Renkl
Billy Renkl grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, and earned his undergraduate degree in illustration from Auburn University. His M.F.A., from the University of South Carolina, is in drawing. Today he teaches illustration, collage, and drawing as a professor of art at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. He and his wife have three adult […]
VanderMeer
Jeff VanderMeer’s NYT-bestselling Southern Reach trilogy has been translated into over 37 languages. The first novel, Annihilation, won the Nebula Award and Shirley Jackson Award, and was made into a movie by Paramount in 2018. Recent works include Hummingbird Salamander, Bliss, and A Peculiar Peril, in addition to Theo Ellsworth’s graphic novel adaptation of his […]
James
Cassandra James grew up in a mixed immigrant family with a penchant for storytelling, so becoming a writer was almost inevitable. She recently graduated from Princeton University with a degree in English focusing on Creative Writing. After solo-traveling the world for several months, she met her swoon-worthy husband and landed in Orlando, Florida, where she […]
Hochhauser
Rachel Hochhauser is an author and entrepreneur based in Portland, Oregon—by way of Santa Barbara, New York, and Los Angeles—where she lives with her husband and daughters. Her debut novel, Lady Tremaine, is an untelling of Cinderella from the perspective of the so-called evil stepmother: a meditation on motherhood and women bold enough to make […]
Pekkanen
Sarah Pekkanen is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of sixteen solo and co-authored novels. Her books are sold in thirty-six countries, with several optioned for TV and film. Sarah also co-wrote the screenplay for The Wife Between Us, which was optioned by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment. Sarah serves on the board of directors […]
Huynh
Carolyn Huynh is a novelist, screenwriter, and playwright. She loves writing about acerbic women who never learn from their mistakes but yearn for joy. Her debut novel, The Fortunes of Jaded Women, was a Good Morning America book club pick and picked as one of the best books of 2022 by NPR. She has since […]
Block
Stefan Merrill Block grew up in Plano, Texas. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Homeschooled (a TODAY show / Read with Jenna pick), as well as three novels: The Story of Forgetting, The Storm at the Door, and Oliver Loving. The Story of Forgetting was an international bestseller and the […]
North
Anna North is the author of four novels: Bog Queen, Outlawed, America Pacifica, and The Life and Death of Sophie Stark. Bog Queen (2025) was an indie and USA Today bestseller and National Book Foundation Science + Literature Selected Title. Outlawed (2021) was an instant New York Times bestseller and Reese’s Book Club, Belletrist, and […]
Hernandez
Dr. Jessica Hernandez is a globally recognized Indigenous scientist, climate justice leader, and best-selling author whose groundbreaking work is redefining environmentalism through an Indigenous lens. Rooted in the Pacific Northwest, she bridges Indigenous science, traditional ecological knowledge, and Western frameworks to confront the most urgent environmental crises of our time. She currently serves as the […]
Cranor
Bestselling, award-winning author Eli Cranor played quarterback at every level: peewee to professional. Eli was a standout quarterback in high school and went on to earn a scholarship to play for legendary head coach Howard Schellenberger at Florida Atlantic University. After redshirting his freshman year at FAU, Cranor transferred to Ouachita Baptist University, a private […]