| Author | Biography | Book Cover(s) |
|---|---|---|
Liz Crowe | A Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville living in South Carolina, Liz Crowe lived in Ann Arbor for almost 20 years. Many of Liz’s books take place in southeast Michigan, and one in Ann Arbor specifically. She's spent her time as a three-continent expat trailing spouse, mom of three, real estate agent, brewery owner and bar manager, and is currently a digital marketing and fundraising consultant, in addition to being an award-winning author. With stories set in breweries, on the soccer pitch, inside fictional television stations and successful real estate offices, and even in exotic locales like Istanbul, Turkey, her books are compelling and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete casts of characters that will delight and linger in the imagination long after the book is finished. | |
Linda Cotton Jeffries | My name is Linda Cotton Jeffries and I grew up in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. I attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and for over thirty years, I taught special education in a variety of settings. I retired from teaching in 2016 and since then have gone from writing part time to writing full time. My first novels, We Thought We Knew You and Who We Might Be, were published by Fifth Avenue Press in Ann Arbor, Michigan. My novel Seeing in the Quiet was published October 1st 2021 by Sunbury Press. Strong women, suspense, and romance are the elements I most enjoy writing about! | |
Brian Love | Brian Love and Mike Burns, co-authors of Corked, both have day jobs as academics at the University of Michigan, Brian in Engineering and Mike in Medicine. They wanted to consider how different it would be to write short form content than what constitutes normal communication as part of their day jobs as Professor and Clinician. Brian had saved up a lot of stories that formed the backbone of the content, and it was a matter of doing the analytics dive to resolve what actually mattered in linking with the stories. Hence Corked. Brian has been at Michigan since 2008, and worked at Virginia Tech in Engineering from 1993 prior till his arrival in Ann Arbor. Brian is seen around town getting coffee, engaging with his kids sports which included diving and baseball, and occasionally playing tennis when not afflicted by arthritis. | |
Angela Verges | Author, comedian, and edutainer Angela Verges was born in Detroit, MI. One of her favorite books as a youth was, Are you there God, it's me Margaret, by Judy Blume. In fact, she liked it so much that she wrote a book report on it in 6th grade and again in 8th grade. Shhh, don't tell her teachers. Angie began writing in 5th grade when she received her first diary. She continued keeping a journal through high school and college. Angie is a graduate of Michigan State University and currently working in the field of recreation. Writing has always been her passion and any time she can sprinkle it with humor, she does. Angela has two adult sons who quite often fill her humor bucket with their antics. Her book Menopause Ain't No Joke started as a collection of blog posts, which have also accompanied her on stage in comedy sets. Her words continue to scream onto the pages of journals, the back of envelopes, napkins or anything handy. Angie likes to write books for children and blog about parenting experiences as she practices being a grown up. | |
David Pratt | David Pratt is the author of Bob the Book (Chelsea Station), Wallaconia (Beautiful Dreamer Press), Todd Sweeney, the Fiend of Fleet High (Hosta Press), Looking After Joey (Lethe Press), and a story collection, My Movie (Chelsea Station). His stories have appeared in several periodicals and anthologies. David has performed work for the theater at venues in New York City and Michigan. He recently published Two Plays: The Snow Queen and November Door, and The Book of Humiliation, an "anti-novel" published as a series of zines designed by Ann Arbor, MI artist Nicholas Williams. | |
Kelly Murdoch-Kitt | Kelly Murdoch-Kitt is an Associate Professor at the Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan. She is a user experience designer and educator focused on people, systems, and interpersonal interactions. In her work and teaching, human connection drives the creation of effective and socially responsible concepts. She integrates visual communication, user experience, and service design with behavior change and social engagement, drawing on her industry experience as a user experience strategist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to joining U-M, Murdoch-Kitt served as an Assistant Professor in the School of Design at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She also taught in the Graphic Design Programs at the University of San Francisco and California College of the Arts. Her excellence in teaching and contributions to service within the discipline have been recognized by the Design Incubation Communication Design Educator Awards: Intercultural Design Collaborations in Sustainability; and the Decipher 2018 Design Educators Research Conference. Murdoch-Kitt and her research