I’m an educator, strategist, and theological thinker. My work focuses on how people learn, lead, and live with integrity across systems, cultures, and roles. Whether I'm designing leadership frameworks, coaching neurodivergent leaders, exploring fictional worlds, or writing about beauty in learning, I'm committed to one thing: helping people grow without pretending.

Twenty-two-year-old writer, musician, and indie filmmaker Justin Hughes was born in Warrington, England, on April 12, 2004. Growing up in Cheshire, Hughes would write short stories and television pilot screenplays for fun before eventually taking the step into long-form work.

Alana Dowley balanced a legal career with raising three amazing children. She told them stories as they were growing up and now writes for clever, curious kids.

Even though I graduated from Tufts University with a BS in zoology, I knew I wasn’t cut out for the jobs being offered in science labs or hospitals or any of the usual spaces you might expect to find science-minded people. Instead, I took a job in the secondary school science department at a textbook publishing house and now have enjoyed a long career devoted to books—from textbook editing and management to tradebook publishing and finally to my own fiction and nonfiction writing.

Claire Ibarra’s second novel Alteration was recently published by Atmosphere Press. Her debut novel Fragile Saints was a finalist for the 2022 CAL Literary Book Award. Claire’s poetry chapbook Vortex of Our Affections was published by Finishing Line Press in 2017. She received her MFA in creative writing from Florida International University. Her work can also be found in many literary magazines and anthologies. You can learn more at www.claireibarra.com.

Rene lives in Central Texas, works as a solution engineer, and is an avid reader of literary fiction with underlying dark themes. He regularly goes kayaking and mountain biking. He also loves live music and traveling.

Currently a practicing cardiologist with Vandalia Health in South Charleston, West Virginia.

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.