Back to Back Books Headlining Authors
Additional Authors In Attendance
Alvarez is the award-winning author of ten novels. Her young adult thrillers have been translated across the globe, and her children’s series features wild flying horses. She’s an English Literature alum from UC Berkeley, an avid SCBWI volunteer, a writing coach, and a speaker. When Jennifer’s not plotting stories, she’s hiking, daydreaming, or both.
David Arnold is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Mosquitoland, I Loved You in Another Life, The Electric Kingdom, Kids of Appetite, Luminous Beings, and The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik. He has won the Southern Book Prize and the Great Lakes Book Award, and was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start for his debut. His books have been translated into over a dozen languages.
David Bell is the New York Times bestselling author of eighteen novels. His work has been translated into numerous foreign languages, included on several bestseller lists, nominated for the Pushcart Prize five times, and, in 2013, won the prestigious Prix Polar International de Cognac for best crime novel by an international author. He lives in Bowling Green, KY with his wife, YA author M Hendrix.
Ashley Blooms (they/she) is the author of Where I Can’t Follow, which was a finalist for the Weatherford Award, and Every Bone a Prayer, which was long-listed for the Crook’s Corner Book Prize. She’s a graduate of the Clarion Writer’s Workshop and received their MFA as a John and Renee Grisham Fellow from the University of Mississippi. They were recently named the 2024 South Arts State Fellow for Kentucky for their third novel-in-progress.
Sharon Cameron is the #1 NYT best-selling author of seven award-winning novels, including The Light in Hidden Places (2020), Bluebird (2021) and her newest book Artifice, publishing November 7, 2023. Sharon’s books have won the Parents’ Choice Gold Award, the Westchester Fiction Award, and the Junior Library Guild’s Gold Standard Award.
Nancy Wayson Dinan is a native Texan who currently lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Her first novel, Things You Would Know If You Grew Up Around Here, was longlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. She currently directs the MFA program at Western Kentucky University.
Ann H. Gabhart has been called a storyteller. With 39 published books, the title fits. Ann wraps her stories around historical times and settings in her home state of Kentucky. She’s written about the Shakers in The Refuge, The Outsider and more, gone to the Appalachian Mountains for These Healing Hills, An Appalachian Summer, and Along a Storied Trail, mined her family history for Angel Sister, Scent of Lilacs and others.
M Hendrix (she/her) is the author of The Chaperone (Sourcebooks Fire), which earned a starred review from Booklist and was a Parnassus Books bestseller. M earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University before studying creative writing in graduate school, receiving her MA from Miami University and her PhD from the University of Cincinnati, where she was a Taft Fellow. She has been nominated five times for the Pushcart Prize and was shortlisted for the Aesthetica creative writing award.
Tom C. Hunley is the author of eight full-length poetry collections, eight chapbooks, and two textbooks. He has also written two short films that are making their way through the festival circuit. He divides his time between Kansas and Oz.
James A. Hunter is a full-time Inkslinger, a member of SFWA, and the bestselling author of Vigil Bound, Rogue Dungeon, Shadowcroft Academy, Bibliomancer (The Completionist Chronicles Expanded Universe), and the litRPG epic Viridian Gate Online! In addition to writing, James also runs Shadow Alley Press, a publishing company that specializes in LitRRP, Gamelit, and Progression Fantasy.
Lauren Kung Jessen is a mixed-race Chinese-American writer with a fondness for witty, flirtatious dialogue and making meals with too many steps but lots of flavor. She is fascinated by myths and superstitions and how ideas, beliefs, traditions, and stories evolve over time. She also has a food and film blog, A Dash of Cinema, where she makes food inspired by movies and TV shows.
USA Today bestselling author Alisha Klapheke wants to infuse readers’ lives with unique magic, far-flung fantasy settings, and romance. Her inspiration springs from an obsession with history, years of world travel, and the fantasy she grew up reading when she was supposed to be doing her math homework.
