FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – A celebration of Central Valley books and authors will take place Saturday at the San Joaquin Valley Bookfest.
The third annual festival is a free, family-friendly celebration of literacy and regional literature and includes over 40 authors sharing stories across three stages.
WEBSITE: https://sjvbookfest.org/
This year, Dinuba native Manuel Muñoz, is the keynote speaker.
Other award-winners and nominees, include Margarita Engle, Joan Schoettler and Angelica Shirley Carpenter.
Newscaster Jim de la Vega will talk about his new novel.
The full literary program is offered in a family-friendly environment.
Presenting Authors 2026
Aideed Medina
Fresno Poet Laureate
Her work has appeared in various publications, including Issue #26 of The Common: Farmworkers Portfolio and Somos Xicanas Anthology, Riot of Roses Publishing House, and has been featured in Eclectic Collective theatrical productions, The Opera Remix, Fresno Grand Opera, and 559 Mural Project murals. She is the author of 31 Hummingbird, Editorial Xingao, Segmented Bodies, Prickly Pear Publishing, and a forthcoming binational chapbook, selected poems from Segmented Bodies/ Salmos de la Sierra Madre, with Aziz Córdova, published by Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico.
Alena A. Hairston
Alena A. Hairston is an author and college/university professor, specializing in English literature and composition, creative writing, African American Literature, social justice literature, humanities, and the social sciences. She has published award-winning works in poetry, fiction, hybrid genres, and nonfiction, most notably her first poetry collection The Logan Topographies and selections in the groundbreaking anthology Angles of Ascent: A Norton Anthology of Contemporary African American Poetry. Alena’s works have been published in journals and outlets such as Callaloo, Elixir Press, verse Wisconsin, Appalachian Heritage, nocturnes review, and KQED/NPR. She is the winner of Persea Books’ inaugural Lexi Rudnitsky Memorial Prize in Poetry and winner of the Rhode Island Council on the Arts Fellowship. She is a Cave Canem Fellow and an advisory board member for the University of Kentucky Press’ new book series, Appalachian Futures: Black, Native, and Queer Voices.
Alice Daniel
Alice Daniel is an award-winning journalist whose radio stories have aired on many NPR shows and local public radio stations all over the country. For KVPR, she created and produced the limited podcast series The Other California about small towns in the San Joaquín Valley. She has taught journalism at Fresno State and at Valley State Prison and is currently working on a memoir about friendship, longing, and the solace of storytelling; an excerpt from the book has been published in Wild Blue. Alice is a former Fulbright Scholar to the University of Ghana in Accra, and she holds a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Alyssa Jarrett
Alyssa Jarrett is a romance author who is busy writing happily-ever-afters. Her novel, Love Apptually, kicks off a five-book series of California-based rom-coms. When she’s not writing steamy, satirical love stories, she can be found drinking an iced tea or cuddling with her cats. Born and raised in Fresno, she holds an M.A. in Mass Communication and Journalism from CSU Fresno and currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can follow her @authoralyssajarrett on Instagram and subscribe to her newsletter, Grumpy + Sunshine, on Substack.
Angelica Shirley Carpenter
ANGELICA SHIRLEY CARPENTER’s recent titles include a young adult biography, Born
Criminal: Matilda Joslyn Gage, Radical Suffragist (South Dakota Historical Society Press,
2018), and two picture books, The Voice of Liberty (SDHSP, 2020) and The Secret Gardens of Frances Hodgson Burnett (Bushel & Peck, 2024). Her 2025 young adult biography is Arm in Arm: The Grimké Sisters Fight for Abolition and Women’s Rights (Lerner Zest Books). Curator emerita of the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children’s Literature at California State University, Fresno, she is a past president of the International Wizard of Oz Club. She has master’s degrees in education and library science. Here’s her website.
Angelina Leaños
Angelina Leaños is a queer Latina and a third-year graduate student in Fresno State’s MFA program, studying poetry. A Ventura County Youth Poet Laureate emerita, she serves as a Poetry Out Loud coach and a poet-teacher, mentoring youth in poetry recitation and creative writing. She also serves as a member of California Poets in the Schools’ board of directors, as managing editor of The Normal School magazine, and as an organizer with the Chicanx Writers and Artists Association. Angelina’s work has been published in Urban Word, Arkana, Poetry Daily, Reed Magazine, Wild Blue, and elsewhere.
