers of Color and Sisters in Crime. He was born in Panama and now lives and writes in the DC/MD/VA triangle. Find him on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.

Megan Bormet is the owner of People’s Book in Takoma Park, Maryland. Bormet, a mom of three young children and a former educator, moved with her family to Takoma Park in 2020. If you knew her in her elementary-teaching days, you’d know that she’s always had a passion for finding the right book for the right kid at the right time. For years, she dreamed of opening her own bookstore, and she’s excited to create and nurture a welcoming space for neighbors to come together to learn and grow. Her years of experience in education have given her a vast knowledge of literature, and she is excited to curate a diverse selection of books for her community.

Anna Bright is the author of YA novels The Hedgewitch of Foxhall, The Song That Moves the Sun, The Beholder, and The Boundless. When not writing, she loves concerts, rollercoasters, and adventures at home and abroad. Anna lives with her family in a charming corner of Washington, DC, but you can find her online on Instagram.

 

A’Lelia Bundles is the author of Joy Goddess: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance, the first major biography of her great-grandmother, and of On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker, a New York Times Notable Book about her entrepreneurial great-great-grandmother. She is a former ABC News executive, Emmy Award-winning NBC News producer, founder of the Madam Walker Family Archives, and a member of several nonprofit boards, including Harvard’s Schlesinger Library. [Photo by Jimell Greene.]

Ellen Prentiss Campbell is the author of three novels and two short-story collections. Her novel The Bowl with Gold Seams received the Indy Excellence Award for Historical Fiction, and her collection of short stories Contents Under Pressure was nominated for the National Book Award. The author grew up in Pennsylvania and Maryland, telling stories before she could read. She studied at Smith College and the Bennington Writing Seminars. As a psychotherapist, she listened to stories. Now she writes in Washington, DC, and Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Find her on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads, and Bluesky.

Sunu P. Chandy (she/her) is a social-justice activist including through her work as a poet and a civil rights attorney. She is the daughter of immigrants from Kerala, India, and currently lives in DC with her family. Her award-winning collection of poems, My Dear Comrades, was published by Regal House and features cover art by Ragni Agarwal. Sunu is currently a senior advisor with Democracy Forward and is on the board of the Transgender Law Center. Sunu has been included as one of the Washington Blade’s Queer Women of Washington. [Photo by Sarah Sharaf-Eldien.]

Susan Coll is the bestselling author of eight novels, including The Literati, Real Life and Other Fictions, Bookish People, and The Stager, a New York Times and Chicago Tribune Editor’s Choice. Her novel Acceptance was made into a TV movie starring Joan Cusack. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times Book Review and the Washington Post. She has worked at Politics and Prose for more than 10 years and is currently its events advisor.

Jona Colson is a poet, educator, and translator. He is the author of Said Through Glass (Washington Writers’ Publishing House), translator of Aguas/Waters by Miguel Avero, and co-editor of two anthologies, including America’s Future: Poetry and Prose in Response to Tomorrow (2025). His poems and interviews have appeared in Ploughshares, the Southern Review, LitHub, and elsewhere. He is co-president of Washington Writers’ Publishing House and edits the bi-weekly journal WWPH Writes. He is a professor of ESL at Montgomery College and lives in Washington, DC.

Patricia Coral is the author of the memoir Women Surrounded by Water, longlisted for the 2024 National Book Critics Circle Award in Autobiography. She holds an MFA in creative writing from American University, where she was editor-in-chief of FOLIO Literary Journal. The former director of events for Politics and Prose Bookstore, she has contributed to numerous literary magazines, and her work has been supported by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

 

Teri Ellen Cross Davis is the author of a more perfect Union and Haint. Her fellowships and awards include the Journal/Charles B. Wheeler Poetry Prize, the Ohioana Book Award for Poetry, and a Maryland Individual Artist Award. She curated the O.B. Poetry Series at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, for almost 20 years. She will be the Nora Roberts Foundation Writer-in-Residence at Hood College in the spring of 2026. [Photo by Zoe.]

