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FEATURED GUESTS

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Kristen Arnett is the queer author of With Teeth: A Novel (Riverhead Books, 2021) which was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in fiction and the New York Times bestselling debut novel Mostly Dead Things (Tin House, 2019) which was also a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in fiction and was shortlisted for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. She was awarded a Shearing Fellowship at Black Mountain Institute, has held residencies at Ragdale Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, the Millay Colony, and the Key West Literary Seminar (upcoming 2024), and was longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize recognizing mid-career writers of fiction. Her work has appeared at The New York Times, TIME, The Cut, Oprah Magazine, Vox, Guernica, Buzzfeed, McSweeneys, PBS Newshour, The Guardian, Salon, and elsewhere. Her next novel, CLOWN, will be published by Riverhead Books (Penguin Random House), followed by the publication of an untitled collection of short stories. She has a Masters in Library and Information Science from Florida State University and lives in Orlando, Florida.

Paula G. Akinwole is a poet and storyteller from Richmond, Virginia. Owner of PGARTistry LLC, she works as a writing teacher, guest speaker, and is the chief editor of the internationally recognized blog "For Lack Of Better Words." She is the author of poetry books “Under” and “Parables & The Gold Plated Things.” Her work has been published multiple times and produced by The Billie Holiday Theater and You Had Me At Black. With a passion for artistic personal expression and exploration, she uses speculative fiction and poetry to tell life’s story and explore the lesson’s life seeks to teach.

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Amanda is a high school English teacher and the Outdoors Writer for Cooperative Living Magazine. She holds an undergraduate degree in German, English, and Secondary Education from Michigan State University, and a graduate degree in Creative Writing from the University of Denver.

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Her work appears in three Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and her poetry, outdoor journalism, and nature photography have earned recognition from The Poetry Society of Virginia and Virginia Outdoor Writers Association.

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When she isn’t writing, she enjoys hiking, walking, and standup paddleboarding with her dogs, as well as running and reading. A member of James River Writers, the Poetry Society of Virginia, and Virginia Outdoor Writers Association, she resides in Virginia, with her husband, Archie the parrot, and two rescue dogs, Nacho and Soda, chihuahua mix littermates who rule the house.

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Yasmeen Jaaber is a Black queer academic. In 2023, they were an Iftekhar Entrepreneurial Fellow for their work on ROVER magazine. They currently spend their time reading, healing and gossiping!

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Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya is a lesbian writer of essays, short stories, and pop culture criticism living in Orlando. She is the author of Helen House (Burrow Press 2022), a queer horror novelette. She is the managing editor of Autostraddle and the managing editor of TriQuarterly. Her short stories appear in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Catapult, The Offing, Joyland, The Rumpus, and others. She was a 2021 nonfiction fellow and a 2023 speculative fiction writer in residence at Lambda Literary's Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices. She is currently a Tin House Reading Fellow.

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Cooper Wyatt (he/him) is a junior musical theatre major at Appomattox Regional Governor’s School. He has been in shows around the community and some of his favorites are She Loves Me (Arpad) with Homefront Players, The Prom (Nick/Barry u/s) with JFT, and Urinetown (Tiny Tom/Dr. Billeaux) at ARGS. He takes voice lessons at James Taylor Studios and this year he is a part of SPARC's touring ensemble. He is the secretary of ARGS's chapter of ITS. He also participates in NEHS, GLI, World Languages Club, and Outdoor Sports Club.

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Cooper will be reading the first page selections at the First Pages panel!

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