Apryl Lewis
Apryl Lewis received her PhD in English from Texas Tech University in 2021. Her research interests center on contemporary African American literature, Black Feminist Studies, intersectionality, and trauma studies. Her book, Black Feminism and Traumatic Legacies Within Contemporary African American Literature (Lexington Books), examines select African American novels and applies trauma studies and Black Feminist Studies to advance scholarly discussions about an African American literary tradition that articulates the impact of slavery’s traumatic legacy over time.
Brenna Womer
Brenna Womer (she/they) is a queer, childfree, Latine prose writer, poet, and artist. They are an Assistant Professor of English at California State University, Fresno, where they teach in the MFA in Creative Writing program. They’re the author of the full-length, mixed-genre collections Unbrained (FlowerSong Press, 2023) and Honeypot (Spuyten Duyvil, 2019) as well as the chapbooks Atypical Cells of Undetermined Significance (C&R Press, 2018) and cost of living (Finishing Line Press, 2022). Their work has appeared in North American Review, Blackbird, Indiana Review, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, The Pinch, DIAGRAM, and elsewhere.
Brenna was a Visiting Assistant Professor of English at W&L University in rural Virginia where they served as interim Editor-in-Chief of Shenandoah, and at Louisiana State University. They hold an MFA in Creative Writing from Northern Michigan University and an MA in English and a BA in English Literature from Missouri State University.
Bryan Medina
Spoken word artist S. Bryan Medina is author of More Than Soil, Less Than Sand (2017) and the more recent Tears of a Man Transfixed (2025). His poetry has graced stages across California, Las Vegas, and Kansas City. Bryan founded the Inner Ear Open Mic, The Beat Down Slam, and Poetry and Pints Free Writer’s Workshop as a way to free poetry from the confines of academic institutions, making it accessible to all. Medina, a long-time art activist, has been awarded two City of Fresno Commendations for contributions to the rich artistic and cultural heritage in Fresno. His work has appeared in journals such as Flies, Cockroaches, and Poets, In the Grove, The San Joaquin Review, among others. In 2017, Medina was named Fresno County’s third Poet Laureate, continuing his significant literary presence in the Fresno community through readings, school visits, writing workshops and meetings with leaders throughout California.
Cecilia Madueña-Young
Cecilia Madueña-Young is an educator-turned-author with a passion for storytelling and lifelong learning. A wife and devoted mother of three, she brings warmth, patience and real life insight into her writing. Her work is grounded in family, community, and the belief that every story can teach.
Claire Annette Noland
As a child, Claire Annette Noland alway carried a notebook and pen as she searched for ideas to turn into stories. Her life’s work has been focused on children and books as a mother of four, children’s librarian, reading specialist, kindergarten teacher, and author.
Claire writes heart-filled stories that invite kids to think creatively and spread joy. Her books include the award-winning picture books Evie’s Field Day (2020), Raven’s Gift: A Feathered Flight of Faith (2023), and Nancy Bess Had a Dress (2024). Her latest picture book, A Knot of Frogs, A Passel of Hogs: Recess with Collective Nouns will launch in fall 2026. When not traveling, Claire writes from her home in Central California where she lives with her husband and her canine companion, Mr. Ernie. She still never leaves home without a notebook and pen.
Connie Patton
Connie (Owens) Patton is a writer living in California’s Central Valley. She was the recipient of a California Arts Council 2023 Individual Artist Fellowship in the category of Emerging Artist for the Central California Region. In 2025, she was a finalist in the National BlackBerry Peach Spoken and Written Word Contest.
Her debut chapbook of poetry, “Through a Tightly Coiled Lens”was self-published in 2024. To hear her work in spoken word listen on Soundcloud at Kaanee.
David R. Carrasco-Gomez
David R. Carrasco-Gomez is a writer and artist born in Fresno. He’s a second-year graduate student in Fresno State’s MFA program, studying poetry. David uses expressive practices and exploration to delve into the mysteries of consciousness and its relationship to and within the greater world. Themes of both darkness and light emerge in his writing: addiction, existential unease, religious trauma, ecstasy, reclaiming the divine, creation of meaning, reveling in mystery, and remembering the sublimity of the ever-churning now. His work has appeared in Flies, Cockroaches and Poets, hais: a literary journal, the San Joaquin Review, the Fresno City College Review, and Wild Blue. He can be found workshopping poetry with neighborhood cats, mockingbirds, and black widows, throughout the week ’round about midnight.
