Susan Lee
Susan Lee has had a lifetime of careers, from bartender to network engineer to HR executive at some of today’s most successful companies. But one thing has always been clear throughout: she was born to be a storyteller. And she has channeled her myriad of experiences into her writing of lighthearted, quirky novels about the oftentimes hilarious human condition. And love. Always love. She currently lives in Southern California (fighting her inner New Yorker from breaking free too often) with a pack of three feisty chihuahuas and a too-hearty obsession with K-pop and K-dramas.
Kristin Dwyer
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.
Rebecca Ross
Rebecca Ross is the #1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of fantasy books for teens and adults. She has written multiple highly acclaimed duologies, including LETTERS OF ENCHANTMENT, ELEMENTS OF CADENCE, and THE QUEEN’S RISING as well as two standalone novels: DREAMS LIE BENEATH and SISTERS OF SWORD & SONG. When not writing, she can be found in her garden where she plants wildflowers and story ideas. She resides in Northeast Georgia with her husband and her dog.
Julian Winters
Julian Winters is the author of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Gold Award-winning Running With Lions; the Junior Library Guild Selections How to Be Remy Cameron and The Summer of Everything; and the forthcoming Right Where I Left You. A self-proclaimed comic book geek, Julian currently lives outside of Atlanta, where he can be found reading or watching the only two sports he can follow—volleyball and soccer.
Serena Kaylor likes to write about that first flush of summer love, whispered conversations at midnight, and endings happy enough to make your toes curl. She grew up running wild as a changeling through North Carolina swamps and hiding in bookstacks until she was dragged back into the real world.
Through a weird twist of fate, she wandered from libraries into medicine, and spends her days with trauma surgery and her nights with romcoms. When she’s not writing, she can be found experimenting in her kitchen, wallpapering any blank surface, and hugging every dog that will let her.
Serena Kaylor
Kelly Quindlen
Kelly Quindlen is the bestselling author of the young adult novels She Drives Me Crazy, Late to the Party, and Her Name in the Sky, which have cumulatively sold more than 100,000 copies in countries around the world. A graduate of Vanderbilt University and a former teacher, Kelly has had the joy of speaking to PFLAG groups and high school GSAs. She currently serves on the leadership board of a non-profit for Catholic parents with LGBTQ children. She lives in Atlanta. Follow her on Twitter @kellyquindlen.
Jenna Miller
Jenna Miller (she/her) writes Young Adult books about fat, queer, nerdy girls who deserve to be seen and have their voices heard. When she’s not obsessing over words, she can be found making charcuterie boards, befriending people online, cross stitching, or adventuring in Minnesota.
Brian D. Kennedy
Brian D. Kennedy (he/him) is the award-winning author of A Little Bit Country and My Fair
Brady. Born in Minnesota, he now lives in New York City with his husband and their miniature
Schnauzer. When not writing, he can be found working at an LGBTQ nonprofit and obsessing
over all things Dolly Parton.
Kaitlyn Hill
Kaitlyn Hill is a writer who lives to tell love stories and make people laugh. While books make up most of her personality, Kaitlyn also enjoys messy reality TV, has never met a tea she didn’t like, and thrives on overly ambitious home improvement projects. She resides in Kentucky with her real life romance hero. Kaitlyn is the author of Love from Scratch and Not Here to Stay Friends.
Samantha Markum
Samantha Markum was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, where she got her great literary start writing Newsies fan fiction in middle school. When she’s not writing, she can be found playing cozy video games, attempting to revive her half-dead house plants, and getting in bed before sunset. When she is writing, you can find her staring at the wall in search of inspiration. She is the author of This May End Badly and You Wouldn't Dare.
Sharina Harris earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgia State University. After college, she pursued a career in digital marketing and public relations. Although her profession required writing, she began writing books in 2012. To date, she has published seven books ranging from romance, women’s fiction, and young adult fantasy. Sharina’s contemporary romance series under the pen name, Rina Gray, was named Book Riot’s 100 MustRead Romantic Comedies. When Sharina’s not writing, she can be found with her head stuck in a book, rooting for her favorite NBA teams, and spending time with friends and family.
