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April 23-25, 2027
John Deming is a poet, musician and professor. He is the author of the poetry book Headline News (Indolent Books) and has published work in Boston Review, Fence, The Massachusetts Review, The New York Quarterly, New Orleans Review and elsewhere. As a musician, he has performed with Danny Bedrosian, George Clinton, Secret Army, Sweet Motha Child and a variety […]
Judith Pearson is a best-selling and award-winning author, an accomplished presenter, and a graduate of Michigan State University. But her favorite title is “story teller.” Always a fan of history, Judy’s first biographies told of ordinary people who became extraordinary heroes during World War II. A diagnosis of Triple Negative Breast Cancer briefly interrupted Judy’s […]
Mary Jane Ryals received a Ph.D. from Florida State University in English and Creative Writing. She’s been the Poet Laureate of the Big Bend of Florida, and has won the Florida Chapbook Award, a Florida Arts Council Award, and a Florida Book Award in Fiction. Her published books include the novel Cookie & Me, the […]
David began his professional career after earning his commission in the United States Air Force through Florida State University’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). He went on to serve in a wide range of executive and operational intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance roles around the world from 1987 to 2007. During his distinguished military career, David […]
Mary Davis Paramore is a 6th generation Floridian “on both sides” who followed her husband’s Army career and raised three sons — each born in a different state — through his deployments. After starting and leaving jobs in each of those states, she now documents the couple’s travels as an over-the-road truck driver on social […]
Victor Goines is an internationally acclaimed saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, and educator with a career that spans over four decades at the highest levels of jazz performance and education. A native of New Orleans, Goines began his musical journey at a young age and has become one of the most respected figures in jazz. During his […]
Ace Robertson is the author of Battling Mr. Bossy – a book focused on helping kids knock out anxiety. He is an athletic, kind, and courageous kid who has been fighting Mr. Bossy since he was little. He likes playing sports, drawing, and having fun with his brother and sister in their backyard. Ace lives […]
Shane Hinton is the author of three books: Pinkies (CLMP Firecracker Award Finalist), Radio Dark, and Other Shane Hintons (Florida Book Award Bronze Medalist). He is the editor of the anthology We Can’t Help It If We’re From Florida, a fiction editor for Tampa Review, and he teaches writing at The University of Tampa. Shane […]
Daniel Rivero is an investigative reporter with WLRN Public Radio in Miami. His work has been featured in the Miami Herald, NPR, the Guardian, ABC News and other outlets. His first book, Just Freedom: Inside Florida’s Decades-Long Voting Rights Battle, was published in 2025 and won a Florida Book Award. Daniel will be joining Word […]
Kati Schardl first heard the call of the wild as a scabby-kneed kid exploring Jackson County’s woods and waters in the Florida Panhandle. She learned her craft as a journalist in Tallahassee at the rabble-rousing independent daily newspaper the Florida Flambeau. For nigh on 20 years, she served as music columnist, theater critic and arts […]