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CHECK OUT OUR 2025 SPEAKERS!
James River Writers is pleased to announce the accomplished slate of presenters for our 23rd Annual James River Writers Conference. We are adding confirmed speakers daily, so be sure to check back…
Keynote Speaker ANGIE KIM
Angie Kim
| ANGIE KIM is the New York Times bestselling author of Happiness Falls, a Good Morning America and Barnes & Noble book club pick, Virginia Literary Award winner, and Oprah Daily’s #1 novel of 2023. Her debut, Miracle Creek, was an Edgar winner and one of Time’s 100 best mysteries and thrillers of all time. A Korean immigrant who moved to Baltimore in middle school, Kim attended Stanford University and Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. |
Find out more about Angie on her website HERE.
Confirmed Speakers
Stacy Hawkins Adams
STACY HAWKINS ADAMS is an award-winning author whose writing encourages readers to find relevance in their own stories. Her twelve books include nine women’s fiction novels and three inspirational nonfiction books, published by HarperCollins, Baker Publishing Group and her own imprint, Spring Rock Publishing. Her most popular titles include Watercolored Pearls, a featured novel in college coursework; The Someday List, an Essence magazine bestseller, and Coming Home, a large retailer Recommended Read. A former newspaper reporter and columnist, Stacy occasionally pens articles for national publications and teaches at writing conferences nationwide.
Kristi Tuck Austin | MODERATOR
KRISTI TUCK AUSTIN helps authors increase their books’ discoverability, build their platforms, and turn new readers into loyal fans. She’s also worked in TV development for Can Do Entertainment and Gum Street Productions. She was a producer on the proof of concept for America’s Next Great Author and is earning a certificate in film and TV development from UCLAx. She served as board chair of James River Writers and conference chair. |
Clarissa Bannor | MODERATOR
CLARISSA BANNOR is a writer, communications strategist, and passionate advocate for the arts. With over a decade of experience in marketing and community engagement, she thrives on building connections and fostering creative communities. As JRW’s Membership Coordinator, she’s excited to support and grow Richmond’s literary scene. When she’s not working on her novel, Clarissa curates a calendar of the local arts scene and documents her creative adventures around RVA on her Substack column, Art of the City. She’s always on the lookout for a good story, a cozy reading spot, and the perfect cup of tea.
Elizabeth Becker
ELIZABETH BECKER is a former pediatric nurse, award winning essayist and author. Her debut novel, The Moonlight Healers, was published by Graydon House in 2025. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with her husband and four young children.
Eloy Bleifuss | AGENT
ELOY BLEIFUSS is a literary agent at Neon Literary representing both fiction and nonfiction. Prior to joining Neon, Eloy worked at Janklow & Nesbit Associates and Simon & Schuster. Born and raised in Chicago, he is a graduate of Vassar College and lives in Brooklyn. Find out more about Eloy, including his manuscript wish list HERE. |
Bill Blume | MODERATOR
BILL BLUME‘s love for the written word started in high school with an addiction to comic books that was hijacked by novels like Frankenstein and Dragonflight. The first book in his YA vampire hunter series, Gidion’s Hunt, was published in 2013. He’s worked as a 911 dispatcher for more than two decades. His YA spy novel The Dragon Spy is nominated for multiple Indieverse Awards. His next adult fantasy To Hell and Back will come out in January 2026.
Fairouz Bsharat
FAIROUZ BSHARAT is a Freshman at University of Richmond. She won first place in Fledge’s National Nonfiction Competition and received a Scholastic Gold Medal and American Voices Award. Fairouz has had her work published in Under the Madness Magazine, Virginia Bards Central Review 2022, The American Library Of Poetry 2023 Empowered, UVA’s Writer’s Eye 2025, among other places.