Eric Dezenhall is the author of 12 books of fiction and nonfiction. His most recent nonfiction work is Wiseguys and the White House: Gangsters, Presidents, and the Deals They Made. His book Glass Jaw: A Manifesto for Defending Fragile Reputations in an Age of Instant Scandal is a popular text for MBA students and others who study crisis management. And his nonfiction work Best of Enemies: The Last Great Spy Story of the Cold War, co-authored with Gus Russo, is being made into a motion picture starring Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale, according to entertainment-industry trade publications. [Photo by Amy Raab.]

Lacey N. Dunham is the author of the novels The Belles, a Best Book of 2025 by Library Journal and Crime Reads, and the forthcoming Fall of the House of Graystone (2027), both from S&S/Atria. Named a 2025 Writer to Watch by Poets & Writers Magazine, she has received support from the Elizabeth George Foundation, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and the Sewanee Writers Conference, among others. She lives in Washington, DC, with too many books but only two cats. [Photo by Carletta Girma.]

Stefan Fatsis is the author of Unabridged: The Thrill of (and Threat to) the Modern Dictionary, published in October by Grove Atlantic, and three other books: the New York Times bestseller Word Freak, about the world of competitive Scrabble; A Few Seconds of Panic, about life in the NFL; and Wild and Outside, about minor-league baseball. In four decades as a journalist, Fatsis has written and talked for Slate, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, the New York Times, the Atlantic, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and many other outlets. He lives in Washington, DC. [Photo by Cindy Fatsis.]

Amy Freeman’s bylines include the Washington Post, the Offing, AARP, and dozens of other journals and anthologies. By day, she’s development director at the Writer’s Center, a literary-arts nonprofit based just outside of Washington, DC, in Bethesda, MD.

 

 

 

 

Rob Jolles is a five-time bestselling author and a 40-year professional speaker. He has traveled over 3 million miles delivering workshops and promoting his books all over the world. He trains authors to promote their books and speaks for some of the largest publishers in the country. Find him on LinkedIn, the Presentation Whisperer Show, Pocket Sized Pep Talks, X, and YouTube.

Barbara Jones is an agent with the Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency, where she represents literary and upmarket fiction and nonfiction. She has a special interest across all forms in stories told from underrepresented and sometimes controversial points of view, as well as — in fiction and memoir especially — a fondness for storytelling that’s unpretentiously humorous and powerful. Barbara became a literary agent after several decades as an editor, first in magazines (Grand Street, Vogue, Harper’s) and then in books (as editorial director at Hyperion Books and, most recently, as executive editor at Henry Holt). She has led writing workshops for more than 30 years at Yale, New York University, and elsewhere. She lives in Harlem, New York.

Amy Joyce opened Wonderland Books with her friend Gayle Weiswasser in December 2024 after nearly three decades as a journalist at the Washington Post. While there, she was a business reporter and workplace columnist, authored the book I Went to College for This?, and was an editor in the features section. Her most beloved role at the Post was as the editor and writer of On Parenting. The Post is also where she met her husband, Steven Ginsberg, executive editor of the Athletic. They have two sons and a beloved dog named Rosie. She could not be happier to be spending her life surrounded by great writers and their books.

Melanie D.G. Kaplan is a longtime independent journalist whose travel and science writing has appeared in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and National Parks magazine. She is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School, a 2021-2022 MIT Knight Science Journalism fellow, and a third-generation Washington, DC, native. Her book, Lab Dog: A Beagle and His Human Investigate the Surprising World of Animal Research, was published by Seal Press in October. Kaplan has lived most of her life with hounds. Find her on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Bluesky. (And find her dog, Hammy, on Instagram, too.)

