Phillip Lopate has written over twenty books, most recently, the essay collections Portrait Inside My Head and To Show and to Tell: the Craft of Literary Nonfiction. He has also edited the anthology Art of the Personal Essay, and directs the MFA nonfiction program at Columbia University.

Joyce Maynard is the author of fourteen books, including the novel To Die For and the best-selling memoir, At Home in the World—translated into twelve languages. Her novel, Labor Day, is currently being developed as a motion picture to be adapted and directed by Jason Reitman. Her latest novel is The Good Daughters. 

Ann Hood is the author of thirteen books, including most recently the novels The Obituary Writer and The Knitting Circle, and the memoir, Comfort: A Journey Through Grief. She has been the recipient of two Pushcart Prizes and Best American Spiritual, Travel, and Food Writing Awards.

Jayne Anne Phillips, author of Quiet Dell, Lark and Termite, MotherKind, Shelter, Machine Dreams, Fast Lanes, and Black Tickets, is a National Book Award and two-time NBCC finalist. Distinguished Professor of English, she directs the Rutgers University-Newark MFA program.

Jill McCorkle is the author of four short story collections and six novels including her most recent, Life After Life. Her stories have appeared in various periodicals as well as Best American Short Stories and The Norton Anthology. She teaches at NC State and in the writing program at Bennington College.