* = Moderator
** = Keynote
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Five Live authors are listed here!
Laurie Lico Albanese has published fiction, poetry, journalism, travel writing, creative nonfiction, and memoir. Her books include Hester, Stolen Beauty, Blue Suburbia: Almost a Memoir, Lynelle by the Sea, and The Miracles of Prato, co-written with art historian Laura Morowitz. Laurie is married to a publishing executive and is the mother of two children.
Facebook: @LaurieLicoAlbanese/
Instagram: @lauriealbanese
Website: www.laurielicoalbanese.com
Kelly Andrew lost her hearing when she was four years old. She’s been dreaming up stories in the silence ever since. Andrew lives in New England with her husband and their two daughters and their grumpy Boston Terrier. She has a BSW, but received her Masters in English & Creative Writing. When she’s not writing, she enjoys scouring flea markets in search of vintage microscopes and getting intentionally lost in the woods.
Instagram: @kayaydrew
Jenna Blum is the New York Times and # 1 internationally bestselling author of novels Those Who Save Us, The Stormchasers, and The Lost Family and a memoir, Woodrow on the Bench, about her black Lab Woodrow and what he taught her. Jenna is one of Oprah’s Top 30 Women Writers and co-founder/ CEO of pioneering online author platform A Mighty Blaze. Jenna earned her MA at Boston University in Creative Writing and has taught writing workshops at Grub Street Writers for over 20 years. She interviewed Holocaust survivors for Steven Spielberg’s Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation and is a professional public speaker, traveling nationally and internationally to speak about her work. Jenna is based in downtown Boston, where she hikes, teaches, and does the bidding of her black Lab Henry Higgins. For more about Jenna, please visit her online.
Facebook: @JennaBlumAuthor
Instagram: @Jenna_Blum
X: @Jenna_Blum
Website: www.jennablum.com
Pronouns: she/her
Lisa Braxton is author of The Talking Drum, winner of a 2021 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Book Awards Gold Medal, overall winner of Shelf Unbound book review magazine’s 2020 Independently Published Book Award, winner of a 2020 Outstanding Literary Award from the National Association of Black Journalists, and a Finalist for the International Book Awards.
Adrienne Brodeur began her career in publishing as the co-founder, with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, of the National Magazine Award–winning Zoetrope: All-Story. She has worked as a book editor and is currently the executive director of Aspen Words. She is the author of the the bestselling memoir, Wild Game: My Mother, Her Secret and Me. Her latest is the novel Little Monsters.Website: www.adriennebrodeur.com
Petrea Burchard is an author, actor, voice actor and audiobook narrator. Her performing experience ranges from improv comedy to Shakespeare, TV, film and voiceover. She has narrated more than 55 audiobooks and is known as the voice of the space pirate Ryoko in the anime classic, Tenchi Muyo!.Her book Act As If: Stumbling Through Hollywood with Headshot in Hand, soon to be released as an audiobook, is nonfiction about the funny side of life as a journeyman actor in Hollywood. Her critically acclaimed Arthurian time-slip novel, Camelot & Vine, is now available in audio.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/petreaburchard
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Piper CJ has an M.A. in Folklore and a B.A. in Broadcasting. She is the author of the USA Today and Barnes & Noble bestselling adult fantasy series The Night and Its Moon (Bloom Books), and a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. When she isn’t playing with her dogs, Arrow and Applesauce, she’s making TikToks for her 1 million plus followers, studying fairytales, or creating worlds.
Tapping a multiracial family and prior careers on Broadway and in law, Stephanie Cotsirilos writes about injustice, humor, and resilience. She is author of the novella My Xanthi and essayist in Beacon Press’ award-winning anthology Breaking Bread: Essays from New England on Food, Hunger, and Family. Twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize, her work has appeared in McSweeney’s, Narrative, Mississippi Review, and various media. Her songs and scripts were produced in New York. A member of the 2023 Sewanee Writers’ Conference, she was Katahdin (formerly Patrice Krant) Fellow in residence at Storyknife’s inaugural retreat for women writers in Alaska and holds degrees in comparative literature, music, and law from Brown and Yale. She lives and writes in Portland, Maine.
