Don Rearden is an associate professor at the University of Alaska and board president for the 49 Alaska Writing Center. He is a produced screenwriter and recently New Bedford Whaling Museum scholar-in-residence. His novel The Raven's Gift reflects his up-bringing in Yupik communities in Alaska.

Seth Kantner wrote Shopping for Porcupine and the novel Ordinary Wolves. His writing focuses on the Arctic: animals, wilderness, and native villages. His essays have appeared nationwide and he is the recipient of a Whiting and other awards and presently  a columnist for The Anchorage Daily News.

Bryan Allen Fierro is the recipient of the 2013 Maureen Egen Writer’s Exchange Contest for fiction for his story, "100% Cherokee," His stories have appeared in Copper Nickel and Quarterly West.

Leigh Newman is the author of the Alaskan memoir Still Points North. Her stories and essays have appeared in One Story, Tin House, Fiction, The New York Times, Vogue, and Bookforum. She co-founded Black Balloon Publishing and is the deputy and books editor of Oprah.com.