Authors

DENISE DUHAMEL’s most recent collections are Second Story: Poems (Pittsburgh, 2021) and Scald (2017). An earlier collection of poems, Blowout, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. A proponent of collaboration, she co-authored with Maureen Seaton five poetry collections, the most recent of which is Caprice: Collaborations: Collected, Uncollected, & New (Sibling Rivalry Press). A recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, Duhamel is a distinguished university professor in the MFA program at Florida International University in Miami.

ELIOT DUNCAN is a United States-born writer and artist. He is the co-founder of the international queer collective Slanted House and a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. His debut book, Ponyboy: A Novel (W. W. Norton & Company), has been longlisted for a 2023 National Book Award for Fiction.

Author and documentary filmmaker DAYTON DUNCAN wrote and produced Country Music, a 16-hour series broadcast, and has penned 12 books, including Out West: American Journey Along the Lewis and Clark Trail; Miles From Nowhere: In Search of the American Frontier, and Seed of the Future: Yosemite and the Evolution of the National Park Idea. He has worked with Ken Burns as a writer and producer of documentary films for nearly 30 years, including projects focusing on Lewis and Clark and Mark Twain. He has most recently been working with Burns as the writer of The American Buffalo, a recently released four-hour documentary for PBS.

PATRICK DURANDIS is a respected figure in Haiti, serving as the director of the Heritage Preservation Institute (ISPAN). He believes in preserving historical monuments, as they reinforce a people’s legitimacy on their territory. Durandis has faced significant challenges restoring Haiti’s national heritage, but his dedication to the task is unwavering. His work involves recruiting engineers and architects trained in Haiti, and he has been instrumental in conserving Haiti’s rich cultural heritage for future generations. His contributions to the field have been invaluable, and he continues to inspire others with his commitment to his work.

BOB ECKSTEIN is an illustrator and writer for The New Yorker, The New York Times, and other publications. He is also the author of The New York Times bestselling Footnotes From the World's Greatest Bookstores. His work has been exhibited in the Cartoon Art Museum of San Francisco, the Smithsonian Institution, The Cartoon Museum of London, and the Sordoni Art Gallery at Wilkes University. He is the editor of the series The Ultimate Cartoon Book by the World's Greatest Cartoonists, a contributing editor at Writer's Digest, and he teaches at New York University. His latest collection is The Complete Book of Cat Names (That Your Cat Won't Answer to, Anyway) (Countryman Press).

JONATHAN EIG is the author of King: A Life (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux), the first major biography of the civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. in decades. A former senior writer for The Wall Street Journal, he is also a New York Times bestselling author of several books, including Ali: A Life, Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig, and Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season.

SARAFINA EL-BADRY NANCE is an Egyptian American astrophysicist, analog astronaut, and women's health advocate. She is the recipient of several National Science Foundation fellowships, and various outlets – including the BBC, NPR, and National Geographic – have featured her work. El-Badry Nance has also been named one of Forbes' "30 Inspirational Women" and was on Forbes' list of "30 Under 30" and the Arab American Foundation's "40 Under 40." Her latest work is Starstruck: A Memoir of Astrophysics and Finding Light in the Dark (Dutton).