Edward Dennis
Edward Andres Dennis is an acclaimed Mexican-American author of the Boy from Mexico children’s book series. A former Special Education teacher and AmeriCorp member, Edward is deeply committed to empowerment through literacy and art, using his writing to reflect and celebrate the richness of the Mexican-American experience. He was a 2023 Latino Film Institute LatinX in Animation Spark Grant Finalist with Netflix and is currently pursuing the adaptation of his books into an animated series. Edward has been featured on major media outlets, including Univision, ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN en Español. His professional portfolio includes collaborations with brands such as Toyota USA, Sesame Street, Disney, and Paramount, and he has been featured in publications like Outside Magazine and Bicycling Magazine. He was recognized in the Hispanic Star Rising Stars Volume 3 for his contributions to Latino excellence.
Evy Singh
Evy Singh is a sophomore at Central High School West Campus and currently serves as the Inaugural Fresno County Youth Poet Laureate. She is of Mexican and Indian heritage, which shapes her voice and perspective as a poet, artist, and storyteller. She is passionate about poetry, painting, reading, and theatre performance, and finds inspiration in the people around her. Evy’s writing is deeply influenced by her family—her mom, dad, and two younger sisters—as well as the many teachers, librarians, and educators who have supported her journey. She is currently illustrating a children’s book entitled JJ’s Greenhouse, a story about how young people can nurture the world around them, inspired by childhood and community. In the future, Evy hopes to become a kindergarten teacher and a children’s book writer-illustrator, combining her love for storytelling, history, art, and theatre to inspire others.
Gabriela Valencia
Gabriela Valencia moved to the Central Valley two decades ago. She has always loved learning. In Mexico her school was a simple structure, just a covered patio with chairs. She cherished her single notebook and pencil, eager to learn to write the alphabet. Excelling in school earned her a trip to Mexico City–an unforgettable experience. She completed middle school and a year of high school before moving to the U.S. for a better future. Learning English was exciting, and she enrolled in Fresno Adult School to earn a janitorial certificate and ultimately completed her GED. Now an empty nester, she continues to be a lifelong learner, taking U.S. citizenship classes and exploring new technologies. Gabriela feels empowered by education and aspires to help others succeed. She asserts that struggles are just stepping stones to achieving dreams.
Janet Nichols Lynch
Janet Nichols Lynch is the author of 17 books, including a novel More to Life,
about the humor and challenges of growing old, and a children’s historical novel, Ellen
of Allensworth. Her young adult novels include Messed Up, a ALA Quick-Pick for
Reluctant Readers and a VOYA Top of the Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School
Readers; Racing California, a 2012 Society of School Librarians International Honor
Book; My Beautiful Hippie; Commie Pinko; and Wheel of Fire. Janet has also written
nonfiction for young readers including Clara Schumann, Pianist and Composer;
Florence Price, American Composer; and Elizabeth Warren and What It Takes to Run
for President. Her short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, Seventeen, and
elsewhere. Born and raised in Sacramento, Janet earned an MFA in Creative Writing from
Fresno State. She lives in Visalia with her husband, and they have two children, three
grandchildren, and three cats.
Jean Chaffee
Jean Chaffee grew up in Madera on a dairy ranch. Her family spent many happy times at the Roeding Park zoo with Nosey the elephant. She attended Fresno State College and received her Master’s at Fresno Pacific College in School Administration. But meeting Paul Chaffee, the zoo’s Veterinarian and Director, changed her life. She became involved and has been an active docent for 40 years. She created an outreach summer camp program called Zoo 2 You (Z2U) involving Edison School area youngsters. After her husband passed away, she wanted to learn more about Dr. Chaffee’s local, national and international contributions. She researched the zoo’s history and worked with with Ernie Hergenroeder, a local illustrator, to create seven children’s books based on animals at Fresno Chaffee Zoo. The latest book, Apes to Zebras to Nosey, 100 years of Fresno Chaffee Zoo History, arrives just as the zoo prepares to celebrate the Centennial in 2029.