Instagram: @scotsirilos
Website: www.stephaniecotsirilos.com
Pronouns: she/her
Kayla Cottingham is a New York Times and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author and librarian. Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, Kayla lives in Boston where she loves to go hiking in the woods, play RPGs, and snuggle on the couch with her ridiculously large black cat, Squid.
Instagram: @kcottcan
Pronouns: she/they
Angie Cruz** is a novelist and editor. Her most recent novel How Not To Drown in A Glass of Water (2022) is a finalist for the 2024 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, shortlisted for The Aspen Words Literary Prize, winner of the Gold Medal, Latino Book Award/The Isabel Allende Most Inspirational Book Award, longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Literary Prize and chosen for The New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2022 and The Washington Post 50 Notable Works of Fiction. Her novel, Dominicana was the inaugural book pick for GMA book club and shortlisted for The Women’s Prize, longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction, a RUSA Notable book and the winner of the ALA/YALSA Alex Award in fiction. It was named most anticipated/ best book in 2019 by Time, Newsweek, People, Oprah Magazine, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Esquire. Cruz is the author of two other novels, Soledad and Let It Rain Coffee. She’s published shorter works in The Paris Review, VQR, Callaloo, Gulf Coast and other journals. She’s the founder and Editor-in-chief of the award winning literary journal, Aster(ix) and is currently an Associate Professor at University of Pittsburgh. She divides her time between Pittsburgh, New York, and Turin.
Website: https://www.angiecruz.com/
Alechia Dow is a former pastry chef, food critic, culinary teacher, and Youth Services librarian. When not writing YA sci-fi featuring determined black girls (like herself), you can find her having epic dance parties with her daughter, baking, mentoring, or taking teeny adventures around Europe.
Instagram @alechiadow
Betsy Ellor lives in a house near the beach where curiosity and chaos run wild. She divides her time between seeking out great stories and designing spaces like science labs, classrooms, and restaurants where others can cultivate their own curiosity. Her previous works include the anthology Heroic Care, and Sara Crewe, a family musical that’s been performed across the U.S.
Facebook: @bewordsunbound
Instagram: @betsyellor
X: @bewordsunbound
Pronouns: she/her
Julia Glass is the author of the novels Vigil Harbor, A House Among the Trees, And the Dark Sacred Night, The Widower’s Tale, The Whole World Over, and the National Book Award–winning Three Junes, as well as the Kindle Single “Chairs in the Rafters.” Her third book, I See You Everywhere, a collection of linked stories, won the 2009 SUNY John Gardner Fiction Award. She has also won fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. She is a cofounder of the Twenty Summers, a nonprofit arts-and-culture festival in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and a Senior Distinguished Writer in Residence at Emerson College.
Grady Hendrix is the New York Times-bestselling author of How To Sell a Haunted House, The Final Girl Support Group, The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, My Best Friend’s Exorcism, We Sold Our Souls, and Horrorstör. His history of the horror paperback boom of the ’70s and ’80s, Paperbacks from Hell, won the Stoker Award for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction and he is also the screenwriter of Mohawk (2017) and Satanic Panic (2019). You can learn more useless facts about him at www.gradyhendrix.com
Facebook: grady.hendrix.9
Instagram: @grady_hendrix
Website: www.gradyhendrix.com
Pronouns: he/him
Edwin Hill’s critically acclaimed crime novels include the standalone thriller, and three novels featuring Hester Thursby: Watch Her, The Missing Ones, and Little Comfort. He has been nominated for Edgar and Agatha Awards, featured in Us Magazine, received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal, and was recognized as one of “Six Crime Writers to Watch” in Mystery Scene magazine. He lives in Roslindale, Massachusetts with his partner Michael and his favorite reviewer, their lab Edith Ann, who likes his first drafts enough to eat them. His latest novel, Who to Believe, a twisty Rashomon-style novel about a birthday party with at least one serial killer in attendance, will be available in January.