Rosa Castellano
Originally from Tampa, Florida, ROSA CASTELLANO is a poet and teacher living in Richmond, Virginia. A finalist for Cave Canem’s Starshine and Clay Fellowship, and co-founder of the RVA Poetry Fest, her poems can be found or are forthcoming from RHINO Poetry, Passages North, Nimrod, The Ninth Letter, and Poetry Northwest, among others. She has an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, and her debut poetry collection, All is the Telling, is available from Diode editions. |
Gloria Chao
GLORIA CHAO is a screenwriter and the award-winning author of The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club, Ex Marks the Spot, When You Wish Upon a Lantern, Rent a Boyfriend, Our Wayward Fate, and American Panda. She graduated from MIT and became a dentist before realizing she’d rather spend her days in fictional characters’ heads instead of real people’s mouths. When she’s not writing, you can find her on the curling ice.
Clay McLeod Chapman
CLAY MCLEOD CHAPMAN is an author, playwright, filmmaker, performer, and screenwriter. His most recent novel is Wake Up and Open Your Eyes. Chapman co-wrote Quiet Part Loud, a 12-part horror podcast from Jordan Peele/Monkeypaw Productions, along with Mac Rogers, which is available on Spotify. In comics, Chapman is the writer of the Marvel series Scream: Curse of Carnage. He has also written Absolute Carnage: Separation Anxiety, Iron Fist: Phantom Limb, Typhoid Fever, as well as for Edge of Spider-Verse and Venomverse, The Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man, American Vampire, Scream: King In Black, and ORIGINS, among others. Chapman was educated at the North Carolina School of the Arts for Drama, the Burren College of Art, and Sarah Lawrence College. He currently teaches writing at The Actors Studio MFA Program at Pace University. |
John Copenhaver | MASTER CLASS INSTRUCTOR
JOHN COPENHAVER is an award-winning author whose novel Hall of Mirrors was a New York Times Best Crime Novel and won the Left Coast Crime Award. His debut, Dodging and Burning, won the Macavity Award, and The Savage Kind earned the Lambda Literary Award. A founding member of Queer Crime Writers, he teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University, mentors in the University of Nebraska MFA program, and lives in Richmond, Virginia, with his husband, ceramic artist Jeffery Paul.
Camille DeAngelis | MODERATOR
CAMILLE DEANGELIS is the author of several novels for adults, a middle-grade novel called The Boy From Tomorrow, a travel guide to Ireland, and two more books of nonfiction, Life Without Envy: Ego Management for Creative People and A Bright Clean Mind: Veganism for Creative Transformation. Her young adult novel Bones & All won an Alex Award from the American Library Association in 2016, and Luca Guadagnino’s film adaptation was released in November 2022. She lives in Richmond.
Lyndsey Ellis | MASTER CLASS INSTRUCTOR
LYNDSEY ELLIS is a writer, editor, teaching artist, and founder of Show-Me Stories, LLC., a literary consulting business. She enjoys crafting speculative fiction and longform essays that explore regional history and/or intergenerational dynamics. Her work appears in The New York Times, Kweli Journal, Narratively, Shondaland, Catapult, The Rumpus, Literary Hub and Electric Literature. Bone Broth, her debut novel, was published by Hidden Timber Books in 2021.
M.K. England
M. K. ENGLAND grew up on the Space Coast of Florida watching shuttle launches from the backyard. These days, they live on a micro-farm in rural Virginia packed with video and board games, plants, D&D books, and their kindergartener’s giant personality. They’re probably covered in dirt right now. MK is the author of ten novels for kids, teens, and adults and a forthcoming interactive novel with Choice of Games.
