AUTHOR

Leigh Bardugo is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House and the creator of the Grishaverse (now a Netflix original series) which spans the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, the King of Scars duology—and much more. Her short fiction has appeared in multiple anthologies including The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy. She lives in Los Angeles and is an associate fellow of Pauli Murray College at Yale University.

BIOGRAPHER, BOOK CRITIC AND AUTHOR

Julie Phillips is an American biographer and book critic and the author of The Baby on the Fire Escape: Creativity, Mothering, and the Mind-Baby Problem (Norton, 2022). Her previous book is James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, which received several honors including the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Hugo and Locus Awards, and the Washington State Book Award. She is also working on a biography of Ursula K. Le Guin.

Julie has written for The New Yorker, Ms., The Village Voice, and many other publications. Currently she reviews books for 4Columns.org and write about English literature for the Dutch daily newspaper Trouw, where many of the reviews, essays, and interviews posted on her website originally appeared. She is the fortunate recipient of a Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant and residencies at Hedgebrook and Willapa Bay AiR.

Julie lives in Amsterdam with her partner, translator and subtitler Jan van Houten, and their two children.

AUTHOR AND PODCASTER

New York Times, Washington Post & USA Today bestseller Sarah MacLean is the author of historical romance novels. Translated into more than twenty-five languages, the books that make up “The MacLeaniverse” are beloved by readers worldwide.

In addition to her novels, Sarah is a leading advocate for the romance genre, speaking widely on its place as a feminist text and a cultural bellwether. A columnist for the New York Times, the Washington Post and Bustle, she is the co-host of the weekly romance podcast, Fated Mates. Her work in support of romance and those who read it earned her a place on Jezebel.com's Sheroes list and led Entertainment Weekly to call her "the elegantly fuming, utterly intoxicating queen of historical romance."

Sarah is a graduate of Smith College & Harvard University. She lives in New York.

AUTHOR

Genevieve Gornichec earned her degree in history from The Ohio State University, but she got as close to majoring in Vikings as she possibly could, and her study of the Norse myths and Icelandic sagas became her writing inspiration. Her debut novel, The Witch’s Heart, was released in 2021 and has been translated into a dozen languages. Her sophomore novel, The Weaver and the Witch Queen, released on July 25th, 2023. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

AUTHOR AND EDITOR

Nadia Saward is a Commissioning Editor at Orbit Books and a writer of Fantasy Romance. She has an MA in Creative Writing and live in London with her husband and perfectly round cat.

Their debut novel BEST HEX EVER is slated for release in October 2024.

AUTHOR AND PODCASTER

Angela Montoya lives in Northern California with her family. When she isn’t with her partner, two children, goats, chickens, and dogs, you can find Angela co-hosting the podcast, Of the Publishing Persuasion. Her debut novel, SINNER’S ISLE, has received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly and trade reviews from Booklist and The Bulletin.

AUTHOR

Page Powars is the author of The Borrow a Boyfriend Club and the forthcoming And They Were Roommates. Outside of writing, he helps with music soundtracks and unfortunately plays Genshin Impact. He lives in the New York City area.

AUTHOR

Kamilah Cole is a Jamaican-born, American-raised author. By day she works in publishing and by night she frantically types words she hopes to see in a book on shelves one day. In the past, she’s also worked as a journalist and at a hotel, two jobs that give you amazing stories to tell at parties. You know, if she went to parties. A graduate of New York University, Kamilah is currently based in the Tri-State Area, where she’s usually playing Kingdom Hearts for the hundredth time, quoting early Spongebob Squarepants episodes, or crying her way through Zuko’s redemption arc in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

LITERARY AGENT AT BOOKENDS LITERARY

Emily Forney is a literary agent for BookEnds Literary, a digital media and rhetoric teacher, cultural critic, and a writer for what feels like an eternity.

After earning her MFA in Creative Writing from Northern Arizona University, Emily worked in editorial roles for literary magazines, journals, and digital prints before finding her home at BookEnds. She was named a 2022 Publisher's Weekly Star Watch honoree and was previously a Publishing Fellow with the LA Review of Books. She currently directs the BookEnds Publishing Fellowship, which mentors aspiring publishing professionals from marginalized communities and provides them with hands on education, resources, and workshops for roles throughout the industry. As a writer and former editor, she actively writes about identity, Blackness, and pop culture.

When she isn't reading submissions, working with her authors, or procrastinating her own writing, she's usually binge watching an unhealthy amount of television and stress baking when deadlines are near.

AUTHOR

Kristin Dwyer grew up under the California sun and still prays every day for a cloudy sky. When she’s not writing books about people kissing, she and her spouse can be found encouraging their four overly opinionated misfits to get into trouble. Kristin is a part-time hair model and wants you to know she is full-time TSA PRECHECK, and one time a credible news outlet asked for her opinion on K-pop (it was the best day of her life). Please do not talk to her about your fandom, she will try to join.

AUTHOR

Paranormal & fantasy romance author Aurora Ascher loves misunderstood monsters, lovable anti-heroes, and epic happily-ever-afters. A woman of many creative pursuits, Aurora is also a musician and visual artist. She currently resides in Montreal with her trusty espresso machine and her endlessly patient husband, whom she sometimes doesn’t see for hours until she emerges from her writing cave like a bear in springtime.

AUTHOR

Emily Rath was raised in Northern Kentucky. A life-long lover of words, she’s been writing for as long as she could hold a pencil. Her earliest stories were about daring egg burglars, majestic horse lords, and seafaring adventurers. She put story-writing on hold for a few years…quite a few years…as she pursued higher education. She chose to focus on her other soul mate: international politics. This lover showed her the world outside of books.

Now, she holds a BA in political science and philosophy and a PhD in peace studies and political science. She specializes in African politics and credits her time living in Malawi for reigniting her love of writing. She’s currently a university professor and lives in Florida.

AUTHOR

Nisha J. Tuli is a Canadian romance author whose books feature kick-ass heroines, swoony love interests, and slow burns with plenty of heat. She loves to draw upon her Indian heritage to bring her stories to life, weaving together vibrant and compelling characters, settings, and plotlines.

Her novel Trial of the Sun Queen—the first in the Artefacts of Ouranos series—became a BookTok hit, thanks to her amazing fans. She’s also the author of NSFW (Not Suitable for Work), a workplace rivals to lovers rom-com publishing with Forever in 2025, and Heart of Night and Fire, a South Asian-inspired fantasy romance publishing with Second Sky Bookouture in 2023.

Nisha wants to leave her readers breathless and begging for more, and enjoys making her characters suffer before giving them a much-deserved happily ever after. When she’s not writing or reading, Nisha can be found enjoying travel, food, and camping with her partner, two kids, and their fluffy Samoyed.