Authors

MARISSA STAPLEY is the New York Times bestselling author of Lucky, a Reese’s Book Club pick, and several other internationally bestselling novels, many of which have been optioned for television and translated into several languages. She has worked as a journalist, magazine editor, and creative writing teacher, and currently resides in Toronto with her family. The Lightning Bottles (Simon & Schuster) is her latest novel.

STEVEN A. COOK is a senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies and a director at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He is an expert on Arab and Turkish politics as well as U.S.-Middle East policy. Cook is the author of False Dawn: Protest, Democracy, and Violence in the New Middle East; The Struggle for Egypt: From Nasser to Tahrir Square, which won the 2012 gold medal from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy; and Ruling but Not Governing: The Military and Political Development in Egypt, Algeria, and Turkey. His most recent book is The End of Ambition: America's Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East (Oxford University Press).

KARLA SUÁREZ Estudió guitarra clásica e ingeniería electrónica. Como narradora ha publicado novelas, relatos, dos libros de viajes (Cuba y Roma) – en colaboración con el fotógrafo Francesco Gattoni – y un libro sobre La Habana en coautoría con el también fotógrafo Yvon Lambert. A lo largo de su carrera literaria ha recibido distintos reconocimientos. En 2007 fue seleccionada entre los 39 escritores jóvenes más representativos de América Latina. Entre sus novelas premiadas se encuentran Habana año cero, Premio Carbet del Caribe y Gran Premio del Libro Insular, ambos en Francia (2012), y Silencios, Premio Lengua de Trapo. Esta última, además, fue adaptada al teatro en 2010 y convertida en espectáculo musical en 2013. Ha impartido talleres de escritura en Italia, Francia y Puerto Rico, y colaborado en distintas publicaciones (El País, España; El Informador, México; Feuilleton, Francia). Actualmente reside en Lisboa, donde coordina el Club de Lectura del Instituto Cervantes. Presenta este año en la Feria Objetos perdidos (Planeta): durante un viaje a Barcelona con su novio, un par de extraños le roban la bolsa en la que Giselle – una mujer apasionada por la danza – había guardado sus preciadas pulseras de recuerdo de su pasado. Giselle trata de perseguir a los ladrones, pero termina perdida en las calles de Barcelona. A lo largo de cuatro días, ella recuerda los sucesos más importantes de su vida y las decisiones que la llevaron a su situación actual. Las pulseras robadas desencadenan eventos que motivan a la protagonista a reflexionar sobre cómo ciertos objetos pueden ser «pedacitos de uno», en una hermosa metáfora acerca de la pérdida, el descubrimiento y la importancia emocional de los objetos que nos acompañan.

Journalist and author RAY SUAREZ is a veteran broadcaster with decades of experience as a national chief correspondent covering national and international issues. Previously, Suarez was the host of Al Jazeera America’s daily news program and a correspondent and anchor on PBS NewsHour, where he rose to become chief national correspondent covering the 9/11 attacks, four presidential elections, and more. Today he hosts On Shifting Ground, a syndicated radio program on NPR that explores international fault lines and how they impact us all.

CARRIE SUN was born in China and raised in Michigan. She holds an MFA in creative writing from The New School. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband. Private Equity: A Memoir (Penguin Press) is her first book.

MARY SUTTON is the senior content editor at the Academy of American Poets. She previously served as poetry editor at West Trade Review and as a public humanities fellow at the Library of America.

KARA SWISHER is the host of the podcast On with Kara Swisher and the co-host of the Pivot podcast with Scott Galloway, both distributed by New York Magazine. A co-founder and former editor-at-large of Recode, she was the host of the Recode Decode podcast, and co-executive producer of the Code conference. She is a former contributing opinion writer for The New York Times and host of its Sway podcast, and has also worked for The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Burn Book: A Tech Love Story (Simon & Schuster) is her third book.

STEPHANIE SYLVESTRE is the founder of Avatar Buddy, a powerful, personalized integration of GenAI technologies with built-in evidence-based mentorship. She has worked in corporate IT for 30 years for companies including Burger King, Subway, Wachovia, HP, and The Children’s Trust.