Jessica Felleman | AGENT
JESSICA FELLEMAN [she/her] is a literary agent with the Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency, where she represents a range of authors, including experts writing prescriptive nonfiction and critical memoirs, to novelists writing speculative literary fiction, commercial and upmarket women’s fiction, and YA science fiction & fantasy. Jessica has an MFA in Writing from CalArts and loves fiction that blends genres or gets weird, and looks for work that features underserved voices, unforgettable places, and complicated relationships. Find out more about Jessica, including her manuscript wish list HERE. |
MM Finck | MODERATOR
MM FINCK is a niche editor specializing in queries, pitches, opening pages, & overall story analysis. She established her practice as the Query Quill in 2014. Among MM’s clients’ successes are chart rankings, bestsellers, and two adaptations to television series – one Apple, one Prime. two-time Vice-President of Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Past-Chair Advisor for Rising STAR Award for Unpublished Women’s Fiction. Founder of Penning Suspense, a group for suspenseful & thriller fiction writers, and togetHER, a Facebook group for women. Also active in James River Writers, Sister in Crime, & Writer Unboxed. Represented by Katie Shea Boutillier. |
Nick George the Poet
NICHOLAS STEVEN GEORGE (or, Nick George the Poet) is a poet, educator and facilitator. Over a decade of developing his creative and performance style of writing, Nick works at the intersection of performance poetry, social action and community. Nick’s award-winning work has been featured in a variety of industries and highlighted on platforms on the local and nationwide scale, ranging from private group facilitation and workshops, 1 on 1 coaching, and virtual/in-person performances.
Lamar Giles
LAMAR GILES is the author of the many acclaimed novels and has written for globally beloved brands like DC Comics, Star Wars, and National Geographic. He is a three-time Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award nominee, a recipient of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s Youth Literary Award, and founding member of the non-profit We Need Diverse Books. He resides in Virginia with his family.
J.T. Glover
J.T. GLOVER has published short fiction in Best New Horror, Pseudopod, and New Myths, among other venues. His nonfiction and interviews have appeared in Lightspeed, Fantasy, and elsewhere. He lives in Central Virginia, where he works as an academic research librarian specializing in the humanities.
Mariel Herbert, MD
DR. MARIEL HERBERT is a board-certified psychiatrist and poet in private practice in Northern Virginia. Her medical practice includes consultations, psychiatric medicine, and individual and group psychotherapy. Dr. Herbert primarily works with creative professionals, including formerly gifted-as-children adults. She values the shared experience of therapy and mental health treatment. And she applies a sociocultural lens to burnout. Her own daily mindfulness practice consists of a walk and haiku.
Paloma Hernando | AGENT
PALOMA HERNANDO got her start at Einstein Literary Management in 2020, where she built a list focusing on graphic novels and illustrated books, and joined Ayesha Pande Literary in the fall of 2024. Coming from a background of independent comics and the DIY scene, Paloma has always been attracted to well-told stories with a passionate drive behind them. Paloma also represents illustrators for literary projects and is always on the lookout for strong visual styles. Find out more about Paloma, including her manuscript wish list HERE.
Phillip Hilliker | MODERATOR
PHILLIP HILLIKER is a creatively restless writer and illustrator with credits spanning many fields and genres. He has contributed to role-playing games such as Shadowrun and White Wolf’s World of Darkness, written voiceover scripts for too many whiteboard explanatory videos, and spent time as JRW’s membership coordinator. Currently he’s employed by a puzzle company to draw mostly sports stuff.
Dr. Chioke I'Anson
DR. CHIOKE I’ANSON is Director of Community Media at the VPM + ICA Community Media Center in Richmond, Virginia. He’s also an underwriting voice for NPR. Chioke has lent his voice and production skills to many podcasts, including The 11th, Love + Radio, Radiolab, Everything is Alive, and Our Ancestors Were Messy. His twenty-year radio journey has included airtime as a DJ for college and community radio, a contributor to the Richmond AIR:Localore project UnMonumental, and a producer at BackStory with the American History Guys for Virginia Humanities. A former Assistant Professor of African American studies at VCU, Chioke taught his students how to walk the line between faith and suspicion through criticism. Chioke is the founder of RESONATE Podcast Festival, an international gathering focused on the craft of narrative audio.