PATRICIA ENGEL is the author of The Faraway World: Stories (Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster), a collection of 10 short works of fiction. Her previous titles include the New York Times bestseller Infinite Country: A Novel; The Veins of the Ocean: A Novel, winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize; It's Not Love, It's Just Paris: A Novel; and Vida. Her stories have appeared in The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Mystery Stories, The O. Henry Prize Stories, and elsewhere.   PATRICIA ENGEL es la autora de Vida, libro ganador del Premio Biblioteca de Narrativa Colombiana 2017. Vida también fue finalista del Premio de Ficción PEN/Hemingway y nombrado por el New York Times como Libro Notable del Año. Su novela No es amor, es solo París obtuvo el Premio Internacional Latino del Libro y su novela Las venas del océano fue honrada con el Premio Literario de la Paz de Dayton 2017. Su novela Infinite Country, fue New York Times Bestseller y seleccionada para el club de lectura de Reese Witherspoon. Infinite Country obtuvo el Premio de Nuevas Voces Americanas y fue nombrado como Mejor Libro del Año de más de cincuenta publicaciones incluyendo el Washington Post y Entertainment Weekly. Su última obra, The Faraway World, una colección de cuentos cortos, fue publicada en enero de 2023. Patricia ha recibido honores incluyendo becas de la Fundación Guggenheim y el National Endowment for the Arts y el Premio O. Henry. Sus libros han sido traducidos a varios idiomas y sus cuentos y ensayos han sido publicados en varias antologías y revistas internacionales. Hija de padres colombianos y radicada en Estados Unidos, Patricia es profesora de Escritura Creativa en la Universidad de Miami. Participa en la Feria este año en conversación con Esmeralda Santiago, quien presenta su nueva obra Las madres.

JULIE R. ENSZER, PH.D., is a scholar, poet, and member of the Ms. Committee of Scholars. She edits and publishes Sinister Wisdom, a multicultural lesbian literary and art journal, and is a regular book reviewer for The Rumpus and Calyx. She is the author of two books, OutWrite: The Speeches that Shaped LGBTQ Literary Culture and Fire-Rimmed Eden: Selected Poems by Lynn Lonidier, as well as four poetry collections. She is also the editor of The Complete Works of Pat Parker, which won the 2017 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Poetry; Sister Love: The Letters of Audre Lorde and Pat Parker 1974-1989, and Milk & Honey: A Celebration of Jewish Lesbian Poetry, which was a finalist for the 2012 Lambda Literary Award in Lesbian Poetry. Her scholarly work has appeared or is forthcoming in Southern Cultures, Journal of Lesbian Studies, American Periodicals, WSQ, and Frontiers. Her scholarly book manuscript, A Fine Bind, is a history of lesbian-feminist presses from 1969 until 2009.

JONATHAN ESCOFFERY is the author of the linked story collection If I Survive You (MDC Books), which was a New York Times Editor’s Choice, an Indie Next Pick, and an international bestseller. It was nominated for more than a dozen awards internationally, including the Booker Prize, the National Book Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, and the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize, and was named Miami New Times’ 2023 Best Book by a Local Author. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Paris Review, Oprah Daily, and elsewhere.

CATHERINE ESPOSITO PRESCOTT's collection, Accidental Garden: Poems, is the recipient of the 2022 Gunpowder Press Barry Spacks Poetry Prize, selected by award-winning poet Danusha Laméris. Esposito Prescott's most recent poems have appeared in the EcoTheo Collective Review, Northwest Review, One, Valparaiso Poetry Review, and ​​West Trestle Review. She is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of SWWIM (Supporting Women Writers in Miami) Every Day.

Over the last 26 years, JANET EVANOVICH has written more than 40 New York Times bestsellers. In addition to her No. 1 bestselling Stephanie Plum novels they include many other popular books, including the "Wicked" Lizzy and Diesel series, 12 romance novels, the Alexandra Barnaby novels, and How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author. Evanovich is also the author of The Recovery Agent, the start of a new blockbuster series.

CALEB EVERETT is a researcher, professor, and administrator at the University of Miami. He is the author of Numbers and the Making of Us and Linguistic Relativity: Evidence Across Languages and Cognitive Domains. His research, some involving collaborations with other scholars and students, has appeared in books and many journals across various disciplines. Everett is a senior associate dean in UM's College of Arts & Sciences, and a professor in the anthropology department with a secondary appointment in psychology. He is also a member of the inaugural class of Andrew Carnegie Fellows.