PRECIOUS SYMONETTE, ED.D., is an 18-year veteran educator with Miami-Dade County Public Schools. This award-winning educator, a TEDx Miami speaker, and a Fulbright Scholar, has been featured on NPR. She is also a published author, and her most recent work can be found in the book Dear Freedom Writer. She is the founder and CEO of the Florida Freedom Writers Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping teens to promote free expression both in written and verbal form and to developing into global citizens. She currently teaches creative writing, AICE: Cambridge-General Paper, AP Capstone Seminar, dual enrollment college composition, dual enrollment introduction to literature, and dual enrollment creative writing at Miami Norland Senior High School. She is also an adjunct professor at Miami Dade College.

DEBORAH JACKSON TAFFA is a citizen of the Kwatsaan (Yuma) Nation and Laguna Pueblo. She earned her MFA degree at the Iowa Writers Workshop and is the director of the MFA program in creative writing at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her writing has appeared in The Rumpus, Boston Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, A Public Space, Salon, Huffington Post, Prairie Schooner, The Best Travel Writing, and other outlets. Her memoir, Whiskey Tender (Harper), has been longlisted for the 2024 National Book Award in nonfiction, as well as named to several 2024 best lists at outlets such as Esquire, Oprah Daily, Elle, and The Washington Post.

NICOLE TALLMAN is a poet, writer, and editor. A Michigan native, she lives in Miami, where she serves as the county’s official poetry ambassador. Tallman is the author of three poetry collections: Something Kindred (Southern Collective Experience), Poems for the People (Southern Collective Experience), and FERSACE: Poems (ELJ Editions). She serves as the editor of redacted books and poetry and interviews editor for The Blue Mountain Review, and as associate editor for the South Florida Poetry Journal. Tallman is also the creator and host of ELJ Editions' Be Well reading series and the monthly Lunchtime Poetry & Jazz Series at the Miami-Dade Public Library System's main library. Find her on social media @natallman and at nicoletallman.com.

AMY TAN is the author of several novels, including The Joy Luck Club and The Bonesetter's Daughter. She is a co-producer and co-screenwriter of the film version of The Joy Luck Club, a member of the American Academy of Arts & Letters, a recipient of the National Humanities Medal, and an instructor with MasterClass on fiction writing. She also serves on the boards of American Bird Conservancy, The National Poetry Series and The Community of Writers. She divides her time between Sausalito, California, and New York. Her latest book, The Backyard Bird Chronicles, is a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. 

JUSTIN TAYLOR is the author of The Gospel of Anarchy: A Novel (Harper Perennial), the collections Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever: Stories (Harper Perennial) and Flings: Stories (Harper Perennial), and the memoir Riding with the Ghost: A Memoir (Random House). His work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, Bookforum, and the Oxford American. Taylor is a contributing writer to The Washington Post's “Book World” and the director of the Sewanee School of Letters. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

BILL TECK is the director and producer of the new HBO Documentary Films feature Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple, and the director and cinematographer of the Warner Bros documentary film One Day Since Yesterday: Peter Bogdanovich & The Lost American Film. Born and raised in Miami, Teck coined the term "Generation Ñ" in the '90s. In 2007 his company created generation-ntv.com - the net’s first broadband content channel geared toward English-dominant Latinos. He was the publisher and editor of Generation Ñ magazine and has written for Latina, Tablet, the New York Press, Rock & Rap Confidential, the Miami Herald, and other publications.

SAMUEL TEER is the author of Brownstone and Veda: Assembly Required. Raised outside of St. Louis, Missouri, he lives in Aurora, Colorado.

JOHNNY TEMPLE is publisher and editor-in-chief of Akashic Books, a Brooklyn, New York-based independent publisher. He is the editor of the anthology USA Noir, which was selected as a New York Times Editors’ Choice. Temple has taught courses on the publishing business at Wilkes University, Wesleyan University, and Pratt Institute, and is a co-chair of the Brooklyn Book Festival Literary Council. He also plays bass in the bands Girls Against Boys, Soulside, and Fake Names, which have toured extensively across the globe and released numerous albums on independent and major record labels.

ALI TERESE is a middle grade and young adult author who writes funny and heartfelt stories, including Free Period (Scholastic Press) and the forthcoming Votes for G.O.A.T.S (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster). Her work has received the National Book Award Longlist honor, a School Library Journal starred review, and an AudioFile Magazine Earphones Award, and was a Kids’ Indie Next selection. Visit Terese online at aliterese.com for book bonuses, giveaways, and resources like discussion guides, recipes, and craftivism projects.