Angela James | MASTER CLASS INSTRUCTOR
ANGELA JAMES is a #1 New York Times bestselling editor and publishing coach with 20+ years of experience, including leading two major imprints and editing over 1,000 titles. She helps authors build sustainable, successful careers without burnout through personalized strategy, expert guidance, and supportive communities. Whether you’re an author writing fiction or sharing your business expertise, Angela offers resources and coaching to support every stage of your publishing journey. |
Dr. Laura Jimenez | MODERATOR
DR. LAURA Q. JIMENEZ is a speculative fiction author, scientist, and professor in the heartland of Virginia. Her short fiction has appeared in a Dragon Soul Press anthology, and her dieselpunk-fairytale “Piper” was the editor’s top choice for that year. Her poetry has also appeared in the Horror Writers of America Poetry Showcase. She is a member of the Board of Directors for James River Writers and a Municipal Liaison for the Richmond chapter of NaNoWriMo. |
Dr. Tony Keith, Jr.
DR. TONY KEITH, JR. is an award-winning poet, speaker, and Hip-Hop educational leader from Washington, DC. He is the author of How the Boogeyman Became a Poet and Knucklehead (HarperCollins), which explores identity, resilience, and Black boyhood. A celebrated performer, Tony has appeared at the Kennedy Center and beyond, using poetry, Hip-Hop, and storytelling to inspire social change, empower youth, and reimagine what education can look like.
Amy Lacey | MASTER CLASS INSTRUCTOR
AMY LACEY is an Emmy award-winning journalist with nearly 30 years of television, digital, radio, and public relations experience. Amy is currently the Director of Local Programming at WTVR-TV CBS6, a role that includes co-hosting the talk and entertainment show Virginia This Morning. Amy received undergraduate degrees in journalism and psychology from Duquesne University and completed a journalism program at American University. She also earned certificates in digital marketing and leadership from the University of Richmond. Amy is a regular guest speaker and emcee in the Richmond area and serves in several volunteer leadership roles including the boards for the Public Relations Society of America-Richmond and March of Dimes-DMV chapters, the Virginia Cancer Conference marketing committee, and Fresh Start. When she isn’t working, Amy enjoys exploring new places with her favorite plus one, her almost seven-year-old daughter Rowan Kate.
Thien-Kim Lam | MASTER CLASS INSTRUCTOR
THIEN-KIM LAM is a queer writer who tells stories about Vietnamese characters who smash stereotypes and find their happy endings. A recovering Type-Asian, she guzzles cà phê sữa đá, doodles in her sketchbook, and and binge watches crime dramas. Her debut book Happy Endings was a Washington Post Romance Novel of the Year. Thien-Kim is also an EDSE certified sex educator and a book coach for queer writers and writers of colors. She’s been featured on Writer’s Digest, Bustle, Entertainment Weekly, and Oprah Daily. |
Steven Leyva
STEVEN LEYVA was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and raised in Houston, Texas. His poems have appeared in Smartish Pace, Scalawag, Poetry, jubilat, The Hopkins Review, Prairie Schooner, and Best American Poetry 2020. He is a Cave Canem fellow and author of The Understudy’s Handbook which won the Jean Feldman Poetry Prize from Washington Writers’ Publishing House. His second book of poems, The Opposite of Cruelty, was published by Blair Publishing in Spring 2025. Steven holds an MFA from the University of Baltimore, where he is an associate professor, and co-director of the Klein Family Center of Communications Design. |
Henry Lien | MASTER CLASS INSTRUCTOR
HENRY LIEN is a graduate of Brown University, UCLA School of Law, and Clarion West Writers’ Workshop. He is the author of the Peasprout Chen fantasy series and the non-fiction book Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird: The Art of Eastern Storytelling. His writing has appeared in publications including Asimov’s, Analog, F&SF, Literary Hub, and Poets & Writers, and he is a four-time Nebula Award finalist. Henry also teaches for institutions including UCLA Extension, the University of Iowa, Clarion West, and Writing the Other and won the UCLA Extension Department of the Arts Outstanding Instructor of the Year Award. Henry has previously worked as an attorney and fine art dealer. Born in Taiwan, Henry currently lives in Hollywood, California. Hobbies include writing and performing campy anthems for his books and losing Nebula Awards.
