Christina Baker Kline is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train, A Piece of The World, and The Exiles. She’s back this Fall with a new novel called Please Don’t Lie (September 2025), co-written with longtime friend Anne Burt. It’s a thriller set against the haunting backdrop of the Adirondacks which follows a young newlywed woman seeking to start fresh in a remote town. In a recent interview with PEOPLE magazine, they shared “Our aim was to craft a story that’s both psychologically nuanced and relentlessly paced — one that keeps readers turning pages and leaves them questioning the small deceptions in their own lives long after the final chapter.”
Andrew Forsthoefel is a writer, an ordained interfaith minister, and the Restorative Practices Specialist for the Cumberland County Public Health Department in Portland, Maine. He works with schools to design and implement restorative systems that support both youth and adults in the work of community-building and conflict transformation. On the side, he gives keynotes; writes a bimonthly Substack newsletter called The Little Courtyard; and offers restorative consultation to schools and non-profits. Author of the critically acclaimed coming-of-age memoir, Walking To Listen, Andrew is currently working on his second book, a memoir focused on masculinity. And most recently – he and his wife are the proud new parents of a baby boy, Valor.
Vesper Stamper
is an award-winning author and illustrator of historical fiction for young adults. Her debut, What The Night Sings, a hauntingly beautiful exploration of life after the Holocaust, was a National Book Award Nominee and received numerous honors including the Sydney Taylor Book Award and a Golden Kite Honor. Vesper has been hard at work illustrating a new book by Daniel Nayeri – A Knot is Not a Tangle about an Iranian boy who learns to see beauty and purpose in the imperfect, while weaving a new family rug with his grandparents – available November 25, 2025! Be sure to also check out her podcast on Substack – “Vesperisms: The Art of Thinking For Yourself.“
Laurie Lico Albanese
is the award-winning author of Hester, a bold reimagining of The Scarlett Letter from Hester Prynne’s point of view. A national bestseller and Book of the Month pick, was named one of Audible’s Best Books of 2022 and praised for its fresh, feminist take on a literary classic. Hester has been added to many AP English high school reading lists, and her talk on “How to Read (and Write) a Feminist Retelling” is more relevant than ever! Of Hester author Gillian Flynn writes – “It’s a story about America itself, and the fury, righteousness and mercy in which it was formed.” It’s high time we ask ourselves – how do stories change when told by someone outside the dominant power system?