Jefferson Beavers
Jefferson Beavers is a pocho writer born and raised in California’s San Joaquín Valley. For over 25 years, he has held leadership positions in editing, publishing, media, and arts administration. His recent writing has appeared in Abundance Literary Magazine, Behemoth, Dad Issues, and Flies, Cockroaches and Poets. Jefferson serves as publisher of the newly revived Scrub Jay Press, which aims to publish and promote the creative works of emerging writers and artists from Central California. The Scrub Jay catalog includes three volumes of Wild Blue, a zine edited by Marisa Mata; Yosemite Poets: A Gathering of This Place, an anthology edited by Bridget McGinniss Kerr; and poetry collections by Jon Veinberg, David R.C. Good, and Don Parkey. With Angela Chaidez Vincent and Ronald Dzerigian, Jefferson is co-editing a fourth-generation anthology of Fresno writers, forthcoming February 2027. He lives in Fresno with his wife and their longhaired chihuahua.
Jim De La Vega
Jim De La Vega is a critically acclaimed author and an award-winning journalist. His novels–penned under the name Jim Brown–have been published in 26 countries and translated into Russian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, and even Bulgarian. His first two novels, 24/7 and Black Valley, published by Random House, have both been optioned for film. He writes thrillers and novels of psychological suspense. He has just signed a new three-book deal that will feature his first series character, Dr. Cassidy Chord. This series will be published under the name Jim De La Vega. The first book in the series is My Life in Seconds. Jim is also a renowned broadcast journalist and has worked with NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox. And has covered serial killers and other criminals across the country. He is currently working on his next novel.
Joan Schoettler
Joan Schoettler earned a Master’s in Arts in Reading and Language at Fresno Pacific University. She taught children’s literature, storytelling, reading and writing in the Education Department at CSU, Fresno. She began writing for children after a career in sharing children’s literature with readers of all ages. Joan is an award-winning author of five picture books and one middle grade novel. A Doctor at Heart: A Story of Groundbreaking Scientist and Teacher Vivien Thomas is her latest picture book. (Available: May 12, 2026) Joan’s creativity is illuminated in her stories about nature, art, and artists. Joan’s writing demonstrates a global view as her stories traverse the world. When not writing, she can be found with family and friends, cycling in the countryside, and reading. Joan believes stories come to life when we pay attention to what we love, to stories that touch our lives, and to cherished experiences.
Joanna Clines
Joanna Clines was born and raised in Fresno, CA (except for a year in France and two
years in Lesotho, Southern Afica). She attended Fresno City College where she took an
introductory biology class taught by Bob Winter, and become enthralled with biology.
Having found her calling, Joanna earned a BA in Environmental Biology, then a
master’s in botany at CSU Fresno. Her thesis research was reproductive and fire
ecology of the rare shrub Carpenteria californica. She has been the Forest Botanist for
the Sierra National Forest since 1990. Joanna served on the statewide board of
directors of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) and the California Invasive Plant
Council. She was president of the Sequoia Chapter of CNPS during the 1990s. Joanna
began working on this book project with photographer Stephen Sharnoff in 2008. She
has lived in the Sierra Nevada north of Oakhurst for 26 years.
JP Rapozo
Joseph-Paul “JP” Rapozo is a writer, poet, director, performer, and educator whose work is rooted in the power of live storytelling. Raised in California’s Central Valley, he discovered early that theater could hold voices and truths often left unheard, and he has spent his life building work that brings those stories to the stage. He holds a BFA in Acting and an MFA in Writing for Theater and Media, blending performance, text, and pedagogy into a unified artistic practice. A three-time grand slam poetry champion, JP’s work is known for its emotional honesty, theatricality, and deep sense of humanity. As an educator with over 30 years of experience, he is passionate about mentoring the next generation, helping students find their voice and claim space in the world. His work centers the belief that storytelling is both an art form and a means of survival.
Kasie West
Kasie WEST is the author of 17 young adult books and counting, including SUNKISSED, BETTER THAN REVENGE, ON THE FENCE, PS I LIKE YOU and more. Her debut adult novel, WE MET LIKE THIS, received a starred review from Kirkus and was an Apple Best Books pick. Kasie’s books have been translated into over 20 languages. When not writing, you can find Kasie visiting her adult children, reading, bingeing television, or taking care of her growing collection of house plants. STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED is her second adult rom-com.
