William Auman is an award-winning novelist and author of If Trees Could Testify... and Pioneer Paddling Colonial Carolina, in addition to numerous articles and his current release, Pioneer Paddles of the Colonial South. He is a retired trial attorney, college professor, tennis pro, and basketball coach, but has now evolved into the realm of HillbillyBeachbum. He spends his time in both New Port Richey, Florida and the mountains of North Carolina with his wife of over forty years. He is the proud father of two and grandfather to three.

Arthur L. Jenkins is a writer of fiction and non-fiction, a poet, and a mental health professional. Arthur writes books for African American LGBTQ+ people of all ages. His debut novel, The Prince of Brown: A Fictional Memoir, focuses on the struggles of mental health, education, family, and intersectional identities.

Born in Turin, Italy, in 1954, John A. Carollo was adopted by second-generation Italians and raised in Pennsylvania. A lifelong musician, he sang in a Catholic choir and began composing for piano in 1986. After earning a master’s degree in psychology from SDSU, he worked as a mental-health counsellor in Honolulu before devoting himself to music full-time.

Tilly Hornsby is a fantasy writer who loves creating stories where ordinary moments transform into impossible magic. Her work is guided by a love for the extraordinary, adventure, and beautiful scenes that come to life on the page.

Mary Morris is the author of four books of poetry, most recently, Lanterns in the Night Market. Other books include Late Self-Portraits (selected by Leila Chatti, winner of the Wheelbarrow Book Prize, MSU Press), Dear October (winner of the New Mexico Book Award), and Enter Water, Swimmer, selected by X.J. Kennedy.

Naveen Sridhar is a novelist whose stories bring the ancient world vividly to life. From the bustling streets of Sumer to the royal courts of the Hittites and the crossroads of Indo-Greek kingdoms, his books uncover the untold lives of queens, priestesses, warriors, and ordinary people caught in extraordinary times.

Benjamin Ingram Jr., who began writing at just seventeen, introduces his debut children’s book Quentin and the New Friend, a heartfelt story inspired by real-life experiences that highlights kindness, friendship, inclusion, and emotional growth.

Kate Laack is a high school English teacher, theater director, and author. She earned degrees in English and secondary education from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, where she got her start in publishing with the university newspaper. Her freelance work has appeared on Thought Catalog, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, The Comedy Show Show, and elsewhere.

Ruth is a middle school teacher and poet living in the Somerset town of Frome with her husband and her son, Eddie.

Jennifer Nelson is a New Mexico–based trauma therapist and private practice owner with a degree in social work, specializing in PTSD, dissociative identity disorder (DID), and abuse recovery. A mother of two sons, she has long been drawn to the emotional terrain of survival, identity, and the ways trauma shapes the inner lives of individuals. Her clinical work informs her fiction, offering a nuanced understanding of fear, resilience, and the fragile architecture of trust.