Cara Reinard is an author of women’s fiction and novels of domestic suspense, including Into the Sound and Sweet Water (hit #1 on the Amazon Kindle bestseller list). She has been employed in the pharmaceutical industry for eighteen years, and while Cara loves science, writing is her passion. She currently lives in the Pittsburgh area with her husband, two children, and Bernese Mountain dogs. 

Eyad Awwadawnan, formerly a law student from Damascus, Syria, is a writer and poet currently living as a refugee in Reykjavik, Iceland. He is the co-author with Helen Benedict of Map of Hope and Sorrow: Stories of Refugees Trapped in Greece. During his four years in Greece, he worked as a cultural mediator, translator and interpreter for various NGOs. He published a featured article in Slate Magazine detailing his escape from Syria, which now makes the Preface of Map of Hope and Sorrow.

Helen Benedict, a professor at Columbia University, is the author of seven novels, six books of nonfiction, and a play.

Her newest nonfiction book is, Map of Hope and Sorrow, while her eighth and related novel, The Good Deed, will be out in 2024.

Benedict's previous novel, Wolf Season, was called "required reading" by Elissa Schappell and received a starred review in Library Journal, which wrote, “In a book that deserves the widest attention, Benedict ‘follows the war home,’ engaging readers with an insightful story right up until the gut-wrenching conclusion.”

Benedict's 2011 novel, Sand Queen, which features some of the same characters as Wolf Season, was named a “Best Contemporary War Novel” by Publishers Weekly.

Mary Allen is the author of The Deep Limitless Air:  A Memoir in Pieces, published in May 2022 by Blue Light Press. Her literary memoir, The Rooms of Heaven, was published by Alfred A. Knopf and Vintage Books.  She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts creative writing fellowship and has published short work on the Psychology Today website and in Poets and Writers, Tiferet, Real Simple, Library Journal, The Chaos, CNN Online, and in the anthology If I Don’t Make It, I Love You: Survivors in the Aftermath of School Shootings.  She has an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has taught in the University of Iowa’s nonfiction writing MFA program and the Iowa Summer Writing Festival at the University of Iowa.  She currently makes a living as a writing coach and lives in Iowa City, Iowa.

Former stringer for the New York Times, John Yearwood taught in high schools and universities for 30 years, and was an award-winning journalist for 15 years. He has published hundreds of editorials and columns and thousands of news stories, as well as academic works on the First Amendment and the extra-Constitutional powers of the Presidency during times of crisis. After retiring in 2012, he now volunteers helping elementary students improve their reading skills, and assisting refugee immigrants when he is not writing. 

Molly Fader is the author of The McAvoy Sister’s Book Of Secrets. As Molly O’Keefe she is the USA Today Bestselling author of over 50 contemporary romances. She lives in Toronto Ontario with her husband, two kids and rescue dog.

Sarah Fawn Montgomery is the author of Halfway from Home (Split/Lip Press), Quite Mad: An American Pharma Memoir (The Ohio State University Press), and three poetry chapbooks. She is an Assistant Professor at Bridgewater State University.

Kaira Rouda is a multiple award–winning, Amazon Charts and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary fiction that explores what goes on beneath the surface of seemingly perfect lives. Her novels of domestic suspense include Somebody’s Home, The Next Wife, The Favorite Daughter, Best Day Ever, and All the Difference. To date, Kaira’s work has been translated into more than ten languages. She lives in Southern California with her family.

Martin Bodek was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife and three children. He is a technologist by day, and a writer by night. He has been writing freelance for over two decades, mostly on Jewish interest topics. His work has been published and his books have been covered in dozens of newspapers, journals, magazines, blogs, podcasts, and social media channels. This is his eleventh book, and it might be his most important.

Dr. Carrie Jarosinski is a registered nurse, wellness coach, educator, inspirational speaker, and author of Reclaim Your Story: Renew Your Health and Wellness through the Power of Storytelling and the Nursing Assistant textbook educational series. She lives in Wisconsin with her two furry companions, Winn and Xena. She likes to hike, explore, meet new people, laugh, and continuously build upon her pollinator garden in her free time.

Fran Hawthorne has been writing novels since she was four years old, although she was sidetracked for several decades by journalism. During that award-winning career, she wrote eight nonfiction books, mainly about consumer activism, the drug industry, and the financial world. For instance, Ethical Chic (Beacon Press) was named one of the best business books of 2012 by Library Journal, and Pension Dumping (Bloomberg Press) was a Foreword magazine 2008 Book of the Year. She's also been an editor or regular contributor for The New York Times, Business Week, Fortune, Newsday, and many other publications. But Fran never abandoned her true love: Her debut novel, The Heirs, was published in 2018 by Stephen F. Austin State University Press. With the publication of I Meant to Tell You, and firmly committed to fiction now, Fran is at work on two new novels and also writes book reviews for the New York Journal of Books.

