Abbott Kahler is the New York Times bestselling author (as Karen Abbott) of Sin in the Second City, American Rose, and Liar Temptress Soldier Spy, named one of the best books of the year by Library Journal, the Christian Science Monitor, and Amazon. She has written for newyorker.com, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Smithsonian Magazine, and other publications. Her new book, The Ghosts of Eden Park, is an instant New York Times bestseller, an Indie Next pick, an Amazon best book of August, and a top fall title for both Newsweek and Publishers Weekly, which, in a starred review, called it “a real-life page turner that will appeal to fans of Erik Larson.” The Wall Street Journal calls The Ghosts of Eden Park “vibrant and enormously readable,” and names Abbott “one of the masters of the art” of narrative nonfiction.
Ricki Cardenas is the author of two humorous women’s fiction novels, Mr. Right-Swipe (2017) and Georgia Author of the Year finalist Switch and Bait (2018), both published by Grand Central (Hachette) under the name Ricki Schultz. Her short story, Corona Care Package, will be included in the 2020 anthology Viral Literature: Alone Together in Georgia (Southern Fried Karma Press). Among other publications, she has contributed to Writer’s Digest Books, and she is also a freelance editor. She earned a B.A. in English and an M.Ed. in Secondary Education from John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio, and she’s taught English for most of her adult life. She lives in Atlanta now with her husband and two beagles, and her writing is represented by Barbara Poelle of Irene Goodman Literary Agency.
Clay McLeod Chapman is the author of The Remaking, Nothing Untoward, Commencement, Miss Corpus, Rest Area, and The Tribe trilogy. In the world of comics, Chapman’s work includes the ongoing Marvel series, Scream: Curse of Carnage, and he is also the creator of Lazaretto and Self Storage. He also writes for the screen, including The Boy (SXSW 2015), Henley (Sundance 2012), and Late Bloomer (Sundance 2005). You can find him at www.claymcleodchapman.com.
Anthony Grooms teaches fiction writing, literature, and American Studies, and directs the M. A. in Professional Writing program at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. Also, he has taught in Ghana and Sweden, and lectured in Morocco and the U.A.E. His fiction, poetry and essays have been published in numerous journals and anthologies in the U.S. and abroad. His novel Bombingham, set against the Civil Rights Movement, is often taught in high schools and colleges and was a Washington Post notable book and was chosen as a city-wide common read for D. C. In 2019, his most recent novel, The Vain Conversation was designated an Honor Book for Fiction for 2019 by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. Grooms has twice won the Lillian Smith Prize for Fiction and was a finalist for the Hurston-Wright Foundation award. He holds fellowships from Yaddo, Bread Loaf, the National Endowment for the Arts and Fulbright.
For over 20 years, Paul Jenkins has provided entertainment to the world through hundreds of print publications, films, video games, film and new media. With 6 Platinum selling video games, a Number One MTV Music Video, an Eisner Award, Five Wizard Fan Awards, and multiple Best Selling Graphic Novels, Paul Jenkins is synonymous with success. He has enjoyed recognition on the New York Times bestseller list, has been nominated for two BAFTA Awards, and has been the recipient of a government-sponsored Prism Award for his contributions in storytelling and characterization.
One of the premier creators and writers of comic books and graphic novels and video games in the world today, Paul’s writing credits include the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hellblazer, Inhumans, Spider-Man, Batman, The Incredible Hulk, the smash hit Wolverine: Origin, for which he won five Wizard Fan Awards. He’s the author of the novel Curioddity, which was released in August of 2016. Paul is currently working with Nickelodeon on a brand new series, Underwhere, which is being developed across all media. He also recently wrote and directed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animation for Nickelodeon. Additionally, Paul’s work as Writer and/or Creative Director in the video game genre includes Twisted Metal: Black, Soul Reaver, Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, God of War and many others. 2007’s The Darkness earned him a BAFTA nomination for storytelling and characterization, as did Vivendi Universal’s 2008 smash hit Prototype.
Shelli R. Johannes is the author of the picture book series, LOVES SCIENCE (coauthor, six books) Unicorn (Fall 2020) and Thesaurus. She writes middle grade and has self-published six books, selling over 150,000 ebooks. Shelli never warmed up to creepy-crawly bugs, but she always loved zoology and biology. She can often be found on highways and country roads saving strays and other jaywalking critters, or volunteering with animal conservation groups like the Atlanta Zoo, the Dolphin Project, and Bosley’s puppy orphanage.