Shannon Lilburn
SHANNON LAYNE LILBURN is a burgeoning author across genres, from romantic fantasy to creative nonfiction. A former English teacher turned content strategist, she’s also pioneering conversations about ethical AI in publishing. She lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband and dog.
Brynn Markham
BRYNN MARKHAM is passionate about connecting people and organizations in ways that strengthen communities and amplify the strengths and talents of everyone involved. Prior to joining James River Writers as Director of Programs and Communications, she spearheaded nationally recognized and award-winning marketing campaigns and events in her communications and outreach role at VPM, Richmond’s PBS and NPR affiliate. Projects she’s especially proud of include: The James River Writers Annual Conference; The Great American Read; Ken Burns’ The Vietnam War; Great Performances’ Hamilton’s America; PBS KIDS Summer Challenge; and the nation’s largest screening events for series premieres of Downton Abbey two years in a row. Currently, she loves working with writers, connecting them to resources, organizations, and people to help them reach their goals.
Helen Masvikeni | AGENT
HELEN MASVIKENI is a literary agent focused on combining her own experience as an artist with the business side of publishing to support authors from creation through publication and beyond. Her unique background brings an interesting and fresh perspective to the publishing world. She has an extensive background in the arts being an internationally-performing musician and photographer as well as having worked in video, theater and film. With a Business and Marketing background, she has worked extensively in the non-profit sector and more recently for the Denver Center for Performing Arts. Originally from Harare, Zimbabwe and now residing in Colorado, Helen is passionate about storytelling and artistic expression.
Alethea McCollin
ALETHEA MCCOLLIN is an award-winning playwright, director and theatre artist, who has produced her work in various cities nationally. Her works include The Stilettos Monologues, Styx and Gunz, Pastor Willie, and the musical Christmas Behind the Headlines. Most recently, she wrote and directed her short film The Next Great Writer. Alethea is an English instructor at Virginia State University. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild, and serves as the executive secretary on the board of James River Writers.
Kate McKean | AGENT
KATE MCKEAN is a literary agent at the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency in Brooklyn, New York. She earned her MA in fiction writing at the University of Southern Mississippi. She is the author of Write Through It: An Insider’s Guide to Publishing and the Creative Life (Simon Element, 2025) and a forthcoming picture book to be published by Sourcebooks in 2026. She also writes the “Agents & Books” newsletter. Find out more about Kate, including her manuscript wish list HERE. |
Angele McQuade
Maryland writer ANGELE MCQUADE is the author of two books about investing, including Investment Club for Dummies, with a third under contract. A BetterInvesting magazine columnist for 25 years, Angele has published 450+ articles, speaks often on the deep connection between money and creativity, and teaches writers (and others) how to get their finances organized. Angele also writes children’s novels and is represented by Jennifer Laughran of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. |
Meg Medina
MEG MEDINA served as the 2023-2024 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She is the author of many notable works for young readers of all ages, including the Newbery Medal–winning and New York Times bestselling book Merci Suárez Changes Gears, the first in a trilogy. Meg Medina’s work, including Mango, Abuela, and Me, examines how cultures intersect through the eyes of young people. She brings audiences stories that speak to both what is unique in Latino culture and qualities that are universal. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, she grew up in Queens, New York, and now lives in Richmond, Virginia.
Terry Menefee-Gau | MODERATOR
TERRY MENEFEE-GAU is an accomplished actor & writer. She has a varied theatre and film resume, spanning over twenty-five years as an actor, producer, writer, and director. Terry serves on the boards of of James River Writers and the Virginia Screenwriters Forum. She is represented by The Muraviov Company and she has several award-winning scripts under her belt. She also works as a Senior Copywriter for a local start-up. Terry received her M.Div. and MACE from Union Presbyterian Seminary, focusing in Narrative and Film Theology, and she has a B.S. in Mathematics from James Madison University. She loves the dichotomy of art and logic, spirit and reason. |
Gloria Muñoz
GLORIA MUÑOZ is a Colombian American writer, translator, and advocate for multilingual literacy. She is the author of This is the Year, Your Biome Has Found You, and Danzirly, which won the Ambroggio Prize and the Gold Medal Florida Book Award. Other honors include an Academy of American Poets Poet Laureate Fellowship, Hedgebrook Fellowship, being a Macondista, Highlights Foundation’s Diverse Verse Fellowship, Lumina’s Multilingual Writing Award, and a part of Las Musas.