Mariama J. Lockington is an adoptee, author, and educator. She has been telling stories and making her own books since the second grade, when she wore shortalls and flower leggings every day to school. Mariama’s middle-grade debut, For Black Girls Like Me, earned five starred reviews and was a Today Show Best Kids’ Book of 2019. Her debut young adult novel, Forever is Now, is the 2024 winner of the Schneider Family Book Award for Teens.
Meredith Lyons grew up in New Orleans, collecting two degrees from Louisiana State University before running away to Chicago to be an actor. In between plays, she got her black belt and made martial arts and yoga her full-time day job. She fought in the Chicago Golden Gloves, ran the Chicago Marathon, and competed for team U.S.A. in the savate world championships in Paris. Her first novel Ghost Tamer is an Amazon Editor’s Pick for Best SciFi Fantasy.
Wes Molebash is the creator of several popular webcomics, most notably You’ll Have That (Viper Comics) and Molebashed (self-published). He’s also created cartoons for companies and organizations such as The Ohio State University, Target, and PBS Kids. Wes is the cartoonist of the graphic novel series, Travis Daventhorpe For the Win!, published by First Second Books.
Shawn Pryor’s (he/him) work includes the middle-grade graphic novel Fast Break (FSG/Macmillan, 2025), the hi/lo reader series The Gamer (Capstone Publishing), Cash and Carrie (Action Lab Entertainment), and several books for Capstone’s Jake Maddox Sports and Adventure series, Graphic Library, and the Kids Sports series.
Erica Rodgers lives with her husband, two children, and one very lovable, frenetic pit bull mix. When she isn’t writing or talking story over coffee (or tacos), you can find her in the woods or beneath an ever-growing pile of bookish quilting fabric.
Lauren Thoman writes speculative fiction for teens and adults. Her debut novel, I’ll Stop the World, was selected for publication in 2023 by six-time Emmy nominee Mindy Kaling through her eponymous imprint, Mindy’s Book Studio. Lauren’s pop culture writing has also appeared in numerous online outlets including Parade and Vulture.
Sylvia Ahrens is the author of seven collections of poetry, writes the Family Tree Cozy Mystery series, and works as a mentor at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. A retired English professor, she lived the back-to-the-land lifestyle for almost four decades before moving to Lexington, KY. She has won grants from The Kentucky Foundation for Women, and writes as Allison Thorpe.
Kristin O’Donnell Tubb is the award-winning author of eleven middle grade novels, including Fowl Play, The Decomposition of Jack, Luna Howls at the Moon, Zeus, Dog of Chaos, The Story Collector series, and A Dog Like Daisy. Kristin lives near Nashville, Tennessee with her bouncy-loud family.
Scout Underhill (they/them) is a storyteller who enjoys weaving a tale through sequential art. Seeing the world as comics allows them to appreciate many small joys and to remain ever curious about nature, art, and life. Kirkus Reviews calls their debut graphic novel, DNDoggos Get the Party Started, “A smart, endearing tale packed with adorable dogs and useful tips for role-playing game newcomers.”
Julian Vaca is the author of the critically-acclaimed Young Adult series Memory Index. He is also a Daytime Emmy winning–writer for PBS’s Reconnecting Roots. Julian lives in Nashville with his family, where he’s hard at work on his next book.
Jessica Young is an award-winning author of books for young readers, including Two Homes, One Heart; I’ll Meet You in Your Dreams; My Blue Is Happy; Play This Book; the Haggis and Tank Unleashed series; and the Fairylight Friends series. A former art teacher, she loves sharing the creative process with students. Jessica grew up in Canada and lives in Tennessee with her family.
Brenna Yovanoff is the New York Times Bestselling author of The Replacement, The Space Between, Paper Valentine, and Fiendish. She spent her formative years in Arkansas, in a town heavily populated by snakes, where sometimes they would drop turkeys out of the sky. Her most recent novel, Places No One Knows, is out now.