Susen Edwards is the founder and former director of Somerset School of Massage Therapy, New Jersey’s first state-approved and nationally accredited postsecondary school for massage therapy. During her tenure she was nominated by Merrill Lynch for Inc. Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award. After the successful sale of the business, she became an administrator at her local community college. She is currently secretary for the board of trustees for her town library and a full-time writer. Her passions are yoga, cooking, reading, and, of course, writing. Susen lives in Central New Jersey with her husband, Bob, and her two fuzzy feline babies, Harold and Maude. She is the author of Doctor Whisper and Nurse Willow, a children’s fantasy. What a Trip is her first adult novel.

Amy Turner was born in Bronxville, New York, and holds a degree in political science from Boston University and a Juris Doctor from New York Law School. After practicing law (rather unhappily) for twenty-two years, she finally found the courage to change careers at forty-eight and become a (very happy) seventh grade social studies teacher. A long-time meditator and avid reader who loves to swim and bike, Amy lives in East Hampton, New York, with her husband, Ed. They have two sons and a rescue dog, Fred. On the Ledge, A Memoir, (She Writes Press) is Amy's first book.

Aaron Philip Clark is the author of the novel Under Color of Law and a screenwriter from Los Angeles. In addition to his writing career, he has worked in the film industry, higher education, and law enforcement. 

A former European security specialist, Suzanne now writes historical fiction about the Soviet Union. She studied Russian at Purdue University and the Pushkin Institute in Moscow. After earning a Master’s from Princeton University, she began a career in public service with the US Department of Defense focused on Europe and the Soviet Union. While at the Pentagon she helped negotiate the Conference on Disarmament in Europe, the first security agreement of the Gorbachev era. She raised a large family and taught university, eventually landing in the wonderful and welcoming city of Portland, Oregon. There, she coached high school cross country and track for fifteen years before embarking on a writing career. A veteran of several dozen marathons on six continents, Suzanne now runs slowly and not very far. She remains convinced that raising four children was as difficult as negotiating with the Soviets.

Stephen Policoff is the author of Beautiful Somewhere Else, which won the James Jones Award, and was published by Carroll & Graf. His second novel, Come Away, won the Dzanc Award, and was published by Dzanc Books in 2014. He was writer-in-residence at Medicine Show Theater Ensemble, with whom he wrote Shipping Out, The Mummer’s Play, Ubu Rides Again, and Bound to Rise, which received an Obie. He was also a freelance writer for Cosmopolitan, Ladies Home Journal, New Age Journal, and many other publications. He helped create Center for Creative Youth, based at Wesleyan University, and has taught writing at CUNY, Wesleyan, and Yale. He is currently Clinical Professor of Writing in Global Liberal Studies at NYU, where he has taught since 1987. His latest book is Dangerous Blues ( Flexible Press, November, 2022).

Judith M. Ford is a widely published writer whose short work has appeared in over thirty magazines, including Connecticut Review, Evening Street Review, Southern Humanities Review, and many others. Her work has been nominated three times for Pushcart prizes. She was a psychotherapist for thirty-five years and also taught creative writing in a private elementary school, at the University of Wisconsin Extension, and in a teen runaway shelter. She holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Fever of Unknown Origin is her first book.

Lenore Borja grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. She attended Arizona State University before moving to New York City to study acting at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After a brief career as an actress, she spent several years working in executive search and human resources in both New York and San Francisco. She now resides in Fort Collins, Colorado, with her husband and a bossy feline named Maximus. When she’s not writing, she enjoys adventure travel and anything that gets the heart racing, whether it’s hiking, running, or getting lost in a good book.

T.J. Champitto is the author of The Medina Device and The Shadowmaker. In 2020, Champitto was given the PenCraft Award for Literary Excellence, the Maxy Award for Best Thriller, and was a finalist for the Silver Falchion Award. Born in Troy, New York, the author currently resides in Greenville, South Carolina with his wife and two dogs.

Yvonne Martinez is a retired labor negotiator/organizer. She has been published by ZyZZyVa, Crab Orchard Review, Labor Notes, and NPR. She also formerly wrote a local labor blog in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her forthcoming memoir in essays, Someday Mija, You’ll Learn the Difference Between a Whore and a Working Woman, covers her childhood in Salt Lake City/South Central/Boyle Heights and her work as a labor negotiator/organizer in California and the Pacific Northwest. Her play Scabmuggers is based on her experience as a National Fellow of the Harvard Trade Union Program in 1994. Yvonne lives in Berkeley, CA, and Portland, OR.