Kristin Rathmann Telles
Kristin served as the chair of the Creek Fire Storytelling Project, a project of the Central Sierra Resiliency Fund and the Museum of the Sierra in Shaver Lake, CA. As a child, Kristin was frustrated about not being able to get information about the WWII airplane in the bottom of Huntington Lake. When the Creek Fire broke out in September 2020, Kristin felt strongly about preserving stories of the experience so that future generations would have access to information about this very significant local history event. She also wanted community members to have the opportunity to tell their stories, and have those stories preserved. This book is the result of that multi-year community-based project, approximately sixty-five stories collected, compiled, organized, photo-illustrated and edited by Kristin and the Creek Fire Storytelling Project team.
Kwamise Fletcher
Kwamise Fletcher, known on stages nationwide as LadyK, is a powerhouse spoken-word poet, educator, and performer whose work braids vulnerability, grit, and unapologetic Black womanhood. A nationally ranked competitive poet and the 2025 Grand Slam Champion with Loudmouth Poetry Slam, LadyK delivers pieces that move seamlessly from sniper-sharp precision to machine-gun intensity. Her poetry explores identity, faith, race, body image, mental health, perimenopause, and the sacred work of self-reclamation.
Lilibeth Jimenez
Lilibeth Jimenez is a Mexican-American artist. She graduated from Cogswell College with a B.A in Digital Art and Animation, with a focus on entertainment design. She is a children’s book author-illustrator and a background painter in animation. Lilibeth was born and raised in the central valley surrounded by the sunny agricultural fields of California. Growing up as the youngest of five in an immigrant household, family has always been very important to her and has become a huge focus of her work. She loves to illustrate colorful stories, with whimsical settings that showcase the fun memories of childhood and the tender moments between family. Cultural representation in media is something she strives to achieve with her work. She is currently based in Central California.
Ma. Fabiana Sandoval Rubio
Ma. Fabriana Sandoval Rubio is an author of both fiction and poetry. She has published three novels, Cruz de Caminos (honorable mention from the International Latino Book Awards), La Maestra del Traficante, La Victima and a book of short stories, Vidas Extremas. She has published two books of poetry, Corazón Púrpura and Con las Alas Rotas, and has had several poems included in anthologies from different countries. In 2023 Ma. Fabiana received a recognition for her poem “Mujer Campesina” in Fresno, Ca. Ma. Fabiana is a member of The Cove/Rincon Corp., an organization championing International Poetry and other Arts in Miami, Florida.
Manuel Muñoz
Manuel Muñoz is the author of three collections of short stories: The Consequences, published by Graywolf Press in 2022, The Faith Healer of Olive Avenue and Zigzagger. A novel, What You See in the Dark, was published in 2011. His work is widely recognized for its attention to class, place, and the emotional lives and experiences of his characters. In 2023 Muñoz received a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship for “depicting with empathy and nuance the Mexican-American communities of California’s Central Valley” and won the 2023 Joyce Carol Oates Prize. He is also the recipient of a Whiting Writers Award, three O. Henry Awards, and has appeared twice in The Best American Short Stories and other notable anthologies. A native of Dinuba, California, Muñoz is Professor in the Department of English at the University of Arizona-Tucson.
Margarita Engle
Margarita Engle is the Cuban-American author of many verse novels, including Wild Dreamers, a Pura Belpré Honor book that was also long listed for the National Book Award. Wings in the Wild received an International Latino Book Award Gold Medal, and The Surrender Tree, received a Newbery Honor. Margarita is the recipient of Pura Belpré Medals, Walter Honors, Américas Awards, the NSK Neustadt Prize and others. Margarita served as the national 2017-2019 Young People’s Poet Laureate. Her newest picture books include Hopeful Heroes and Christiana Figueres, Friend of the Rain Forest. Her most recent verse novels are Island Creatures and Evamar. Margarita was born in Los Angeles, but developed a deep attachment to her mother’s homeland during childhood summers with relatives on the island. She studied agronomy and botany along with creative writing, and now lives in central California with her entomologist husband and soccer-playing Border Collie.
Marisol Baca
Marisol Baca is the author of a book of poems called Tremor, and she was named Fresno’s first woman and first Chicana/Latinx Poet Laureate for 2019-2021. Marisol’s poem about the naming of Fresno has been designated the city’s official poem. Marisol Baca’s poetry has been published in Narrative Northeast, Riverlit, Shadowed: An Anthology of Women Writers and The Acentos Review, among others. She was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and later settled in Fresno, California. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Cornell and is a professor of English at Fresno City College.