Marisa Kashino is the author of the debut novel Best Offer Wins, a Good Morning America Book Club pick, also in development as a TV series for Hulu. Kashino was previously a journalist, most recently at the Washington Post. She spent the bulk of her career at Washingtonian magazine, writing long-form features and overseeing the real-estate and home-design coverage. She grew up near Seattle, graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in journalism and political science, and now lives in the DC area with her husband, two dogs, and two cats.

Alma Katsu is the New York Times-bestselling author of nine novels, including The Hunger (“supernatural suspense at its finest”) and, most recently, Fiend, which has been optioned for television. Her books have won or been nominated for the Stoker, Locus, Goodreads, and Shirley Jackson awards and made best-books lists at NPR, Library Journal, Oprah, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and elsewhere. Find her on Substack, Instagram, and Bluesky.

 

 

Hiram Larew’s seventh collection of poems, This Much Very, was published by Alien Buddha Press in 2025. His poems appear in Poetry South, Iowa Review, Poetry Scotland, and Contemporary American Voices and have been nominated for Pushcart and Best of the Net awards. He also founded Poetry X Hunger, an initiative that brings a world of poets to the anti-hunger cause. Larew is a Courtesy Faculty at five U. S. universities. His other collections include Mud Ajar (2021) and Patchy Ways (2023).

Dwayne Lawson-Brown, aka the Crochet Kingpin, is the former co-host of Spit Dat, the longest-running open-mic in Washington, DC. They are the author of four poetry collections, One Color Kaleidoscope (2019), Twenty:21 (2021), Breaking the Blank (Day Eight, co-authored with Rebecca Bishophall, 2022), and Biscuit Box (2025). With their writing partner, Drew Anderson, Dwayne has co-authored three plays, “From Gumbo to Mumbo” (2018), “Push the Button” (2022), and the forthcoming “Midiculous” (2025).

Nathan Leslie won the 2019 Washington Writers’ Publishing House prize for fiction for his satirical collection of short stories, Hurry Up and Relax. He is also the series editor for Best Small Fictions and the editor of the Maryland Literary Review. He is the author of 14 books, including Van Boyle, A Fly in the Ointment, Sibs, and The Tall Tale of Tommy Twice. He is also the author of a collection of poems, Night Sweat. His fiction has been published in hundreds of literary magazines such as Shenandoah, North American Review, Boulevard, Hotel Amerika, South Dakota Review, Lake Effect, and Cimarron Review. Nathan’s nonfiction has been published in the Washington Post, Kansas City Star, and Orlando Sentinel. Nathan lives in Northern Virginia. 

Antoine Lunsford is a native of Washington, DC. He graduated from Bowie State University in 2010 with a bachelor’s in education. He’s been a classroom teacher for 16 years now. In 2017, he released his first of three children’s books in his Little Andy’s World book series. He’s traveled around the DC Metro area visiting schools as a motivational speaker in addition to his book tours as an author. Antoine is also CEO of a local nonprofit, the Lunsford-Williams Foundation, and a financial-services professional. He and his family reside in Anne Arundel County.

Chloe Yelena Miller is a writer and teacher living in Washington, DC, with her partner and child. She’s the author of Perforated (2026) and Viable (2021), both out from Lily Poetry Review Books). She and Shasta Grant co-founded and co-direct Brown Bag Lit, an online writing community. She also teaches writing and literature through the University of Maryland’s Global Campus, Politics and Prose bookstore, and New Directions in Writing, as well as privately. Miller has a B.A. in Italian language and literature from Smith College (1998) and an MFA in poetry from Sarah Lawrence College (2003). Find her on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and LinkedIn. [Photo by Hans Noel.]