SCOTT EYMAN is the author of Charlie Chaplin vs. America: When Art, Sex, and Politics Collided (Simon & Schuster). He is also the author or co-author of 16 books, including the bestseller John Wayne: The Life and Legend, Pieces of My Heart: A Life, and You Must Remember This: Life and Style in Hollywood's Golden Age with actor Robert Wagner. Eyman also writes book reviews for The Wall Street Journal and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune.

HUDA FAHMY is the author of several previous graphic novels, including Huda F Are You?, That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story, and Yes, I'm Hot In This: The Hilarious Truth About Life in a Hijab. Fahmy grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, and has loved comics since childhood. She attended the University of Michigan, majoring in English, and taught English to middle and high school students for eight years before she started writing about her experiences as a visibly Muslim woman in America. Huda F Cares, her most recent book, is longlisted for a 2023 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

KAROLL-ANN FANFAN is a multifaceted entrepreneur and CEO of Miami-based tax consultancy, TaxFit LLC. Starting as data entry staff, she ascended to a leading tax preparer and enrolled agent, maximizing clients’ tax savings. Beyond tax consultancy, she owns Kouka’s Closet, which merges her leadership and creative expression, and is the vibrant face of the brand on social media. Her journey, marked by resilience, encompasses public sharing of her health struggles, demonstrating her perseverance and multifaceted success. Fanfan actively voices insights for Haitian entrepreneurs, emphasizing her dedication and passion. Her influence, reflecting grit, determination, and a zest for life, inspires entrepreneurs globally, and exemplifies that with unwavering dedication, limitless accomplishments are attainable. She stands as a beacon, illustrating that diverse leadership and overcoming personal obstacles are pathways to profound success.

KATIE FARRIS’ work has been commissioned by New York's Museum of Modern Art and has appeared in American Poetry Review, Granta, McSweeneys, The Nation, and Poetry. She is the author of the chapbook A Net to Catch My Body in its Weaving and the hybrid-form book boysgirls. She is also co-translator of many books of poetry. She holds degrees from UC Berkeley and Brown University, and is currently an associate professor in creative writing at Georgia Institute of Technology. Standing in the Forest of Being Alive (Alice James Books, 2023) is her first book of poems.

FANCY FEAST is a Brooklyn, New York-based burlesque performer, writer, and sex educator. She holds the title of Miss Coney Island 2016 and is the recipient of the 2017 New York Burlesque Festival's Revolutionary Award. She has performed at venues including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, St. Ann's Warehouse, the Metropolitan Opera, and Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is the subject of the Leon Chase documentary Character and her burlesque work has also been profiled on NPR, Refinery29, and HuffPost. Naked: On Sex, Work, and Other Burlesques is her debut book.  

ALISHA FERNANDEZ MIRANDA is an authority on women's empowerment, social impact, and sustainability. She serves as chair and former CEO of I.G. Advisors. This social impact intelligence agency consults with the world's most prominent nonprofits, foundations, and corporations on their philanthropy and social initiatives. Her clients include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and U.N. Women. She is co-author of 50 Years: Kinloch Lodge, and her writing has appeared in Vogue, Business Insider, Romper, and HuffPost, among others. At the beginning of 2020, she paused her career to pursue a series of internships – a challenging and humbling experience that she chronicles in My What If Year: A Memoir (Zibby Books).