Facebook/X/Instagram: edwinhillauthor
Pronouns: he/him
Reza Jalali is an Iranian Kurd who has been living in Maine since 1985. He has taught at the University of Southern Maine and Bangor Theological Seminary. As an Amnesty International USA Board of Directors member, Jalali has visited refugee camps in Turkey and Bosnia. In 1992, he visited the White House as part of a national delegation to discuss the plight of Kurdish refugees fleeing Iraq. He has written several books, including two detailing the lives of some of Maine’s immigrant community; New Mainers: Portraits of Our Immigrant Neighbors and Dear Maine: The Trials and Triumphs of Maine’s 21st Century Immigrants.
Pronouns: he/him
Linda Dini Jenkins is the author of Up at the Villa: Travels with my Husband and Becoming Italian: Chapter and Verse from an Italian American girl. Her poetry has been published in Voices in Italian Americana, Ovunque Siamo, and Poeti italo-americani e italo-canadesi. She lives in Salem, Massachusetts and Sulmona, Italy.
Facebook: /linda.d.jenkins.1
Website: http://www.travelitalythewriteway.com/becoming-italian/
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Lucy Keating is the author of three young adult novels, Dreamology, Literally and Ride With Me. In her work she enjoys exploring coming-of-age themes and big romantic tropes. Her work has been translated into about 17 languages (she thinks!). She is a graduate of Williams College and The Cuttyhunk Island Writer’s Residency. Lucy lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, with her husband, senior dog, and baby boy. When she’s not writing, she enjoys baking, weekend adventures, and obsessing over the latest TV shows.
Instagram: @lucy.keating
Kendall Kulper is an author living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She writes historical fantasy for young adults, including Murder for the Modern Girl, which was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and received two starred reviews. She graduated from Harvard University with an honors degree in History & Literature and lives with her husband, two daughters, and much-Instagrammed dog, Abby.
Facebook: @KendallKulperAuthor, @HolidayHouseBks
Instagram: @KendallKulper, @HolidayHouseBks
TikTok: @HolidayHouseBks
Nicole Lesperance* is the author of The Depths and The Wide Starlight, as well as the Nightmare Thief duology for middle-grade readers. She grew up on Cape Cod, spent a few years in London, and now lives near Boston with her husband, two kids, and two rambunctious black cats. Her books have received starred reviews from Kirkus, Booklist, and BCCB, and The Wide Starlight was longlisted for the Massachusetts Book Award. In her spare time, Nicole likes to practice yoga, knit, and read tarot cards.
Instagram: @nicolesperance
Donna Loring served as a Women’s Army Corp member in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. She is an elder and former council member of the Penobscot Indian Nation. She held the position of the Nation’s Representative to the Maine State Legislature for twelve years. In March of 2009, Donna donated her legislative and personal papers to the Maine Women Writers Collection at the University of New England where they have been categorized and made available to the public and to scholars for research. She is a former Senior Advisor on Tribal Affairs to Governor Janet Mills. She hosts her radio show, Wabanaki Windows at WERU Community Radio in Orland Maine. On May 13th, 2017, the University of Maine Orono awarded her an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Humane Letters. In May 2022, She received an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Humane Letters from Thomas College Waterville Maine.
Pronouns: Honorable
Jennifer Martelli, is the author of The Queen of Queens, selected as a “Must Read” by the Massachusetts Center for the Book, and My Tarantella, also selected as a “Must Read,” awarded an Honorable Mention from the Italian-American Studies Association, and named as a finalist for the Housatonic Book Award. She is the author of the chapbooks All Things Are Born to Change Their Shapes, winner of the Small Harbor Press open reading, In the Year of Ferraro from Nixes Mates, and After Bird, winner of the Grey Book Press open reading. Her work has appeared in The Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day, Poetry, The Tahoma Literary Review, Scoundrel Time, Verse Daily, Iron Horse Review, and elsewhere. Jennifer has twice received grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council for her poetry. She is co-poetry editor for MER.