Bethany C. Morrow writes bestselling adult and young-adult novels. Her YA work includes SLJ Gold Standard selections A Song Below Water (a Locus, Ignyte, and Audie finalist) and So Many Beginnings, the latter a Little Women remix for which she’s presented at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. She is editor/contributor to the YA anthology Take the Mic, which won the 2020 ILA Social Justice in Literature award. Her adult novels include Mem, an Indies Introduce and Indie Next pick, Cherish Farrah, a social horror (and the April 2022 Belletrist x Bookclub pick), and, most recently, The Body. She was the 2021 Mansfield Lecturer at Roosevelt University, and her work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Forbes, Bustle, Buzzfeed, and elsewhere. Bethany is also included on USA TODAY’s list of 100 Black novelists and fiction writers you should read. Find her on Instagram, Threads, Substack, and Bluesky.

Eliza Nellums was raised in the Detroit suburbs and now lives with two cats outside Washington, DC. Her first novel, All That’s Bright and Gone, was named an Amazon Editor’s Pick and was praised in the Washington Post and Real Simple magazine. Bestselling author Lisa Gardner called Nellums’ second novel, The Bone Cay, “atmospheric and gripping.” Nellums is a member of the Metro Wriders, a weekly critique group that meets in Dupont Circle. An amateur botanist and avid gardener, she divides her time among plants, books, and cats.

Laura J. Oliver, MFA, is an award-winning writer, developmental story editor, workshop facilitator, and writing mentor. She is the author of The Story Within, New Insights and Inspiration for Writers. Her fiction and nonfiction appear in national magazines, newspapers and literary reviews, including the Washington Post, the Writer, Country Living, the Sun Magazine, Delmarva Review, Baltimore Review, and Glimmer Train. She taught at the University of Maryland and St. John’s College, and her popular weekly newspaper column is featured every Wednesday on NPR’s Morning Edition as “This is How the Story Goes.” Oliver has won a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award in Fiction and an Anne Arundel County Literary Arts Award.

 

Richard Peabody has spent most of his life in the DMV. He wears many literary hats: poet, author, literary editor, publisher, teacher, and mentor. The author of five volumes of poetry, three short-story collections, and a novella (not to mention assorted chapbooks, and recordings), he has also edited or co-edited 27 anthologies. St. Martin’s Press published his Mondo series (Mondo Barbie, Mondo Elvis, Mondo Marilyn Monroe, and Mondo James Dean), followed by the Grace and Gravity Series, seven collections of DMV-area women fiction writers. The last on Peabody’s watch was Abundant Grace, published in 2016 by his own Paycock Press. Other Paycock titles that have generated a lot of attention include Daisy Buchanan’s Daughter by Tom Carson and Flying Home: Seven Stories of the Secret City by David Nicholson. Peabody taught graduate fiction writing at Johns Hopkins University for 17 years. He has been a fellow at the Blue Mountain Center, the Virginia Center for the Arts, and the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony. His most recent poetry volume, Guinness on the Quay, was published in Ireland (Salmon Poetry, 2019). The Richard Peabody Reader, a career-encompassing collection, was released in 2015 by Alan Squire Publishing as the first book in their ASP Legacy Series. His two forthcoming books are The Barking Dogs of Taos (Salmon Poetry) and the story collection Popsicles on the Moon (Červená Barva Press). 

Katherine Pickett is the owner of POP Editorial Services LLC, where she offers coaching and editing services. She is the author of the award-winning guide Perfect Bound: How to Navigate the Book Publishing Process Like a Pro and the novel Debra Lee Won’t Break. Her creative works have appeared in Lowestoft Chronicle, Voice of Eve, Defunct Magazine, and Grand Dame Literary. Her industry articles have appeared on Publishing Perspectives, JaneFriedman.com, Writer Beware, IBPA Independent, and elsewhere. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her handsome and strong husband, Chris, and their two awe-inspiring daughters. Find her blog at www.thePOPnewsletter.com. Also find her on LinkedIn, Mastodon, and here.