Jessica Hendry Nelson
JESSICA HENDRY NELSON’S latest book, Joy Rides Through the Tunnel of Grief (UGA 2023), won the AWP Sue William Silverman Prize in Creative Nonfiction. She is also the author of If Only You People Could Follow Directions (Counterpoint 2014] and co-author of Creative Nonfiction: A Writer’s Guide and Anthology (Bloomsbury 2022). She is an Associate Professor in the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Virginia Commonwealth University.
A.D. Newman | MODERATOR
DAE NEWMAN, who writes as A.D. Newman, is a writer of speculative fiction and horror. They’re also a comics nerd, amateur photographer, and fan of LGBTQ media. A long-time member of James River Writers, they currently serve on the JRW board.
Emily Okamoto-Green | MODERATOR
EMILY OKAMOTO-GREEN is a half Japanese poet, essayist, educator, editor, and animal lover. Her life highlights include Arthur Sze once saying her poem had a sense of wonder, and any time a cat or dog has come up to her without her first initiating the interaction. She teaches creative writing at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, and you can find her latest work in the inaugural edition of The Oregon Hill Review.
Heather Osborn | AGENT
Before joining Spencerhill Associates, HEATHER OSBORN spent many years editing romance, science fiction, fantasy, cozy mystery, and women’s fiction for various publishers. The experience of working with both well-established, bestselling authors, as well as those just embarking on their careers has helped shape her skills working with authors at every stage in their publishing journey. One of Heather’s greatest joys in life is discovering an amazing new author, whether that be in a slush pile, or on a bookstore shelf, and she looks forward to building long-lasting relationships built on clear and open communication with her clients. Find out more about Heather, including her manuscript wish list HERE.
Leslye Penelope
LESLYE PENELOPE has been writing since she could hold a pen and loves getting lost in the worlds in her head. She is an award-winning author of fantasy and paranormal romance. Equally left and right-brained, she studied filmmaking and computer science in college and sometimes dreams in HTML. She hosts the My Imaginary Friends podcast, co-hosts the Ink and Magic podcast, and lives in Maryland with her feline dependents. |
Ty Phelps | MODERATOR
TY PHELPS’ work can be found at Poets.org, Poet Lore, Streetlight, Zizzle, and elsewhere. He won the 2022 Nancy Ludmerer Flash Fiction Fellowship, Virginia Commonwealth University’s 2019 Catherine and Joan Byrne Poetry Prize. He holds an MFA from VCU and served as the 2021–22 Cabell First Novelist Award Fellow and the 2023–24 Writer-in-Residence at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. He is a co-founder of the Flying South Reading Series and helps plan the Richmond Poetry Fest. |
Vanessa Riley
VANESSA RILEY is an acclaimed author known for captivating novels such as Island Queen, a Good Morning America Buzz Pick, and Queen of Exiles, an ABC View Lit Pick. She was honored as the 2024 Georgia Mystery/Detective Author of the year for Murder in Drury Lane and the 2023 Georgia Literary Fiction Author of the Year for Sister Mother Warrior. Her craft highlights hidden narratives of power, love, and sisterhoods of Black women and women of color in historical fiction, romance, and mystery genres. Her works have received praise from publications like the Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Publisher Weekly, and the New York Times.
Sera Rivers | MASTER CLASS INSTRUCTOR
SERA RIVERS is a Literary Agent at Speilburg Literary, an AALA member, and a writer. She represents books for the children’s and adult markets. She holds an MFA in writing for children from Simmons University. Prior to agenting, Sera worked as an editor in educational publishing for seven years. Sera lives in Western Massachusetts with her partner and their island rescue pups Jett and Marty. Check out SeraRivers.com for her MSWL, events, and updates. She tweets at @writeloudly.
