Sign up to win prizes and for exclusive updates about this year’s festival
April 23-25, 2027
Born in Germany in 1988, Fabiana studied jazz and classical violin at the university of arts in Berlin, UdK and the conservatory of music, Hanns Eisler. Her debut album Mahagoni was nominated by Deutschlandfunk Kultur in the category of “Best Album of the Year”. Her second album Sweet And So Solitary is considered “revolutionary in […]
Brian Hall is a bassist and composer with a deep knowledge of and passion for diverse styles of music spanning jazz, classical, and world music. His active performing and touring calendar sees him collaborating with international artists and regional symphonies. As Associate Professor of Music at Florida A&M University since 2014, he brings his wealth […]
Julia Koets is the author of PINE, The Rib Joint: A Memoir in Essays, a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, and Hold Like Owls. She is the winner of the 2017 Red Hen Press Nonfiction Book Award, the 2019 Michael Waters Poetry Prize, and the 2011 South Carolina Poetry Book Prize. Julia’s essays and poems have […]
Mary Jane Ryals, Poet Laureate of the Big Bend of Florida, won a fiction Florida Book Award for a novel (Cookie & Me). She also was a winner of the Yellow Jacket Press Chapbook (Music in Arabic) and has published four other chapbooks. She’s published a short story collection (A Messy Job), a full poetry […]
Noel Zamot is the author of “The Archer’s Thread,” winner of the Gold Medal for Popular Fiction at the 2022 Florida Book Awards. A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, he moved to Tarpon Springs after serving in a Congressional economic development role in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. His writing career started as an undergraduate […]
Johnny Bell is a two-timed published author of Young Adult fiction novels Take the Shot and The Dirt Court. He recently was honored as the 2022 Developing Author’s Gerald Ensley Award in Florida. Aside from writing, Johnny manages a monthly newsletter focused on literacy and popular book reviews, as well as creating read alouds for […]
Originally from Punta Gorda, FL, Jason Vuic is an award-winning author and historian based in Fort Worth, Texas, who specializes in creative nonfiction. He is the author of several books, including The Swamp Peddlers: How Lot Sellers, Land Scammers, and Retirees Built Modern Florida and Transformed the American Dream (UNC Press, 2021), The Yucks! Two […]
Sheri Castle is the host of The Key Ingredient, a cooking show from PBS. She is also an award-winning professional food writer, recipe developer, and cooking teacher known for melding stories, humor, and culinary expertise. Sheri grew up in her beloved Blue Ridge Mountains and now lives in the NC Piedmont. Farmers markets, great stories, […]
Before Dana Brooks became an attorney, she was a paralegal, law firm administrator, mental health counselor and Florida Supreme Court certified family law mediator. Dana attended Pensacola Junior College and Tallahassee Community College before graduating Florida State University, cum laude, with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work. She later earned her Masters of Social […]