partner, Dr. Denielle J. Emans of Roger Williams University are co-authors of Intercultural Collaboration by Design: Drawing from Differences, Distances, and Disciplines through Visual Thinking (Routledge 2020). Based on their research, the book offers more than 30 visual thinking activities to support effective collaboration among diverse teams. Their research group, ORBIT Labs (Online Resource for Building Intercultural Teams), was recently recognized as a recipient of the 2022 Carol Hollenshead Inspire Award for Excellence in Promoting Equity and Social Change. Murdoch-Kitt and Emans are currently working together on a new book about the intersection of creative practice and psychological resilience, which argues that everyone can learn to become creatively resilient—and put methods of adaptability, flexibility, and optimism into practice. Its 15 case studies include various projects, practices, and activities that show readers how to utilize creative methods to work positively with uncertainty. |  |
R.J. Fox | R.J. Fox is the award-winning writer of several short stories, plays, poems, a memoir, and 15 feature length screenplays. His first book – a memoir entitled Love & Vodka: My Surreal Adventures in Ukraine was previously published by Fish Out of Water Books. His debut novel Awaiting Identification was placed on MLive's top 10 Michigan books of the year. Both books – which were initially screenplays – are currently being developed into feature films. He is on board as a co-producer for Love & Vodka, as well as the writer/director/editor of several award-winning short films. He recently published a collection of essays entitled Tales From the Dork Side and his work has been published in over 30 literary magazines and journals. Fox graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in English and a minor in Communications and received a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. In addition to moonlighting as a writer, independent filmmaker and saxophonist, Fox teaches film and literature in the Ann Arbor Public Schools, where he uses his own dream to inspire his students to follow their own. He has also worked in public relations at Ford Motor Company and as a newspaper reporter. He resides in Ann Arbor, MI. | |
Barbara Stark-Nemon | Barbara Stark-Nemon, has written the award-winning novels Even in Darkness and Hard Cider. Her current work in progress is a 17h century European coming of age refugee story. Barbara has degrees from the University of Michigan in English, Art History and Communication Disorders. She writes novels, essays and short stories, and speaks at conferences, literary events, libraries and book clubs. She lives, writes, swims, cycles, gardens and does fiber art in Ann Arbor and Northport, MI. | |
Heidi Woodward Sheffield | Heidi Woodward Sheffield's debut book Brick by Brick received the Ezra Jack Keats Award for Illustration and was chosen by the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Her other books include Are Your Stars Like My Stars? (Sterling Publishing, written by Leslie Helakoski) and Ice Cream Face (Penguin), and Good Night, Little Man (HarperCollins, written by Daniel Bernstrom). Heidi has received numerous awards from The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and her artwork has been included in several exhibitions. Her graphic designs and illustrations for The Ann Arbor District Library have garnered awards from the American Library Association. Her vibrant collages feature unusual textures like cork, Mexican embroidery and Irish lace. On any given day, she can be seen taking photographs that inspire her stories and collages. In addition to creating children's books, Heidi enjoys speaking at conferences, libraries and schools. | |
Peter Ho Davies | Peter Ho Davies’ most recent books are the novel A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself, long-listed for the Aspen Words Literary Prize, and The Art of Revision: The Last Word, his first work of nonfiction. His previous novel, The Fortunes, a New York Times Notable Book, won the Anisfield-Wolf Award and the Chautauqua Prize, and was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. His first novel, The Welsh Girl, a London Times Best Seller, was long-listed for the Booker Prize. He has also published two short story collections, The Ugliest House in the World (winner of the John Llewelyn Rhys Prize, and the Oregon Book Award) and Equal Love (finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and a New York Times Notable Book). Davies’ work has appeared in Harpers, The Atlantic, The Paris Review, The Guardian, The Washington Post and TLS among others, and been anthologized in Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories. In 2003 Granta magazine named him among its “Best of Young British Novelists.” Davies is a recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts and a winner of the PEN/Malamud and PEN/Macmillan Awards. Born in Britain to Welsh and Chinese parents, he now makes his home in the US. He has taught at the University of Oregon, Northwestern and Emory University, and is currently on faculty at the University of Michigan. | |
| Author | Biography | Book Cover(s) |