Roger Johns is a former corporate lawyer and retired college professor, and the author of the Wallace Hartman Mysteries from St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books: Dark River Rising (2017) and River of Secrets (2018). He is the 2018 Georgia Author of the Year (Detective ▪ Mystery Category), a 2018 Killer Nashville Readers’ Choice Award nominee, and a finalist for the 2018 Silver Falchion Award for best police procedural. His articles and interviews on writing and the writing life have appeared in Career Author, Criminal Element, Killer Nashville Articles, and the Southern Literary Review. Roger belongs to the Atlanta Writers Club, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers. Along with four other crime fiction writers, he co-authors the MurderBooks blog at www.murder-books.com. Visit him at www.rogerjohnsbooks.com and you can find him on Twitter at @rogerjohns10.
Kimberly Jones is hosts of the Atlanta Chapter of the popular Well Read Black Girl book club, as well as the infamous, viral sensation the YA Truth or Dare author panel at the Decatur Book Festival. She has worked in film and television with trailblazing figures such as Tyler Perry, Whitney Houston, and 8Ball & MJG. Currently, in addition to writing YA novels, she is a director of feature films and cutting-edge diverse web series. She also regularly lectures on working and succeeding in the Atlanta film market. She has been featured in Redbook, Publisher’s Weekly, School Library Journal, and was Book Brahmin in an issue of Shelf Awareness. James Patterson and the American Booksellers Association chose her out of over 3,000 booksellers to receive a bonus for her outstanding work as an indie bookseller. Her forthcoming YA novel, I’m Not Dying With You Tonight, co-authored with Gilly Segal, was published by Sourcebooks Fire in August, 2019.
Chris Negron is the author of Dan Unmasked, his debut to be published by HarperCollins in July, 2020. KitLitExchange.com says the middle grade novel “broke my heart” and “needs to be on every library shelf.” He grew up outside Buffalo, New York and attended Yale University. His short fiction has appeared in numerous literary journals, with one piece longlisted for the Top (Very) Short Fictions of 2016 by Wigleaf.com. If you spot him in the wild, it’s probably in a comic book shop, which also explains a large portion of Dan Unmasked‘s plot. He lives in Atlanta with his wife, and his writing is represented by Alyssa Jennette at Stonesong. Visit him at www.chrisnegron.com.
David L. Robbins began writing fiction in 1997 and has published fifteen novels, with repeated visits to the NY Times bestsellers list. He is also an award winning screenwriter and essayist. As a playwright, David has had multiple staged productions, including The End of War, which received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and The King of Crimes, about the Aaron Burr treason trial, which was filmed by public television and selected for national distribution. David is the founder of James River Writers, co-founder of the Podium Foundation, which supports the practice of writing for Richmond area youth, and creator of The Mighty Pen Project, helping Virginia veterans and first responders turn their stories of service into written narratives. The Virginia Commission for the Arts named David one of the two Most Influential Literary Artists in the state for the last 50 years.
Rona Simmons’s first published works were novels, and primarily works of historical fiction set in the first half of the last century. While she is not giving up fiction, Simmons said the call of history and the real lives of the men and women of the era were something she could not ignore. With so much already written about the war, however, she wanted to approach the topic from a new angle. The result is her new book, The Other Veterans of World War II to be released by Kent State University Press in spring 2020.
Rona is a frequent speaker on the war and its veterans, the lessons her thirty year career in business taught her, as well blogging, writing, editing, and marketing. When not planning to write, writing, or talking about writing, Rona “slow blogs” about military history on “Gone for a Soldier,” women in the creative arts on “Women at Word” and local authors and bookstores on “From Acworth to Zebulon.” Her stories, articles, and interviews have been published in literary journals and online magazines, including The Adanna Literary Journal, Storychord, Deep South Magazine, The Persimmon Tree, and the Huffington Post Blog.
Kris Spisak wrote her first book, Get a Grip on your Grammar: 250 Writing and Editing Reminders for the Curious or Confused (Career Press, 2017), with a goal to help writers of all kinds sharpen their craft and empower their communications. Her “Words You Should Know” podcast and “Grammartopia” events follow the same mission, as does her latest book, The Novel Editing Workbook: 105 Tricks and Tips for Revising Your Fiction Manuscript (Davro Press, 2020). A former college writing instructor, having taught at institutions including the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University, Kris is now an active ghostwriter, speaker, and freelance editor. She is the board chair of James River Writers and is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.