| Author | Biography | Book Cover(s) |
|---|---|---|
Shari Maser | Shari Maser Piracha is the author of the non-fiction book Blessingways: A Guide to Mother centered Baby Showers-Celebrating Pregnancy, Birth, and Motherhood. She wrote this “how-they” book for women when she was a childbirth educator who was also pregnant herself. Later as the homeschooling mother of two bookworms, she started writing children's stories. Her fiction story The Memory Tree was published in baby bug magazine, and she hopes to publish a picture book someday too. Now that Shari’s children are grown, she serves as an independent educational consultant and founder of YouQuest College Advising, as well as part of the student services team at Washtenaw Community College. When she is not busy supporting students, she enjoys playing Scrabble and ping pong, reading lots of books, walking with dogs or other humans in all kinds of Michigan weather, and traveling the world. |  |
Kelly Hoppenjans | Singer-songwriter Kelly Hoppenjans creates empowering rock, combining the spirit of riot grrrl tinged with folky introspection. The follow-up to her energetic 2019 full-length debut, OK, I Feel Better Now, her new EP Can’t Get the Dark Out dives deep into relationships, fate, and breaking free of toxic patterns. The EP is inspired in part by Hoppenjans’ journey of finding love during the pandemic: navigating online dating, confinement, and impending life changes to sustain that love. Kelly authored Kelly Hoppenjans Takes Herself Too Seriously, A Collection of Poems, Music, Lyrics and Some Real Arty Shit. "In contrast to what the title says, Hoppenjans brings a playfulness by including drawings, handwritten notes, and QR codes on the pages of the book. Poems and lyrics are distinct but morph into one form or the other when on the page or sung in a recording." —A2Pulp |  |
Kimberley Barker | Kimberley Barker holds a Ph.D. in organization development from Benedictine University, Lisle, IL, and an MBA from Hawai’i Pacific University, Honolulu, HI. She has had extensive experience in organization development and change, cultural competence, human resources, global leadership, dilemma reconciliation, influence and negotiation management, teams, business research, and global communication. She teaches as a Full-Time Lecturer at Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan. Her latest book is now available, “YOU Can Create Positive Change at Work,” by Kimberley Barker and Mary Ceccanese. |  |
Shanna K. Kattari | Shanna K. Kattari, PhD, MEd, CSE, ACS (they/them/theirs) is an associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, in the Women’s and Gender Studies Department, and is the director of the [Sexuality | Relationships | Gender] Research Collective. A white, Jewish, nonbinary, disabled, chronically ill, neurodivergent, polyamorous, queer fat Femme, their practice and community background is as a board-certified sexologist, certified sexuality educator, and social justice activist. Dr. Kattari’s research focuses on three areas that often overlap; disability & ableism, sexuality & sexual health, and queer & trans affirming practice. Dr. Kattari also explores experiences of sexuality in marginalized communities, most notably disabled adults, LGBTQIA2S+ individuals, those practicing non-monogamy, and those practicing kink/Leather/BDSM. In their free time, they love to cook, garden, read, and DM a neuroqueer party of D&D. They live in Ypsilanti, and co-partner three opinionated cats and one sassy pitbull with their two partners. | |
Bethany Grey | Bethany Grey is an author and dietitian living in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Her passion for storytelling began with her grandmother and matured during college, after life experience amplified the relatability of a good coming-of-age narrative. She is a graduate of Michigan State University and earned a Master of Nutrition from Case Western Reserve University. Her articles are published in Food & Nutrition Magazine. She holds a special affinity for strong matriarchs and spiritual quests, both found within her debut novel, All That We Encounter. |  |
Lindsay-Jean Hard | Lindsay-Jean Hard is the IACP award-nominated author of Cooking with Scraps: Turn Your Peels, Cores, Rinds, and Stems into Delicious Meals (inspired by her Food52 column of the same name) and co-author of a Zingerman's Bakehouse cookbook (Fall 2023). She’s a copywriter at Zingerman’s Creative Services in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she shares her passion for great food, sustainability, and community. |  |
John F. Buckley | John F. Buckley (he/him) came from Michigan, went to California for a couple of decades, and then returned to Ann Arbor, where he attended the Helen Zell Writers' Program before becoming a lecturer in the English department at the University of Michigan. His publications include several hundred poems, two chapbooks, the collection Sky Sandwiches, and with Martin Ott, Poets’ Guide to America and Yankee Broadcast Network. He needs to update his personal website. He’s the fiction editor for the journal Third Wednesday. Once he regains his gumption, he'd like to return to attending (and sometimes performing at) local literary events. | |
Dan Romanchik | Dan Romanchik has been an Ann Arbor resident for more than 35 years and an amateur radio | |
Marianne K. Martin | Marianne K. Martin is one of the best-selling lesbian romance authors in the history of the genre, and her books have gained a wide international readership. She is the author of eleven novels. Her highly successful novels include the Lambda Literary Award finalists Tangled Roots, Under the Witness Tree, Mirrors, and For Now, For Always. In 2012, she was honored with the Trailblazer Award from the Golden Crown Literary Society and in 2013 she was inducted into the Saints & Sinners Hall of Fame. Marianne is also one of the founding partners of Bywater Books. Her responsibilities include managing general operations, as well as the Bywater Prize for Fiction, and working with Bywater’s new writers. | |
Crysta K. Coburn | Crysta K. Coburn has been writing award-winning stories for most of her life. Her first short story was published at the age of sixteen after winning runner-up in a local writing contest. She earned her bachelor's degree in creative writing from Western Michigan University in 2005. She is a journalist, fiction writer, poet, playwright, editor, podcast co-host, and one-time rock lyricist. She served as editor for The Queen of Clocks and Other Steampunk Tales; Cogs, Crowns, and Carriages; and Gears, Ghouls, and Gauges (the latter two with Phoebe Darqueling). | |
| Author | Biography | Book Cover(s) |
