Windell Campbell

Windell Campbell taught school for 41 years and was selected as Teacher of the Year. As a storyteller, he has performed at hundreds of summer reading program events and at storytelling festivals throughout the south, as well as been featured at prestigious conferences and events in Florida. He also appeared at the Exchange Place at the eNational Storytelling Festival. His storytelling shows reach both children and adults with their memorable tales, including the expert use of puppets.

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Kelley McNeil

Kelley McNeil worked in the entertainment industry promoting concert tours and theatrical events for more than a decade before turning her attention to writing. She loves telling stories with a good pen and good music on hand, often with her two daughters bopping along nearby. She’s a native of Pittsburgh, but you can find Kelley living in South Florida most of the time and in London the rest of the time.

Her latest novel, A Day Like This, reached #1 as an Amazon Bestseller in numerous categories, including magical realism.

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Neal Marshall Stevens

Neal Marshall Stevens has been working in the entertainment industry for over three decades, writing, producing and working as a story editor for more than 50 produced motion pictures. He has also worked on several recent web series including Trophy Heads and Ravenwolf Towers. His screenplay “Deader” was produced by Dimension Pictures as Hellraiser: Deader and he wrote the screenplay for Dark Castle’s remake of Thirteen Ghosts.

In addition to his work as a screenwriter, Neal has been teaching for the last 8 years for Script University and works as an associate professor in graduate-level screenwriting courses.

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John Yorke

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John Yorke is Managing Director of both Angel Station and John Yorke Story, where he works as a drama producer, consultant, and lecturer on all forms of storytelling. A former MD of Company Pictures where he executive produced Wolf Hall, he’s worked as both Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production. As a commissioning editor slash executive producer, he championed huge British hits such as Life On Mars, The Street, Shameless, and Bodies. In 2005 he created the BBC Writers Academy, a year-long in-depth training scheme that has produced a generation of successful television writers, many who have gone on to have their own shows. 

The author of INTO THE WOODS, the biggest-selling screenwriting book in the UK for the last six years, John is a double BAFTA winner (as programme maker) and multi BAFTA winner (as commissioner). He consults on narrative across all broadcasting platforms and is also Visiting Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  He lives in London but works as a story consultant worldwide.

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Irene Hannon

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Irene Hannon is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than sixty contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels. She is also a three-time winner of the RITA award—the “Oscar” of romance fiction—from Romance Writers of America and is a member of that organization’s elite Hall of Fame. Her many other awards include National Readers’ Choice, Daphne du Maurier, Retailers’ Choice, Booksellers’ Best, Carol, and Reviewers’ Choice from RT Book Reviews magazine, which also honored her with a Career Achievement award for her entire body of work. In addition, she is a two ­time Christy award finalist. Millions of her books have been sold worldwide, and her novels have been translated into multiple languages. Irene, who holds a BA in psychology and an MA in journalism, juggled two careers for many years until she gave up her executive corporate communications position with a Fortune 500 company to write full-time. She and her husband make their home in Missouri.

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Allie Esiri

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Allie Esiri is a #1 children’s poetry author who has written numerous books, including one that was recommended reading for the U.K.'s National Poetry Day on October 7th, 2021. Her books have sold over 250,000 copies in hardback and been featured in the top five poetry titles in England every year since 2016. In addition to her writing, she also promotes live poetry performances and has served as a judge for numerous poetry competitions. She is an accomplished curator and host of live poetry events that have featured some of England’s best-known actors - from Helena Bonham Carter to Dominic West - at the National Theatre, the Bridge Theatre, and a number of major literary festivals. Allie lives in London with her husband and three children.

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Jessica Strawser

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Jessica Strawser is editor-at-large for Writer’s Digest, where during her decade as editorial director she became known for in-depth interviews with such talents as David Sedaris and Alice Walker. She is the author of the book club favorites Almost Missed You, Not That I Could Tell - a Book of the Month bestseller - Forget You Know Me, and A Million Reasons Why, which was named to Most Anticipated lists from Goodreads, SheReads, Frolic,  and E! News ahead of its March 2021 release. In addition to her novels, she has written for The New York Times, Modern Love, and Publishers Weekly, and is a popular speaker at writing conferences nationwide. Her fifth novel, The Next Thing You Know, is coming March 2022. She lives with her husband and two children in Cincinnati. 

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Robert Dugoni

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Robert Dugoni is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite police series, which has sold more than 8 million books worldwide. In addition to being a two-time finalist for the International Thriller Award, the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, the Silver Falchion Award for mystery, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award, Robert is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction and the Friends of Mystery Spotted Owl Award for Best Novel Set in the Pacific Northwest. His narration of his novel The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell won an AudioFile Earphones Award, and several of his novels have also been optioned for movies and television series. Robert's latest book, The World Played Chess, released on September 14, 2021.

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John Long

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John Long is one of the world’s top adventure writers and storytellers as well as a legendary rock climber. He’s written more than a dozen books on climbing and penned numerous stories for magazines and other publications. With more than 3 million books in print, he has a knack for not just spinning a yarn but also moving readers with his poignant and thrilling adventures. His most recent book, Icarus Syndrome, is a collection of autobiographical short stories and released in the first half of 2021.

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