Joseph Howse writes fiction and poetry, as well as technical books on computer programming and image analysis. He lives in a Nova Scotian fishing village, where he chats with his cats and nurtures an orchard of hardy fruit trees. His debut novel, The Girl in the Water , has won the 2023 Independent Press Award for Literary Fiction and 2023 IAN Awards for Outstanding Multicultural Fiction. The sequel, The Circus and the Atom , has won the 2026 NYC Big Book Award for World Literature and for Audiobook Fiction, as well as the 2026 Independent Press Award for Literary Fiction and for World Literature.

2019 NYC Big Book Award winner, Distinguished Favorites, Western Fiction. "Sarah’s Secret: A Western Tale of Betrayal and Forgiveness," Bev’s debut novel, is the culmination of her long-held desire tell the family story and confirm the whispered story about her grandfather Bev specialized in serving executives and managers as a leadership coach and organizational consultant for over thirty-five years. She taught organization psychology and founded "The 3rd Act," a program whose mission supports positive aging. As she grew into her own third act, she started a genealogical journey to uncover the details of her grandparents’ lives. She concluded that the story needed to be told as fiction using the known facts as her framework. Bev previously focused on publishing non-fiction work, including the second edition of "Consulting on the Inside," which she co-authored with Kim Barnes, published in 2011. She has written numerous professional articles and contributed to "70 Things to Do When You Turn 70," edited by Ronnie Sellers and Mark Chimsky. Bev blogs on several sites, including her own, “The Writing Life” on www.bevscott.com Bev enjoys traveling, visiting with friends, reading and spending time with her grandsons. She lives with her spouse in San Francisco.

Frances Rivetti is an award-winning British American lifestyle journalist and author, based in Northern California. She has written four books — The House on Liberty Street, a finalist in the 2023 National Indie Excellence Awards, is her second novel. Her non-fiction books: Fog Valley Crush — Love at First Bite and Fog Valley Winter — Pioneer Heritage, Backroad Rambles andVintage Recipes were followed by a first novel: Big Green Country, which won a Gold Medal for West Pacific Best Regional Fiction in the Independent Publishers Book Awards in 2020. The author was born and raised in a small town in the East Anglian Fens in England. She trained as a provincial newspaper reporter in Cambridgeshire, UK before moving to the States in her twenties. Now a mother of three grown sons, she's an avid wine country cook, coastal walker and backroad explorer.

Laurel Anne Hill, author and former underground storage tank operator, created the award-winning spirits-meet-steampunk novel: THE ENGINE WOMAN’S LIGHT, published by Sand Hill Review Press. Her story relates the life-saving mission of a young Latina spiritualist in an alternate and dystopian 19th Century California. Laurel dedicates the book to her husband David, Steam Engine Number 2472, and her Mexican Great-Grandma, Hipólita Orendain de Medina. Laurel grew up in San Francisco, with more dreams of adventure than good sense or money. Her close brushes with death, love of family, respect for honor and belief in a higher power continue to influence her writing and life. She was first published at age eleven, then won her first writing award at age fifteen. She earned B.A and M.S. degrees in Biology and worked for 40 years in the pharmaceutical/health care industry. Laurel is the author of two award-winning novels, over 30 published short stories, and many nonfiction pieces (including one scientific paper). As for Laurel’s favorite genres and awards? She reads across the spectrum but her fiction writing focuses on fantasy, magical realism, steampunk, horror and science fiction. “HorrorAddicts.net,” she says, “named me Most Wicked 2011 for my steampunk-horror short story podcast: Flight of Destiny. The honor remains one of my favorite awards.” Laurel is a member of California Writers Club, Broad Universe, The Greater Los Angeles Writers Society, Women Writing the West, and several other organizations. The current Editor-in-Chief of The Fault Zone anthology series, she also serves as a speaker, writing contest judge, and the Literary Stage Manager for the annual San Mateo County Fair in California. She continues to live in the San Francisco Bay Area with the spirit of her beloved David. Please visit her website at https://laurelannehill.com.

Dan Flanigan is a novelist, poet, playwright, and practicing lawyer. He has published four books in a detective series (Mink Eyes, The Big Tilt, On Lonesome Roads, An American Tragedy) chronicling the adventures of private detective Peter O’Keefe and the characters in O’Keefe’s orbit as they grapple with the scams, schemes, and scandals of the last four decades of our American life. He has also written a book of poetry (Tenebrae: A Memoir of Love and Death) about the last illness and death of his wife of 42 years and a book of short fiction (Dewdrops: Tales From the Razor's Edge). Dan and his wife Candy created Sierra Tucson, a prominent alcohol and drug addiction treatment center in Arizona, and he serves on the Board of World Childhood Foundation USA, dedicated to ending child sexual abuse and exploitation everywhere. You can learn more about Dan and his books at www.DanFlaniganBooks.com and his legal bio at https://www.polsinelli.com.