Facebook: /jcmartelli/
Instagram: @jennmartelli/
X: @Martelli89
Website: www.jennmartelli.com
Jamie Michalak is a former editor and the author of many children’s books. Her titles include Dakota Crumb: Tiny Treasure Hunter and Dakota Crumb: And the Secret Bookshop: A Tiny Treasure Hunt, illustrated by Kelly Murphy; the Frank and Bean early reader series, illustrated by Bob Kolar; the multiple-star reviewed Joe and Sparky early readers series, illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz; Niki Nakayama: A Chef’s Tale in 13 Bites, co-written with Debbi Michiko Florence and illustrated by Yuko Kato-Jones; and Come On In: There’s A Party in This Book!, illustrated by Sabine Timm.
Facebook: facebook.com/jamie.michalak.3
Instagram: @jamiemichalakbooks
Twitter: Jamie_Michalak
Threads: @jamiemichalakbooks
Website: jamiemichalakbooks.com
Preferred Pronouns: she/her
Meg Mitchell Moore* began writing as soon as she figured out how the cursive ‘T’ and ‘F’ were different and hasn’t stopped since. Her newest novel, Summer Stage (May 2023), her eighth, received starred reviews from both Booklist and Publishers Weekly. Before turning to fiction Meg worked as a freelance journalist for a variety of business and consumer magazines, where she often managed to pitch stories involving dogs. Meg received a B.A. from Providence College and a master’s in English Literature from New York University. She and her husband live in the beautiful coastal town of Newburyport, Mass., (the setting for her bestselling 2020 novel Two Truths And a Lie; the real life town moms are much nicer than the fictional ones) with their three daughters, currently a mix of high school and college age, and two exuberantly shedding golden retrievers.
Instagram: @megmitchellmoore
X: /mmitchellmoore
Pronouns: she/her/hers
GennaRose Nethercott is a writer and folklorist. She is the author of a novel, Thistlefoot. Her first book, The Lumberjack’s Dove, was selected by Louise Glück as a winner of the National Poetry Series, and whether authoring novels, poems, ballads, or even fold-up paper cootie catchers, her projects are all rooted in myth—and what our stories reveal about who we are. She tours widely, performing strange tales (sometimes with puppets in tow), and helps create the podcast Lore. She lives in the woodlands of Vermont, beside an old cemetery.
Instagram: _gennarose_
X: grnethercott
Pronouns: she/her
Christine Palamidessi is known in the art world for a practice that spans writing, filmmaking, sculpture, and printmaking and deals with the interweaving of memory formation and perception of time. She is author of recently published non-fiction book Bridge of Love*, two novels, The Virgin Knows and The Fiddle Case, co-author of several non-fiction books and writer/researcher of many articles and short stories in publications as wide-ranging as the New York Times to Andy Warhol’s Interview and Star Magazine. Her memoir “Grandmothers” is engraved in granite and installed on a monolith at Boston’s MBTA Jackson Square station. She was Professor of Writing, Boston University, for over a decade. She continues to work as editor for Italian Americana and private clients as well as to teach writing workshops for artists.
Instagram: @palamidessi.art
Blog: palamidessi.blog
D.J. Palmer is the author of numerous critically acclaimed suspense novels. He received his master’s degree from Boston University and after a career in e-commerce he shifted gears to writing full time. He lives by the ocean in Massachusetts where he is working on his current novel. Besides writing, D.J. enjoys yoga, songwriting, and family time with his two children and his ever faithful dog.
