Chris Abani

NYT Bestselling Novelist
Nigerian-born Poet

Peter Balakian

Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet
Black Dog of Fate

Jericho Brown

Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet
The Tradition

Mahogany L. Browne

Poet, Performer & Organizer
Black Girl Magic

Tina Chang

Acclaimed American Poet
Race, Culture, Identity

Bryan Doerries

Theater of War Productions
Translator of Ancient Greek

Andre Dubus III

#1 NYT Bestselling Novelist
House of Sand and Fog

Bernardine Evaristo

Award-winning Novelist
Booker Prize Winner

Tarfia Faizullah

Poet & Translator
Pushcart Prize-winning Author

Carolyn Forché

Award-winning Poet
Memoir: What You Have Heard Is True

Aminatta Forna

Award-winning Novelist
Acclaimed Memoirist

Josh Fox

Director of Gasland Films
LennonOno Peace Award

Juan Felipe Herrera

US Poet Laureate (2015-17)
Performer & Activist

Brenda Hillman

Griffin Poetry Prize
Environmental Advocate

Michael Kleber-Diggs

Award-winning Author
Max Ritvo Poetry Prize

Li-Young Lee

Chinese American Poet
Resilience, Faith, Exile

Rajiv Mohabir

Indo-Carribbean Poet
Memoir: Antiman

Valzhyna Mort

Acclaimed Belarusian Poet
Translator of Slavic

John Murillo

Award-winning Poet
Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award

Ladan Osman

Somali-born Poet
Gender & Displacement

Alicia Ostriker

Distinguished Poet
Jewish Book Award

Patrick Phillips

Poet & Nonfiction Writer
Blood at the Root

Ernesto Quiñonez

Acclaimed Novelist
Latino Trendsetter Award

Claudia Rankine

NYT Bestselling Author
NBCCA & Forward Prize

Vaddey Ratner

NYT Bestselling Novelist
Khmer Rouge Survivor

Nicole Sealey

Forward Prize
Former Executive Director of Cave Canem (2017-2019)

Sun Yung Shin

Poet, Writer & Cultural Worker
2016 Minnesota Book Award

Nafissa Thompson-Spires

Award-winning Fiction Author

Natasha Trethewey

US Poet Laureate (2012-2014)
Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet

Brian Turner

Acclaimed Soldier-Poet
Poet, Memoirist & Essayist

Crystal Valentine

Poet, Educator & Activist
Nat’l Poetry Slam Finalist

Juan Gabriel Vásquez

NYT Bestselling Novelist
IMPAC Dublin Award

Frank B. Wilderson III

Award-winning Author
Poet, Scholar, Activist