Jussi Adler-Olson began his writing career with the international thrillers (The Alphabet House, The Company Basher, The Washington Decree), after which he set his sights on Denmark, where his first two crime thrillers in the series about Department Q - The Woman in the Cage andThe Pheasant Killers – made him a renowned author both in Denmark and abroad. A Conspiracy of Faith, is his third in the series.

Ayad Akhtar is the author of numerous screenplays. He co-wrote and played the lead role in THE WAR WITHIN, which premiered at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival. Also a playwright, his latest stage play, DISGRACED premiered in Chicago at the American Theater Company in early 2012, and headed to the Lincoln Center in the fall of 2012. AMERICAN DERVISH, his first novel, was released in 22 languages worldwide.

Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers’ dismay. Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.

Nassim Assefi is a physician, teacher, novelist, content curator, health tech consultant, and civic innovator who enjoys living at the intersection of many worlds.  Her doctoring is a blend of internal medicine, gynecology, psychiatry, human rights, and public health.  Her consulting work ranges from primary care health strategies for the low income world to health tech start-ups.  Her novels (Aria, published by Harcourt and translated into 5 other languages, and forthcoming Say I Am You) explore complex issues like grief and humanitarianism. Currently on a service-learning sabbatical in Japan and Morocco, Nassim's last big job was as interim Executive Director of MEDICC, an NGO that translates the remarkable public health achievements of Cuba to the US context and beyond. Before that, she was Director of Stage Content for TEDMED, the health and medicine edition of the TED Conference, leading speaker and performer selection and coaching for TEDMED's annual event.

James Bach quit school at sixteen, at which point, according to him, his true education began. Buccaneer Scholar, his first book, tells the tale of his educational life and his unique philosophy to self-learning. He lives in Washington and is considered an expert in the field of software testing.

Richard Bach is the author of over twenty books, includingJonathan Livingston Seagull, Illusions, and Bridge Across Forever. Like all his novels, his most recent book, Hypnotizing Maria, deals with the nature of reality and the limitlessness of consciousness.

Nicholson Baker is the author of fifteen books of fiction and non-fiction, including Double Fold, for which he won the 2001 National Book Critics Circle Award. Traveling Sprinkler, his latest novel, is a sequel to his 2009 novel, The Anthologist.

Balliett is a recipient of the Chicago Public Library's 21st Century Award, the first time the award was given to a children's book writer. She has appeared on NBC's Today Show and has been featured in various national and international publications.

Anat Baniel is the founder of The Anat Baniel Method and has been working with children and adults with physical and emotional challenges for 30 years. Her method, which utilizes the plasticity of the brain, has drawn particular attention lately for its success with children on the Autism Spectrum. Kids Beyond Limits distills her Nine Essentials, the core of her teaching and her method.

Nick was schooled in England and has a BA in Fine Art (painting). He has authored 25 books, 11 of which have appeared on the best seller lists, including 3 books on the New York Times top ten at one time. ‘Griffin and Sabine’ stayed on that list for over two years. His works have been translated into 13 languages and over 5 million have been sold worldwide. Once named by the classic SF magazine Weird Tales as one of the best 85 storytellers of the century. He has written articles and stories for numerous international newspapers and magazine’s. His Wasnick blogs are much followed on Facebook and Twitter. His paintings, drawings, sculptures, collages and prints have been exhibited in shows in UK, France and North America. In 2010 Nick’s major retrospective exhibition opened at the MOA in Denver. His works are in private collections throughout the world. Nick has a lifetime BAFTA (British Oscar) for CD Rom ‘Ceremony of Innocence’, created with Peter Gabriel’s Real World. Ceremony (soundtrack by Isabella Rossolini and Ben Kingsley). He has two ipad apps, ‘Sage’ and ‘The Venetian’ and is working on a third. Three of his books have been optioned for film and his stage play based on the ‘Griffin and Sabine’ double trilogy premiered in Vancouver 2006.

Annie Barrows, whose career also included libraries, bookstores, and publishing, is the author of the Ivy and Bean series for children, as well as The Magic Half. In 2008 she helped finish her beloved aunt’s debut bestselling novel The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Eric Barnes is the publisher of The Daily News and The Memphis News, two local publications covering business and politics in Memphis. Eric was once COO (and, before that, Publisher and Managing Editor) of Towery Publishing, a publisher of city guides, books, maps, city sites and business directories for cities around the country. Towery went under in 2003, a sad and endless and unforgettable experience that culminated in the purchase of a few cases of beer for the remaining staff at one final staff meeting at Union and Mclean. Shimmer, his first novel, is an IndiNext Pick.

Heather Barbieri worked for years as a journalist, freelance writer, and guidebook author. Eventually she saw her fiction published in literary journals and then, in 2004, her first novel, Snow in July, was published by Soho Press. The Lace Makers of Glenmara is her second novel.

T. A. Barron is the award-winning author of more than 30 highly acclaimed books, many of which are international bestsellers. He has won the de Grummond Medallion for “lifetime contribution to the field of children’s and young adult literature” and many other awards.

Graeme Base is one of the world's leading creators of picture books. His alphabet book, Animalia, received international acclaim when it was first published in 1986 and has sold more than two million copies. Graeme lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Erica Bauermeister holds a PhD in Literature. Eventually her love of books and literature led her to her own first novel,The School of Essential Ingredients, which has been published in fifteen counties—and counting. She is hard at work on her second novel.

Erica Bauer-meister says she was happy to have published her first novel two months before she turned 50. That first book was the surprise hit School of Essential Ingredients. Joy for Beginners, her second novel, is garnering rave reviews, and Erica is hard at work on her third. She lives in Seattle with her husband and doesn’t mind the rain.

Ridley Pearson is a New York Times best-selling author with more than 40 novels published in 22 languages in 70 countries. He has had his novels adapted to both network television and the stage. He has also co-produced and written documentaries for television. Shell Game is the latest in his bestselling Kingdom Keepers series, which he co-writes Dave Barry.

Kenneth G. Bennett is the author of the Young Adult novels The Gaia Wars and Battle for Cascadia (the second book of The Gaia Wars), as well as the forthcoming Exodus 2018, a paranormal thriller set in the Puget Sound region of Washington State.