AUTHOR OF THE GATEKEEPER’S DESCENDANTS AND JOPHIEL’S SECRET, JOHANNA WRITES FICTION FANTASY WITH DEEPER MEANINGS—CREATING ADVENTURES IN THE WORLD BEYOND, WHERE EVERLASTING CONNECTIONS EXIST ALONGSIDE GOOD OLD-FASHIONED BATTLES OF GOOD VERSUS EVIL. SHE AND HUBBY ENJOY A LIFE FILLED WITH THE SATISFACTION COMING FROM HARD WORK AND THE LOVE AND GRACE CAPTURED FROM TREASURED FAMILY. THE FRESH GREENS AND SKY BLUES OF SUMMER MONTHS, THE JUST OUT-OF-THE-OVEN AROMAS AT EUROPEAN PIAZZAS, AND THE TENDER GRIPS OF A GRANDCHILD’S HUG ARE AT THE TIP-TOP OF JOHANNA’S MOST-LOVED LIST. HER COMMITMENT TO HER READERS—STORIES THAT ARE SOULFUL, WHIMSICAL, AND VENTUROUS. BECAUSE JOHANNA FEELS THAT EVEN A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVENLY IMAGINATION CAN LOOSEN THE CHAINS OF LIFE. VISIT JOHANNA AT HER WEBSITE: JOHANNAFRANKAUTHOR.COM

A California native with a Master’s in English literature, William McGinnis wrote five non-fiction books about whitewater rafting and sailing—and now writes thriller novels—stories that captivate, delight, and inspire. Bill is well-known as the river exploring founder of Whitewater Voyages. His passions include hiking, woodworking, staring into space, audiobooks, and exploring new paths to adventure, friendship, and growth. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Allynn Riggs began telling and writing stories at a young age, and after being nagged and cajoled by a determined collection of fictional characters for many years, she surrendered and shifted careers to share their stories. The Stone’s Blade series began innocently enough as a short story written when she was fourteen. The characters of Ani, Kela, Taryn, and Renloret have never left her imagination or dreams and waited patiently until she was ready to share their worlds with you. The Seventh Stone is the fourth installment of the four core books of The Stone’s Blade series (others may be added depending on character or reader requests and whether Allynn has time). When Allynn is not writing, she avidly participates in and teaches square dancing and hunts big game. The mother of three grown daughters, Allynn resides in Centennial, Colorado, with her dance partner and husband, Bob.

Milree Latimer is an author of Historical Fiction inspired by a life-long love of History. She launched into her writing career upon retirement as a teacher, a Principal and a Professor of Education. She lives in Oakville ON with her cat Justice

Allie Michelle is a 3x bestselling author and viral spoken word artist who believes the best place to hide the truth is in fiction, and our stories are the fingerprint we leave on the world. She has performed as a poet all across the globe and is the co-founder of the women’s wellness community We Are Warriors, where she has supported thousands of women in telling their stories. She can usually be found with a bowl of coffee and her nose in a book.

David Benjamin began his career as a storyteller in Mrs. Poss’ second-grade class at St. Mary’s School in Tomah, Wisconsin. His fictional memoir, The Life and Times of the Last Kid Picked, originally published by Random House, was reprinted by Last Kid Books in 2019. His Last Kid Books include his Paris memoir, An Apartment in Paris, two essay collections, Almost Killed by a Train of Thought and Benjamin’s Mess, two short story anthologies, The Melting Grandmother and Other Short Works and Christmas in a Jugular Vein and sixteen novels, Three’s a Crowd, A Sunday Kind of Love, Summer of ’68, Skulduggery in the Latin Quarter, Black Dragon, They Shot Kennedy, Fat Vinny’s Forbidden Love, Witness to the Crucifixion, Choose Moose, Bistro Nights, The Voice of the Dog and Benjamin’s Jim Otis mystery series, Jailbait, Bastard’s Bluff, Woman Trouble, Dead Shot and Cheat. As a journalist, Benjamin has edited newspapers, published and edited several magazines, and authored SUMO: A Thinking Fan’s Guide to Japan’s National Sport. Since its launch in 2019, Benjamin’s publishing imprint, Last Kid Books, has received more than forty literary awards in eighteen genres from a dozen independent press organizations. Benjamin and his wife, Junko Yoshida, have been married for ages. They live sometimes in Madison, Wis., and the rest of the time in Paris.

Elizabeth Rosner is a bestselling novelist, poet, and essayist living in Berkeley, California. Her newest book of nonfiction, THIRD EAR: Reflections on the Art and Science of Listening, was published in September 2024. Her previous book of nonfiction, SURVIVOR CAFÉ: The Legacy of Trauma and the Labyrinth of Memory, was chosen as a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in Contemporary Jewish Life & Practice. Interviews with Ms. Rosner have been featured on NPR's "All Things Considered" and in The New York Times. Her most recent novel, ELECTRIC CITY, was named one of the best books of 2014 by National Public Radio. Her highly praised autobiographical poetry collection, GRAVITY, was recently reissued by Counterpoint Press in 2026; bilingual editions have appeared in German and Spanish. THE SPEED OF LIGHT, her debut novel of 2001, was translated into nine languages, and won several literary prizes in both the US and Europe, including the Harold U. Ribalow Prize, the Prix France Bleu Gironde, and the Great Lakes Colleges Award in Fiction. It was short-listed for the prestigious Prix Femina in 2002, and picked as the "One City One Book" choice of Peoria, IL that same year. BLUE NUDE, her second novel, was named among the best books of 2006 by the San Francisco Chronicle. Rosner's essays have appeared in the NY Times Magazine, Elle, Hadassah Magazine, the Huffington Post, and numerous anthologies. She frequently writes book reviews for the San Francisco Chronicle. Having taught writing for over 30 years, she travels widely to lead intensive writing workshops, to lecture on contemporary literature, and to visit with book groups.