Sharina lives in Atlanta with her husband and son. You can learn more about Sharina by visiting her website: www.SharinaHarris.Com
Sharina Harris
Emily Theide
EMILY THIEDE grew up reading in trees and now writes stories about romance and magic. A former teacher, she serves as Vice Chair for Writer House, a non-profit in Central Virginia, where she lives with her family. Emily is the author of This Vicious Grace and This Cursed Light.
Sierra Isley
Sierra Isley (she/her) is a Young Adult romance author originally from Atlanta, Georgia, but currently based in Philadelphia. She graduated from Florida State University in 2021 with a degree in English. Her debut novel, IN THE RING, was released in September 2023. Outside of writing, her passions include filmmaking, social media communications, and drinking chai lattes.
Erin Hahn
ERIN HAHN is the author of the young adult novels You'd Be Mine, More Than Maybe, and Never Saw You Coming as well as the adult romance Built to Last. Romance is her vibe, grunge is her soundtrack and fall is her signature color. She fell for her flannel-clad college sweetheart the very first day of school and together, they have two hilarious kids who keep her humble. She lives outside Ann Arbor, Michigan, and has a cat named Gus who plays fetch and a dog named June who doesn't.
Angela Montoya
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.
Molly Horan
Molly Horan is the author of Epically Earnest, a YA retelling of The Importance of Being Earnest, and I Have Seven Dogs, a picture book whose title does not reflect her current two-cat reality. When she's not writing books she's writing the book and lyrics for musical theater, or rewatching Smallville and wondering what superpower the kryptonite would give her (she would hope for speed-reading). Follow her on Instagram @Mollylikethedog
Marissa Eller is a novelist with chronic pain and an abundance of emotions. She holds a BA in English from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and an MFA in Writing from Lindenwood University, which she uses in her work as an academic consultant.
She resides in Hickory, North Carolina with her family and two rescue cats, all of whom she couldn’t love more if she tried. When not writing, reading, or helping students, she can be found thinking entirely too much about her favorite TV shows, obsessing over a band she’s loved since she was fifteen, or enjoying an afternoon nap.
Marissa Eller
RM Romero
R. M. Romero is a Jewish Latina and author of fairy tales for children and adults. She lives in Miami Beach with her cat, Henry VIII, and spends her summers helping to maintain Jewish cemeteries in Poland. You can visit her online at RMRomero.com or on Instagram @RMRomeroAuthor.
ADIB KHORRAM is the author of DARIUS THE GREAT IS NOT OKAY, which earned the William C. Morris Debut Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature, and a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor, as well as a multitude of other honors and accolades. His followup, DARIUS THE GREAT DESERVES BETTER, received three starred reviews, was an Indie Bestseller, and received a Stonewall Honor. His latest novel, KISS & TELL, received four starred reviews. His debut picture book, SEVEN SPECIAL SOMETHINGS: A NOWRUZ STORY was released in 2021. When he isn’t writing, you can find him learning to do a Lutz jump, practicing his handstands, or steeping a cup of oolong. He lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where people don’t usually talk about themselves in the third person.You can find him on Twitter (@adibkhorram), Instagram (@adibkhorram), or on the web at adibkhorram.com.
Adib Khorram
Goldy Moldavsky
Goldy Moldavsky was born in Lima, Peru, and grew up in Brooklyn, where she still lives. Her novels include the New York Times bestseller, KILL THE BOY BAND, NO GOOD DEED (Scholastic), and THE MARY SHELLEY CLUB (Henry Holt). Her books have appeared on numerous Best-Books lists and have been translated to other languages. Her love of 80s movies, 90s boy bands, and horror flicks hugely influences her work. She can be found on Twitter and Instagram @goldywrites.
Lakita Wilson is the author of several novels and non-fiction projects for children and young adults, including What Is Black Lives Matter?, a part of the New York Times Bestselling HQ Now series; Be Real, Macy Weaver, a coming of age middle grade friendship story; and a few other secret projects she isn’t allowed to tell you about yet.
Lakita was born in Washington, DC, and grew up in Prince George’s County, Maryland. A 2017 recipient of SCBWI’s Emerging Voices Award, Lakita received her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is currently on faculty at Prince George’s Community College in the Education Department. Lakita lives in Prince George’s County, Maryland with her two children and Shih-Tzu.