Matthew Phillion is the Salem-based author of the Indestructibles series of YA superhero novels, the spinoff series Echo and the Sea, and the fantasy NA series the Dungeon Crawlers. Book 1 in the Indestructibles series was released in 2023 as a full-cast audiobook produced by Spoken Realms (including himself as Doc Silence). A former journalist, actor, and filmmaker, Matt also writes about cybersecurity and healthcare. He is creative director of the Ravenfolly Institute Presents podcast and can generally be found bouncing plot ideas off his dog Watson.
Facebook: /matthewphillion/
Website: www.matthewphillion.com
Elsabel Rincon has over 18 years of experience in the Nonprofit sector working with social justice nonprofit organizations and community groups on issues including anti-violence initiatives, racial justice, immigrant rights, poverty relief, LGBTQ equity, and community organizing. In 2013, Elsabel received the Kipp Tiernan Social Justice Fellowship through which she founded The Welcome Immigrant Network to support the integration of newcomers to the North Shore. Elsabel has served on multiple boards and commissions, in Essex County and is currently a Ph.D. student in Global Studies-Migration at UMass Lowell. Born in the Dominican Republic, she grew up in Salem and currently lives in Peabody with her two children and two dogs.
Website: www.welcomeimmigrantnetwork.org
Hank Phillippi Ryan* is the USA Today bestselling author of 15 psychological thrillers, winning the most prestigious awards in the genre: five Agathas, five Anthonys, and the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. She is also an on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s WHDH-TV, with 37 EMMYs and dozens more journalism honors. National book critics call her “a superb and gifted storyteller.” Her newest is the page-turning standalone thriller The House Guest–a story of psychological manipulation exploring the dark heart of marriage and friendship—it’s Gaslight meets Thelma & Louise. The Publishers Weekly rave review says, “Ryan is a master of suspense!” and the Library Journal starred review calls it “Binge-worthy.” Hank is the co-host and founder of The Back Room, host of Crime Time on A MIghty Blaze, and co-host of First Chapter Fun. Watch for One Wrong Word, coming February 2024.
Facebook: @HankPhillippiRyanAuthor
Instagram: @HankPRyan
X and Threads: @HankPRyan
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Joseph S. Samaniego is a historian from North Carolina specializing in medieval European History. He holds a Master of Arts in History and has future plans to receive a PhD. In his daily life, he is not only a Fantasy author with multiple titles to his credit, he also writes non-fiction, and is a fantasy cartographer. When he is not spending time with his family, Joseph spends time reading, writing and playing video games.
A lifelong New Englander, Sara Sheckells* grew up between an indie bookstore and an antiques shop. Storytelling in all its forms drew her to cobble together a patchwork of studies in radio, television, and writing. She was a radio host and costumed tour guide before launching a long-term career in academia. Sara came to audiobook narration as an avid listener and long-time dabbler in vocal performance. Dark coffee, darker chocolate, and the art of sarcasm are among Sara’s muses. Someday she’ll get to the pile of books on her bedside table.
Instagram: sara_sounds
Email: sara@sarasounds.com
Linktree: linktr.ee/SaraSounds
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Meg Smitherman writes romantic stories about magic and world-ending stakes. Based in Los Angeles, she shares her life with a chihuahua, a cat, and a handsome Englishman.
Debra Spark has published five novels, one book of short stories, two books of essays on fiction writing, and two anthologies. Her novel Discipline will be published in March of 2024. She teaches at Colby College and in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College.
Website: www.debraspark.com
Pronouns: she/her
Elisa M. Speranza is the author of the 2022 novel The Italian Prisoner, a work of historical fiction set during World War II in New Orleans. The book was a finalist in the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. She serves on the board of the New Orleans Writers Workshop and has been a featured author at the Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival, the Louisiana Book Festival, and the Islanders Write conference on Martha’s Vineyard. She is a co-founder of the Washashores Writers Collective. Ms. Speranza has worked in journalism, local government, politics, and the corporate world. The granddaughter of Irish and Italian immigrants and a Lynn, Massachusetts native, she is an alumna of Boston College and Harvard’s Kennedy School. She lives with her partner Jon in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts.
