Daisy Alpert Florin

Daisy Alpert Florin is the author of the new novel My Last Innocent Year. She attended Dartmouth College and received graduate degrees from Columbia University and Bank Street Graduate School of Education. A recipient of the 2016 Kathryn Gurfein Writing Fellowship at Sarah Lawrence College, she was a 2019–20 fellow in the BookEnds novel revision fellowship, where she worked with founding director Susan Scarf Merrell. A native New Yorker, Daisy lives in Connecticut with her family.

Holly Black

Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over thirty fantasy novels for kids and teens. She has been a finalist for an Eisner Award and the Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a Newbery Honor. Her books have been translated into 32 languages worldwide and adapted for film. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret library.

Laura Zigman

Laura Zigman is the author of five novels, including Separation Anxiety (optioned for a limited television series); Animal Husbandry (which was made into the movie Someone Like You, starring Hugh Jackman and Ashley Judd), Dating Big Bird, Her, and Piece of Work. She has ghostwritten/collaborated on several works of non-fiction, including Eddie Izzard’s New York Times bestseller, Believe Me; been a contributor to the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Huffington Post and she has produced a popular online series of animated videos called Annoying Conversations. Her sixth novel, Small World, was published in January 2023. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Alejandro Varela

Alejandro Varela is a writer based in New York. His debut novel, The Town of Babylon, was a finalist for the 2022 National Book Award. His new story collection, People Who Report More Stress, was published in April to critical acclaim. His work has appeared in The Point Magazine, Georgia Review, Boston Review, Harper’s, and The Offing, among others outlets. Varela is an editor-at-large of Apogee Journal. He has a Master’s Degree in Public Health and lives in New York.

Michael Ruhlman

Michael Ruhlman is the author of nine non-fiction books, one collection of novellas, and eight cookbooks; he is the co-author with various chefs of ten other cookbooks. Best known for writing about food, chefs and the work of professional cooking, he has also written for The New York Times, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Gourmet magazine, and other publications. His new book is The Book of Cocktail Ratios, and he is the co-editor and a contributor to a new fiction collection, Cleveland Noir. Michael lives in New York City and Providence, RI.