Leonard Pitts Jr. is a retired columnist for the Miami Herald. His twice-weekly column, syndicated nationally to more than 200 newspapers, was one of the most popular in the country and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Commentary. Pitts has been writing professionally since 1976, when, as an 18-year-old junior at the University of Southern California, he began doing reviews and profiles for SOUL, a national Black-entertainment tabloid. Two years later, he was its editor. In the years since, Pitts’ work has appeared in such publications as TV Guide, Reader’s Digest, and Parenting. In addition, he wrote, produced, and syndicated “Who We Are,” an award-winning 1988 radio documentary on the history of Black America. Pitts’ work has been honored by the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, among many others. He is the recipient of four honorary doctorates, is an in-demand public speaker, and has taught at Ohio University, Hampton University, American University, George Washington University, the University of Maryland, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Princeton University. Pitts is the author of the novels 54 Miles, Before I Forget, Freeman, Grant Park, and The Last Thing You Surrender. Born and raised in Southern California, he makes his home with his family in Bowie, MD.

Zach Powers is the author of the novel The Migraine Diaries (JackLeg, 2026), the novel First Cosmic Velocity, and the story collection Gravity Changes, winner of the BOA Short Fiction Prize. His writing has been featured in American Short Fiction, LitHub, and elsewhere. He serves as executive & artistic director for the Writer’s Center and Poet Lore magazine, America’s oldest poetry journal. Originally from Savannah, Georgia, he now lives in Arlington, Virginia. Find him on Instagram. [Photo by Tiffany Lueong.] 

Brandt Ricca is a DC-based entrepreneur. Having a writing background and a family history of owning a newspaper, he has always put telling stories at the forefront of his mind. Creating a narrative is a must for Brandt, who always wants to convey a message with events or imagery through his branding agency, Nora Lee by Brandt Ricca. Brandt was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and loves the Southern culture and creative atmosphere of New Orleans, which inspired the setting and vibes for his books, Barris and the Prince of Rappa, Barris and the Clown of Trell, Barris and the Girl of Norizon, Bernice and the Wonder of Pearl, Bernice and the Shadow Witch, and Bernice and the Broken Dream. Find him on social media at @brandtricca and @barrisandbernicebooks.

Ken Rossignol, an author, publisher, and newspaper publisher, has appeared on dozens of ships in the Pacific, Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Caribbean discussing the Panama Canal, the heroes of the Titanic, the explorations of New World voyagers, the Bermuda Triangle, and piracy, among other maritime-history topics. Rossignol was a member of the United States Delegation of Authors for the International Book Fair in 2016 to celebrate the opening of the third set of locks of the Panama Canal. Rossignol’s landmark First Amendment decision, Fourth Circuit USCOA 2003 Rossignol v Voorhaar, was an important ruling protecting the constitutional rights of readers to decide what to read and of publishers to publish articles critical of public officials.

Aran Shetterly is a journalist, narrative historian, and the author of Morningside: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City’s Soul and The Americano: Fighting with Castro for Cuba’s Freedom. He founded, edited, and wrote for Inside Mexico, the most widely distributed English-language periodical in Mexico. He grew up in rural Maine, studied English literature and Spanish language and culture at Harvard College, and earned an M.A. in American and New England studies from the University of Southern Maine. Between 1993 and 2016, he lived in Costa Rica, Cuba, and Mexico. Since then, he’s lived in Charlottesville, VA, with his wife, Margot Lee Shetterly, and their son, Giles.

Margot Lee Shetterly is the author of Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race. She is also the founder of the Human Computer Project, an endeavor that is recovering the names and accomplishments of all the women who worked as computer scientists, mathematicians, and engineers at the NACA and NASA from the 1930s through the 1980s. She is a Hampton, VA, native, University of Virginia graduate, an entrepreneur, and an intrepid traveler who spent 11 years living in Mexico. She currently lives in Charlottesville, VA, with her husband, Aran Shetterly, and their son, Giles.  