DaNika Robinson | MODERATOR
DR. DANIKA NEBLETT ROBINSON is the author of The Metamorphic Journey, a novella that explores three teenage mothers’ quests to succeed. This fictional work is based on her experiences of becoming a teen mom, first-generation college student, and ultimately the recipient of multiple academic degrees, including master’s and doctoral degrees. The Metamorphic Journey is also the name of a movement that DaNika founded to foster individuals’ personal growth. Additionally, she is the founder of Wailing Women Ministries, a nonprofit organization that provides book scholarships to female high school seniors. DaNika is a higher education administrator and expert in transformational leadership who speaks widely about the benefits of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, justice, and leadership in the workplace. She also coauthored an anthology, On Womanhood: Connecting and Thriving in Every Season, featuring personal essays penned by women ages 21 to 72.
Hannah Rouse
Hannah Rouse is a Freshman at Elon University double majoring in Creative Writing and Dance Performance and Choreography. Earlier this year, Hannah graduated from the Appomattox Regional Governor’s School’s Literary Arts Program. She’s been published in Free Spirit‘s short story anthology The Wishing Well, Fledge, Currents, as well as several other places. Hannah has also won upwards of twenty awards for her creative nonfiction and poems, including a Gold Key from Scholastic Art and Writing for her portfolio.
Etaf Rum
| ETAF RUM is a bestselling author and educator. Her debut novel, A Woman Is No Man, became a New York Times bestseller and a Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club pick. Her second novel, Evil Eye, continues to explore themes of identity, generational trauma, and the power of women’s voices, drawing deeply from her Palestinian-American heritage. |
Aimee Seiff Christian | MASTER CLASS INSTRUCTOR
AIMEE SEIFF CHRISTIAN is a New Yorker living in Massachusetts with her family. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Poets & Writers, The Rumpus, Pidgeonholes, Atticus Review, SmokeLong Quarterly, and more. She is a writing instructor and editor, and is currently finishing her memoir, Nobody’s Daughter, about adoption and identity.
Laurie Gwen Shapiro
LAURIE GWEN SHAPIRO is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist whose writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Daily Beast, Slate, and others. Shapiro is the 2021 winner of the Damn History Award for “The Improbable Journey of Dorothy Parker’s Ashes” for The New Yorker and gold medallion winner in the People Profiles category for the Silurian Press Club’s 77th annual Excellence in Journalism Awards. She is the author of The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage That Made an American Icon, out July 2025, which has received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly and is being called “exhiliarating” and “profoundly researched.” She also authored The Stowaway, a best-seller and an Indie next selection. She is an adjunct professor of journalism at The NYU Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute in the graduate program.
Melissa Scott Sinclair
MELISSA SCOTT SINCLAIR is a Pushcart-nominated fiction writer, essayist and environmental journalist. She is a 2025 Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellow, as well as the recipient of the 2023 Lit/South Award in Fiction and the 2021 Michael Kenneth Smith Novel Fellowship. Melissa’s bylines have appeared in The Washington Post, Audubon, Richmond magazine, and the recent book Atlas Obscura: WILD LIFE.
Patricia Smith | MODERATOR
PATRICIA SMITH is the author of the novel The Year of Needy Girls, a 2018 Lambda Literary Award finalist. A three-time nominee for Pushcart and Best of the Net, her nonfiction and short fiction have appeared in several anthologies and literary magazines. She lives in Chester, VA with her wife and teaches American Literature and Creative Writing at the Appomattox Regional Governor’s School in Petersburg, VA. |
April Sopkin
APRIL SOPKIN was the 2024-2025 writer-in-residence at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. Her work has appeared in Joyland, MIT Technology Review, and Carve, among other places, and she writes the monthly Substack newsletter “Something Out of Nothing,” about making meaning in a multifaceted life. Her work has won the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest, the Patricia Aakhus Award, and the Frank McCourt Memoir Prize, and been supported by the Elizabeth George Foundation.