Matt Abraham
Awarded Pulp Detective’s Best Newcomer of 2015, Matt Abraham currently lives in Stockton, California where he splits his time between being a father, husband, and author. Currently he’s finishing his series, The Black Cape Case Files, which follows Dane Curse, a former villain turned PI, as he navigates the powered underbelly of Gold Coast City, and Northland Mysteries which stars Detective Jake Carter and his partner Dr. Nafissa Rayan. You can find him at mattabrahambooks.
Megan Bohigian
Megan Anderson Bohigian served as the City of Fresno Poet Laureate from 2021-2023. She has an MFA from Fresno State, and has taught creative writing and poetry at all levels.
Her poems are widely published in journals, including Salt, Whiskey Island Magazine, and The Comstock Review, and have been anthologized. Her books of poems include Sightlines (Tourane Poetry Press, 2013) and Vanishing Point, (Orchard Street Press, 2019). She is active in the Fresno writing community, giving readings, teaching workshops, and speaking about Fresno poetry to anyone who will listen. For fourteen years she curated the poet and author readings for the Respite by the River events of the San Joaquin River Parkway. Recently she has organized protest poetry readings at the Fresno Arts Council’s gallery space.
Merry Miller-Gass
Merry is a children’s book illustrator who believes stories have the power to heal and connect. Her work blends humor, heart, and a touch of whimsy, celebrating individuality, empathy, and community. She has illustrated several traditionally published picture books (and one very handy self-published Picture Book Planner for fellow creators). Her art has appeared in magazines and galleries throughout California, from cozy bookshops to bright community spaces.
Michele Mills
Top 40 Amazon Bestselling author Michele Mills has an obsession with all things science fiction and monster romance. She is known for her bestselling rom-com series Monsters Love Curvy Girls and the spin-off, Monster Bites. To her husband’s horror, Michele left behind a twenty-year teaching career to write steamy romance full time and is now happily the author of 50 books and counting. She lives in California with her husband, younger son, and two spoiled cats. You can find her at: https://beacons.page/authormichelemills
Prince Marshall
Prince Marshall is an educator, leader, and author whose journey from janitor to Assistant Superintendent fuels his passion for purposeful leadership. With more than 20 years in education as a teacher, administrator, National University Adjunct, and district leader, he is committed to building systems that serve students, families, and communities with intention and heart. Prince is the founder of DaGroundUp LLC (DGU), a leadership brand rooted in resilience, growth, and legacy. Through his writing, speaking, and creative projects, he challenges others to value the unseen work that shapes real success. A graduate of Fresno State, he believes leadership is less about titles and more about impact. Whether in the classroom, boardroom, or community, Prince brings an asset-based lens, collaborative spirit, and steady belief that greatness is built from the ground up.
Roh Morgan
Roh Morgon writes fantasy, supernatural suspense, and horror for adult, young adult, and middle grade readers. She is best known for her supernatural suspense series, THE CHOSEN and WORLD OF THE CHOSEN, and is a past winner of the International Vampire Film & Arts Festival Silver Stake Award. Roh dreams up her dark tales while driving and hiking through California’s Sierra Nevada foothills, but it’s her time spent in more remote locales—the soaring peaks of Colorado, the windswept plains of Wyoming, the mysterious Carpathian Mountains of Romania—that provides the settings for her stories and opens the door into hidden worlds filled with seductive, lethal creatures and the secret lives they lead. Based in Central California, Roh shares her home with her very patient husband and an extremely demanding cat who helps her write by periodically walking on the keyboard. You can find Roh online here: https://linktr.ee/Author_Roh_Morgon
Samina Najmi
Samina Najmi teaches multiethnic US literature at California State University, Fresno. Her memoir-in-essays, Sing Me a Circle: Love, Loss, and a Home in Time, won the Aurora Polaris Award in Creative Nonfiction and was published by Trio House Press in Oct, 2025. It has received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and is featured among Poets & Writers’ five nonfiction debuts of the year and Debutiful’s Best Nonfiction Debuts of 2025. The Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) includes it among notable 2025 nonfiction debutsand its recommended reading lists for Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month 2025 and Women’s History Month 2026. Daughter of multiple migrations, Samina grew up in Pakistan and England, began her American life in Boston, and has called Fresno home since 2006.
Steven Banbury
Steven Banbury is the bestselling author of the Pumpkin Princess series. He currently lives surrounded by farmland in Central California alongside his legend of a wife and their annoyingly cute dog.
Yeiri Farias