Colleen J. Shogan served as the 11th Archivist of the United States, the first woman in American history to lead the National Archives and Records Administration. Prior to becoming Archivist, she was senior vice president and director of the David M. Rubenstein Center at the White House Historical Association, worked in the United States Senate, and served as a senior executive at the Library of Congress. Colleen is a senior advisor at the nonpartisan organization More Perfect, which is working to launch a nationwide history-based civics initiative involving three former presidents, three former first ladies, and seven Pulitzer Prize winners. She currently serves as the co-chair of the board of directors at the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation, the entity directed by Congress to build the first monument dedicated to women’s history on the National Mall. In her spare time, Colleen has published eight mystery novels in her award-winning Washington Whodunit series featuring amateur sleuth Kit Marshall. 

Rose Solari is the author of three full-length collections of poetry, The Last Girl, Orpheus in the Park, and Difficult Weather; the one-act play “Looking for Guenevere,” in which she also performed; and a novel, A Secret Woman. In her work for the stage, she has collaborated and performed her poetry with several dance companies and, most recently, with the Folger Consort, a renowned early-music ensemble. She has lectured and taught writing workshops at many institutions, including Arizona State University’s Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing; the University of Maryland, College Park; St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland; the Centre for Creative Writing at Oxford University in Oxford, England; and the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, Maryland. In 2010, she co-founded Alan Squire Publishing, a small press with big ideas.

Mike Tidwell is a journalist, author, and climate activist living in Takoma Park, MD. His most recent book is an exploration of global warming’s impact in his own front yard, The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue: A Story of Climate and Hope on One American Street (St. Martin’s Press, March 2025). Publishers Weekly gave the book a coveted starred review. Mike’s previous six books include Bayou Farewell (2003), about the disappearing wetlands of south Louisiana, and The Ponds of Kalambayi (1990), a Peace Corps memoir. As a past contributing writer for the Washington Post, he won four Lowell Thomas Awards, the highest prize in American travel journalism. Find him on Instagram, Facebook, and on X at @MikeTidwell4.

Vicki Valosik is a masters synchronized swimmer and an editorial director at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where she also teaches graduate-level writing courses. Her writing has appeared in publications such as the Atlantic, Smithsonian, American Scholar, and Washington Post Magazine. Her debut book, Swimming Pretty: The Untold Story of Women in Water, was selected for NPR’s Books We Love 2024, named an Amazon Editor’s Pick for Best History Books, and shortlisted for the Vikki Orvice Award for Women’s Sports Writing.

Jeannie Vanasco is the author, most recently, of A Silent Treatment, which Booklist, in its starred review, described as “a beautiful gift to all who have struggled to care for a loved one in the way they needed.” Her other memoirs include Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was a Girl — a ​New York Times Editors’ Choice and selected as a best book of 2019 by TIME, Esquire, Kirkus, among others — and The Glass Eye, which Poets & Writers called one of the five best literary nonfiction debuts of 2017. She lives in Baltimore and teaches at Towson University.

Michele Wolf is the author of the poetry collections Peacocks on the Streets, Immersion, Conversations During Sleep, and The Keeper of Light. Her poems have been featured in the Southern Review, Poetry, the Hudson Review, and many other literary journals and anthologies. Among her honors are the Anhinga Prize for Poetry, a Maryland State Arts Council literary arts Independent Artist Award, and fellowships from the Montgomery County Arts and Humanities Council, Yaddo, the Edward F. Albee Foundation, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. She teaches at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, MD.

Jennifer Bort Yacovissi’s novel, Up the Hill to Home, tells the story of four generations of a family in Washington, DC, from the Civil War to the Great Depression. Her short fiction has appeared in Gargoyle and Pen-in-Hand. Jenny is a member of PEN/America and the National Book Critics’ Circle, reviews regularly for the Independent, and serves as president of the Independent’s board of directors. She served as chair or program director of the Washington Writers Conference from 2017 to 2024 and for several years was president of the Annapolis chapter of the Maryland Writers’ Association.