JOSÉ M. FERNÁNDEZ PEQUEÑO es un ensayista y narrador nacido en Cuba. Actualmente vive y trabaja en Miami. Es autor de una veintena de libros, huellas en una carrera profesional especializada cada vez más en el cuento y la novela. Su trabajo reciente experimenta con lo sutil narrativo, seguro de que el contenido en un texto de ficción no es su argumento, sino la perspectiva desde la cual se cuenta esa historia. Sus últimos libros son Tantas razones para odiar a Emilia (novela, Ediciones Furtivas, 2021) y Se cortan chazo (cuentos, Banco Central de la República Dominicana, 2022). Llega a la Feria con el ensayo En el espíritu de las islas. Los tiempos cubanos de Max Henríquez Ureña (Ilíada Ediciones, 2023). Max Henríquez Ureña es muy poco conocido por la masa lectora en su país de origen, la República Dominicana. Muchos de sus mejores textos nunca habían sido impresos en el país; otros, se habían dado a conocer muy limitadamente; mientras que su poesía y su narrativa eran prácticamente ignoradas.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, M.J. FIÈVRE moved to the United States in 2002. She is the author of Happy, Okay? Poems about Anxiety, Depression, Hope, and Survival, and the writer behind the Badass Black Girl series. She helps others write their way through trauma, build community, and create social change. She works with veterans, disenfranchised youth, cancer patients and survivors, victims of domestic and sexual violence, minorities, the elderly, those with chronic illness or going through transition, and any underserved population in need of writing as a form of therapy – even if they don’t realize that they need it. She currently writes from Winter Garden, Florida.

MICHAEL FINKEL is the author of New York Times bestseller The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit, and True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa, which was adapted into a 2015 major motion picture produced by Brad Pitt and starring James Franco and Jonah Hill. His work has appeared  in several  publications,  including  National  Geographic,  GQ,  The Atlantic, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and The New York Times Magazine. His latest book is The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and Dangerous Obsession (Knopf).

STONA FITCH is the author of seven novels, including Dark Horse, Give + Take, and Senseless, the latter now an independent feature film, a graphic novel, and cult classic. Fitch is the founder of Concord Free Press, a revolutionary publishing house that publishes and distributes original novels throughout the world, asking only that readers make a voluntary donation to a charity or person in need. Since graduating from Princeton University, he has worked as a daily newspaper reporter, dishwasher, musician in a popular country-punk band, director of a nonprofit organic farm, and communications consultant. Fitch's latest novel is Death Watch (Concord Free Press – Arrow Editions).

CAT FITZPATRICK is co-editrix of the feminist publishing company LittlePuss Press. She is the author of the poetry collection Glamourpuss and The Call-Out: A Novel in Rhyme, and co-editor of the anthology Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction and Fantasy From Transgender Writers, which won the ALA Stonewall Book Award for Literature. She is also the director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Rutgers University-Newark. You can find her intermittently on X and Instagram @intermittentcat.

SAFON FLOYD is the executive editor at Callisto Publishing, an imprint of Sourcebooks, and host of the monthly Books & BS book club.

CAROLYN FORCHÉ is an American poet, editor, translator, activist, and a professor at Georgetown University. Her books of poetry are In the Lateness of the World, Blue Hour, The Angel of History, The Country Between Us, and Gathering the Tribes. In 2013, she received the Academy of American Poets Fellowship given for distinguished poetic achievement. In 2017, she became one of the first two poets to receive the Windham-Campbell Prize.

LEON FORD is an entrepreneur, author, international speaker, community organizer, and activist who has devoted his life to the betterment of his community and ending police brutality. He is the co-founder of The Hear Foundation, an organization that brings community leaders, Pittsburgh police, and residents together to build a safe, thriving community for all. He executive produced the Cannes Film Festival award-winning documentary Leon in 2019 and is a member of the Aspen Institute’s inaugural Civil Society Fellowship.

BEN FOUNTAIN is a former practicing attorney and the author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction; Brief Encounters with Che Guevara: Stories, winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award; and Beautiful Country Burn Again: Democracy, Rebellion, and Revolution. His nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, Le Monde, Texas Monthly, and elsewhere. His latest book, Devil Makes Three: A Novel (Flatiron Books), is a tale of greed and American complicities in Haiti.

BRAD FOX is a writer living in New York. His To Remain Nameless: A Novel, was published by Rescue Press in 2020. His stories, articles, and translations have appeared in The New Yorker, Guernica, The Public Domain Review, and in the Whitney Biennial. Fox has worked as a researcher and story consultant for novelists and filmmakers, and he had an earlier career as a journalist and relief worker in the Balkans, Mexico, the Arab world, and Turkey.