MICHAEL TERPIN is the founder and CEO of Transform Ventures, a blockchain advisory firm. CNBC called him “the godfather of crypto” for launching and advising iconic crypto projects, including Ethereum and Tether. His first book, Bitcoin Supercycle: How the Crypto Calendar Can Make You Rich (Skyhorse Publishing; distributed by Simon & Schuster) is the No. 1 new release on Amazon for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency books. Terpin also co-founded BitAngels, the world’s first crypto angel network, in 2013. A prolific angel investor, he is also a GP at digital asset fund Alpha Transform Holdings. He received a bachelor's degree at Syracuse University and a master's degree at SUNY Buffalo.

MARIE KETSIA THEODORE-PHAREL, known as Ketsia, is a Haitian-born author and educator based in Homestead, Florida. She earned her bachelor's degree from Tufts University and holds a master's in English from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. An influential voice in Caribbean literature, Theodore-Pharel's work often explores themes of resilience, cultural identity, and the intricacies of the Haitian experience. Her contributions to anthologies such as Haiti Noir and her powerful historical novel Rope examine the enduring impact of U.S. imperialism on Haiti. In addition to her writing, Theodore-Pharel is a passionate educator who teaches at Miami Dade College and shares her love of storytelling and Haitian culture. Her work reflects a dedication to creating a more nuanced narrative of Haiti, celebrating its resilience and cultural richness alongside its challenges.

JOSEPH EARL THOMAS is the author of Sink: A Memoir (Grand Central Publishing), God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer: A Novel (Grand Central Publishing), and the forthcoming story collection Leviathan Beach (Grand Central Publishing). His prose, poetry, and criticism has been published in The Kenyon Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Dilettante Army, and The New York Times Book Review. Sink was longlisted for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame’s MFA program in prose, Thomas is earning a Ph.D. in English at the University of Pennsylvania. He teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College and courses in Black studies, poetics, queer theory, video games, and more at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research.

AUGUST THOMPSON was born and raised in the middle of nowhere, New Hampshire, before attending middle school in west Los Angeles. After surviving California optimism, he moved to New York City to obtain a bachelor’s degree, studied in Berlin, and taught English in Spain for two years. Thompson recently received his MFA at New York University’s creative writing program as a Goldwater Fellow.

ELIZABETH THOMPSON GOIZUETA teaches Hispanic studies and Latin American and Peninsular art, culture, and literature at Boston College. She has served as a curator at Boston College's McMullen Museum of Art since 2004 and curated exhibitions there on Wifredo Lam, Roberto Matta, Mariano Rodríguez, and Rafael Soriano. Her exhibitions have traveled to the Pérez Art Museum Miami, High Museum of Art Atlanta, Casa de América Madrid, and the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University. In addition to editing five exhibition catalogs, she has published numerous essays on Spanish and Latin American artists.

RUFI THORPE is the author of The Knockout Queen, a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner award; Dear Fang, with Love; and The Girls from Corona del Mar, which was longlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize and the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize. Her most recent book is Margo's Got Money Troubles: A Novel (William Morrow). A native of California, Thorpe currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.

Journalist and writer AMIR TIBON is a diplomatic correspondent for Haaretz, Israel's paper of record, and has previously served as the paper’s correspondent in Washington, D.C., and as a senior editor for its English edition. He is the author of The Last Palestinian: The Rise and Reign of Mahmoud Abbas (co-authored with Grant Rumley), the first-ever biography of the leader of the Palestinian Authority. He, his wife, and their two young daughters were evacuated from their home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz after the October 7, 2023, attack, and are currently living in temporary housing in north-central Israel.

AMY TINTERA is a New York Times bestselling author of several series for young adults. She earned degrees in journalism and film, then worked in Hollywood before becoming an author. Raised in Austin, Texas, Tintera frequently sets her novels in the Lone Star State but now lives in Los Angeles, where there’s far less humidity but not nearly enough Tex-Mex. Listen For the Lie (Celadon Books) is her adult debut.

