Mia Alvar

Mia Alvar has written nine eye-opening and unforgettable short stories in her award winning debut novel, In The Country. The “country” in the title is the Philippines, and the stories focus on Filipinos uprooted from their homeland. Each story explores changes, loss and the desire to stay connected. Alvar’s writing is deeply compassionate and richly felt.

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Roxane Gay

Roxane Gay is the author of the novel The Untamed State, which was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction; the essay collection Bad Feminist; and Ayiti, a multi-genre collection. She is working on a memoir, Hunger, and a comic book in Marvel’s Black Panther series. Her writing has appeared in Best American Short Stories 2012, The New York Times, the Guardian, and many others. She is a recipient of the PEN Center USA Freedom to Write Award, among other honors.

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Nadia Hashimi

Set in Afghanistan, When The Moon Is Low follows Fereiba as she finally discovers love and fulfillment, only to have it threatened when the Talilban assume power. Fereiba and her family are forced to escape the country, throwing them into the nightmarish world of illegal immigration. Nadia Hashimi’s haunting novel is worthy of the praise and starred reviews it has received.

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Lily King

Award-winning author Lily King’s recent bestseller, Euphoria, received both the Kirkus Prize and New England Award for Fiction. Many publications listed it as a Best Book of the Year, including the New York Times Book Review. King’s brilliant novel, inspired by an incident in Margaret Mead’s life, charts the path of three anthropologists isolated in remote New Guinea as their relationship unravels due to their rivaling scientific careers and the drum beat of sexual tension between them. This is King’s fourth award winning novel.

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Jill Leovy

After ten years embedded with the homicide detectives of the LAPD, Los Angeles Times reporter Jill Leovy shines a new light on an old situation; the epidemic of black on black violence in South Central Los Angeles. Ghettoside is a thought provoking book that challenges assumptions about ‘gang-related’ violence. Winner of numerous awards, including the 2016 Ridenhour Book Prize which recognizes “acts of truth-telling that protect the public interest, promote social justice or illuminate a more just vision of society.”

Idra Novey

Prose that reads like poetry with the tempo of a fast paced thriller, this debut novel from Idra Novey was a New York Times Editors’ Choice and was called a “tour de force” by Kirkus Review. Ways to Disappear is a meditation on how we choose to appear and disappear to each other. Both an accomplished poet and translator in Spanish and Portuguese, Novey has been published in eight languages.

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Cathleen Schine

Cathleen Schine has written internationally best-selling literature, with two of her novels, Rameau’s Niece and The Love Letter, made into feature films. Her most recent work, They May Not Mean To, But They Do, combines dark comedy with astute observations of family dynamics, as does much of her writing. Schine resides in Venice, California.

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