Facebook: /ElisaMarieSperanza
Instagram: @elisa_marie_speranza/
X: /ElisaSperanza
Website: www.elisamariesperanza.com
Sarah Stewart Taylor is the author of the Sweeney St. George series and the Maggie D’arcy series. The first Maggie D’arcy mystery, The Mountains Wild, was on numerous Best of the Year lists and was a Library Journal Pick of the Month. The fourth Maggie D’arcy mystery, A Stolen Child, came out in June, 2023. Sarah grew up on Long Island, and was educated at Middlebury College in Vermont and Trinity College, Dublin, where she studied Irish Literature. She has worked as a journalist and writing teacher and now lives with her family on a farm in Vermont where they raise sheep and grow blueberries. Sarah spends as much time in Ireland as she can.
Website: www.sarahstewarttaylor.com
Pronouns: She/her
Raul the Third is the New York Times Bestselling author/illustrator of the World of Vamos! books and co-creator of Stuntboy In-Between Time by Jason Reynolds and Lowriders in Space by Cathy Camper. Vamos! Let’s Cross the Bridge, Vamos! Let’s go Eat and Vamos! Let’s go to the Market were each awarded the prestigious Pura Belpre award from Reforma and the American Library Association.
Instagram: @raulthethirdvamos
Pronouns: he/him
Paul Tremblay has won the Bram Stoker, British Fantasy, and Massachusetts Book awards and is the author of The Beast You Are, The Pallbearers Club, and A Head Full of Ghosts. His novel The Cabin at the End of the World was adapted into the major motion picture Knock at the Cabin. He lives outside Boston with his family.
Instagram: @paulgtremblay
Twitter: @paulgtremblay
Pronouns: he/him
Lorian Tu illustrates (and sometimes writes) books for kids, her favorite kind of people. Lorian was a teacher before she started making books, and loves to spend time outside, working with her hands, and having fun with friends. Her favorite ice cream flavor is strawberry. She lives in Vermont with her family.
Instagram: @loriantubooks
Pronouns: she/her
Diana Urban is an author of dark, twisty thrillers, including All Your Twisted Secrets (HarperTeen) and These Deadly Games (Wednesday Books). Her novels have been published internationally, and she’ll be featured in the Firsts and Lasts anthology (Penguin Workshop, 2023). When she’s not torturing fictional characters, she freelances in content writing and digital marketing. She lives with her husband and cat in Boston and enjoys reading, playing video games, fawning over cute animals, and looking at the beach from a safe distance.
Instagram: @dianaurban
Website: dianaurban.com
Adam White grew up in Damariscotta, Maine, and now lives with his wife and son in Boston, where he teaches writing and coaches lacrosse. He holds an MFA from Columbia University. The Midcoast is his first novel.
Website: theadamwhite.com
Stephanie Willing is a kidlit author and award-winning audiobook narrator. She has an MFA in Writing for Young People from Lesley University. (Stephanie narrated The House Guest, by Salem LitFest’s Hank Phillippi Ryan.) Originally from Texas, Stephanie now lives in New Jersey with her family, and she never misses an opportunity to visit the dinosaurs at the American Museum of Natural History.
Laura Zigman is the author of five novels: Separation Anxiety (which was just optioned by Medford-native Julianne Nicholson and the production company Wiip for a limited television series); Animal Husbandry (which was made into the movie “Someone Like You,” starring Hugh Jackman and Ashley Judd), Dating Big Bird, Her, and Piece of Work. She has ghostwritten/collaborated on several works of non-fiction, including Eddie Izzard’s New York Times bestseller, Believe Me; been a contributor to the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Huffington Post; and was the recipient of a Yaddo residency. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her son and deeply human Sheltie. Her sixth novel, Small World, was published by Ecco in January 2023.
Facebook: laura.zigman
Instagram/Twitter: @laurazigman
Website: laurazigman.com