TONY TOCA, aka TONY TOUCH, is an icon in hip-hop, house and Latin music genres and a true innovator who has revolutionized the DJ game over and over again. From his legendary albums and mixtapes – which include the original 50 MC’s parts 1, 2 and 3, featuring some of the hottest emcees in the game such as KRS ONE, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, Wyklef, M.O.P, Big L, Mos Def, and many more – to his skills on the 1’s and 2’s, Toca became recognized on the streets and in the industry as the real “Mixtape King.” Today he is one of the world’s most recognized DJs, with appearances in Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Greece, Russia, Brazil, Germany, Colombia, Switzerland, Italy, Cuba, and more. He began as a B-Boy during the rap music era of the early 1980s and was heavily influenced by pioneers like the Rock Steady Crew, Grandmaster Flash, Red Alert, Louie Vega, and Jam Master Jay, then quickly shifted his interests toward the turntables and evolved his mixtapes to record releases. In 2000 he released The Piece Maker on Tommy Boy Records, an album that sold nearly 500,000 units worldwide and featured legendary artists like Big Pun, Cypress Hill, Wu Tang Clan, Busta Rhymes, Eminem, Gang Starr, and more. Since then, Toca has released The Piece Maker 2 and 3, featuring such artists as Fat Joe, Sean Paul, Snoop Dogg, and Ruben Blades. Toca is also known to represent the Latino community to the fullest; it’s the result of growing up with salsa music at home and hip-hop influence in his lifestyle. In 2005 he inked a deal with EMI Records and revolutionized the game once more with his platinum-selling Latin compilation album, ReggaeTony. Its hit single, Play that Song, featured Nina Sky and B-Real of Cypress Hill. Other featured artists included Tego Calderon, Ivy Queen, Zion y Lennox, N.O.R.E, and Voltio, just to name a few. EMI moved quickly to release ReggaeTony 2, which featured more heavyweight appearances. Toca has for nearly two decades hosted Toca Tuesdays on Sirius XM and is soon to release ReggaeTony 3. His latest release is The DEF TAPE (Def Jam Recordings), which serves as a companion album to the Paramount+ documentary Mixtape, which Toca co-produced. @DJTonyTouch

ANNABELLE TOMETICH went from medical school flunky to line cook to journalist to author. She spent 18 years as a food writer, editor, and restaurant critic for The News-Press in her hometown of Fort Myers, Florida. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, USA Today, Catapult, the Tampa Bay Times, and many more publications. Tometich has won more than a dozen awards for her stories, including first place for features writing from the Florida Society of News Editors in 2020. She (still) lives in Fort Myers with her husband, two children, and her ever-fiery Filipina mother.

ZAKA TOTO is a Martinique-born writer, publisher, and cultural innovator, best known for founding Zist, a digital magazine that brings together diverse voices from the Caribbean and beyond to explore ideas, arts, and cultural scholarship. A doctoral student in history at the University of the French Antilles, Toto focuses his research on postnationalism and the political identities and independence movements of the French Caribbean. Through Zist, he fosters a space for critical reflection on cultural decolonization and creative expression, helping to amplify underrepresented voices. His work contributes to the Caribbean’s intellectual landscape and supports a broader dialogue on the intersection of politics, history, and culture.

CÉSAR E. TRASOBARES is an artist, art activist, author, public art consultant, and curator. He has received fellowships and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Cintas Foundation, and Art Matters. His recent solo exhibitions include CUBAN STREAMS: 1855-1965 for the Legacy Gallery at Miami Dade College’s historic Freedom Tower and Redacted at LnS Gallery in Coconut Grove, Miami. He formerly served as executive director of Metro-Dade’s Art in Public Places Program (1985-1990), overseeing the completion of important site-specific artworks for various government buildings, community centers, and parks.

ALFREDO TRIFF ha publicado Por qué el pueblo de Cuba (aún) apoya el castrismo, (Exodus, 2023), Miami Picadillo, (Exodus, 2022), Hígado al ensayo, (Imprimatur, 2010), Miami Arts Explosion, (Thompson Publishing, 2006), Pulpa, (Imprimatur, 2002). El último, que presenta este año en la Feria, se titula Barbey d'Aurevilly, dandi entre los dandies (Editorial Casa Vacía, 2024)