Mia Sosa
MIA SOSA is an award-winning and USA Today bestselling author of romantic comedies and contemporary romances that celebrate our multicultural world. She has received praise from The Washington Post, Bustle, NPR, Entertainment Weekly, Popsugar, Buzzfeed, Oprah Daily, and many more. A New York City native, she now lives in Maryland with her college sweetheart, their two book-obsessed daughters, a gentle Cavalier King Charles spaniel, and one adorable rescue cat that rules them all. |
Kris Spisak | MASTER CLASS INSTRUCTOR
KRIS SPISAK wrote her first three books—Get a Grip on Your Grammar, The Novel Editing Workbook, and The Family Story Workbook—to help writers of all kinds sharpen their storytelling and empower their communications. Her award-winning debut novel, The Baba Yaga Mask, was inspired by her Ukrainian heritage, and her latest nonfiction, Becoming Baba Yaga: Trickster, Feminist, and Witch of the Woods, explores the complexities of this multifaceted Slavic folktale character. Kris knows well-written words and well-told stories can change the world, and she cannot wait to tell you her next story. |
Harry Szabo
HARRY SZABO teaches writing at Virginia Commonwealth University and is the President of United Campus Workers of Virginia. They have two books in print, What Big Teeth and We All Fall Down. A third book, A Pocketful of Posies, is forthcoming.
Annabelle Tometich
ANNABELLE TOMETICH went from medical-school reject to line cook to journalist to author. Her first book, The Mango Tree, was called “sweet, sharp” by The New York Times, and was named among the best books of 2024 by The Washington Post and NPR. In February, she became the first Asian American author to win the Southern Book Prize for nonfiction. Annabelle lives in Fort Myers, Florida with her husband, two kids and two dogs. |
Julie Valerie | MODERATOR
JULIE VALERIE, bestselling author of Holly Banks Full of Angst and The Peculiar Fate of Holly Banks, is both novelist and editor, with professional-level proficiencies using the Chicago Manual of Style, backed by a University of Chicago editing certificate. A former international trend forecaster with speaking credentials in thirteen countries, her diverse skills extend to advanced certifications in wine theory and blind tasting, while her M.Ed. enriches her role as a professor at VCU School of the Arts.
R.R. Virdi
R.R. VIRDI is the USA Today bestselling author of Silk Road fantasy from TOR books, and Gollancz, Tales of Tremaine. He is a two time Dragon Award finalist, Nebula Award finalist, and has won the Webster Award. He also co-created the world’s largest open-source education program for writers, in conjunction with CoFutures and the prestigious University of Oslo, where he has served as a guest lecturer as well.
Ran Walker
RAN WALKER is an award-winning author of over 35 books. He is a contributing editor with Writer’s Digest magazine, where he also teaches for Writer’s Digest University. Vice-chair of James River Writers, he serves as an associate professor of creative writing at Hampton University. He lives with his wife, daughter, and puppy in the Hampton Roads area.
Heather Weidner
Through the years, HEATHER WEIDNER has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. She writes The Pearly Girls Mysteries, The Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries, The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries, and The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries. Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Deadly Southern Charm, Murder by the Glass, First Comes Love, Then Comes Murder, and Crimes in the Old Dominion, and she has non-fiction pieces in Promophobia and The Secret Ingredient: A Mystery Writers’ Cookbook. Heather blogs regularly with the Writers Who Kill. Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a crazy Jack Russell Terrier. |
Jade Wong-Baxter | AGENT
JADE WONG-BAXTER joined the Frances Goldin Literary Agency in 2021, after spending three years at Massie & McQuilkin Literary Agents. She received her B.A. in English Literature and Chinese from Vassar College. Jade is looking for adult literary and upmarket/bookclub fiction, as well as narrative nonfiction. Find out more about Jade, including her manuscript wish list HERE.