Diana Abu-Jaber is the author of “Birds of Paradise” (W.W. Norton & Co.).  It is her fifth book and follows several notable titles, most recently, “Origin” and “The Language of Baklava.” She has won the PEN/Hemingway Award, the American Book Award, and other prizes. Diana’s writing appears in Good Housekeeping, Ms., Salon, Vogue, Gourmet, the New York Times, The Nation, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. She is frequently featured on National Public Radio. She divides her time between Coral Gables, Florida, and Portland, Oregon.

Humorist and journalist Henry Alford is the author of a book about manners called “Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That? A Modern Guide to Manners” (Twelve). His previous books include How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People (While They Are Still on This Earth), and Big Kiss: One Actor’s Desperate Attempt to Claw His Way to the Top, which won a Thurber Prize. He has written for the New Yorker, and currently writes for Vanity Fair and the New York Times.

Tom Angleberger is the bestselling author of “The Strange Case of Origami Yoda,” which won the 2010 E. B. White Read Aloud Award for middle readers, “Darth Paper Strikes Back,” and “Horton Halfpott,” a 2012 Edward Award finalist, which Kirkus dubbed “a romp from start to finish.” He lives in Christiansburg, Virginia, with his wife, author and illustrator Cece Bell.

Buzz Bissinger is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of four books, including the New York Times bestseller “3 Nights in August” and “Friday Night Lights”, which has sold two million copies and spawned a film and TV franchise. He is a contributing editor for Vanity Fair and a sports columnist for The Daily Beast. He has written for the New York Times, The New Republic,Time and many other publications.

His upcoming book is “Father’s Day: A Journey Into the Mind and Heart of My Extraordinary Son” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).

Buzz Bissinger’s twin sons were born three minutes—and a world—apart. Gerry, the older one, is a graduate student at Penn, preparing to become a teacher. His brother Zach has spent his life attending special schools. He’ll never drive a car, or kiss a girl, or live by himself. He is a savant, challenged by serious intellectual deficits but also blessed with rare talents: an astonishing memory, a dazzling knack for navigation, and a reflexive honesty which can make him both socially awkward and surprisingly wise. One summer night, Buzz and Zach hit the road to revisit all the places they have lived together during Zach’s 24 years. Zach revels in his memories, and Buzz hopes this journey into their shared past will bring them closer and reveal to him the mysterious workings of his son’s mind and heart.

Fred Bowen, who writes the weekly KidsPost sports column in The Washington Post, is the author of 16 books of sports fiction (ages 8+) and a picture book biography of Red Sox legend Ted Williams titled No Easy Way. Bowen is not your usual sports-fiction writer; he always weaves a little real sports history into his fast-moving plots, and includes a history chapter at the back.  He likes showing kids that the games they play are part of a large rich tradition.  Bowen grew up in Massachusetts and now lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Stacia Brown is the author of “Accidents of Providence” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), a historical fiction that takes place during the English Civil War.

 ”Intelligent, masterful, suspenseful—one of the best books I’ve read in years. An impressive debut novel from a hugely talented new writer, Accidents of Providence was a rare treat.” —Margaret George, author of many works of historical fiction, including “Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles”

Stacia Brown grew up in Asheville, North Carolina. She earned graduate degrees in religion and historical theology from Emory University in Atlanta.  Before moving to Atlanta, Stacia worked as a swing-shift monitor for a 250-bed homeless shelter in San Francisco.  She lives and works in Decatur, Georgia.

Sheela Chari is the author of the middle-grade novel, “Vanished” (Disney Hyperion), a 2012 APALA Children’s Literature Honor Book, and Edgar nominee for Best Juvenile mystery. Sheela has an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University, and lives in New York with her family. “Vanished” is her first novel.

Jay Clark is the author of “The Edumacation of Jay Baker” (Henry Holt & Co.), his debut novel for young adults.

“Jay’s smarts, originality, and warmth make the old teen trope of the hot girl(s) falling for the doofus guy actually believable.”–Booklist, Starred Review

Clark is a tennis enthusiast and former teaching pro, whose writing has appeared in the Washington Post and Tennis Magazine.   He lives in Virginia with his fiancé, Caroline Baker.

Andrew Clements is the bestselling author of “Frindle,” a modern classic, in addition to dozens of other novels and picture books, including “No Talking and Extra Credit.” He has won two Christopher Awards and an Edgar Award. He lives in central Massachusetts.

Keith Donohue is a best-selling novelist whose latest book is, “Centuries of June” (Crown).

“Part ghost story, part psychological mystery and part vaudeville show. Think Scheherazade by way of “Tristram Shandy” by way of “The Sixth Sense.”—Washington Post

This is Donohue’s third novel, following-up “The Stolen Child,” a national best-seller and “Angels of Destruction,” which was also well-received.  Donohue has a Ph.D. in English with a specialization in modern Irish literature and wrote the introduction to the Complete Novels of Flann O’Brien.  He lives in Maryland and occasionally writes book reviews for the Washington Post.

Larry Doyle is one of America’s foremost humorists.  His first novel, “I Love You, Beth Cooper” won the 2008 Thurber Prize for American Humor – and that came on the heels of a four-year stint as a writer and producer of The Simpsons.

Doyle’s latest book is “Deliriously Happy” (Ecco), a collection of his humor pieces published in The New Yorker and elsewhere.  In addition to his work as a columnist and author, Doyle wrote the films “Duplex,” “Looney Tunes: Back in Action,” and “I Love You, Beth Cooper.”

According to his bio, Doyle does not keep live monkeys in his house, which would be illegal.   And more, mostly reliable information can be found at larrydoyle.com.

Siobhan Fallon’s debut collection of stories, “You Know When the Men Are Gone” (Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam), was listed as a Best Book of 2011 by The San Francisco Chronicle and Janet Maslin of The New York Times, has been called “the explosive sort of literary triumph that appears only every few years” by New York Journal of Books, “a terrific and terrifically illuminating book” by The Washington Post, and a “searing collection” by Entertainment Weekly. Her stories and essays have appeared in Women’s Day, Good Housekeeping, New Letters, Publishers’ Weekly, among others. She and her family live in Falls Church, Virginia.

Kate Feiffer’s newest chapter book “Signed by Zelda” (Simon & Schuster) features a girl who believes there’s a secret hidden in every signature, a boy stuck in time-out, and a missing grandmother. Kate is the author of eleven popular books for children, including “Double Pink” (S&S) and “My Side of The Car” (Candlewick). Her book “My Mom is Trying to Ruin My Life” (S&S) is currently being adapted as a musical for the stage. Her latest picture book is “No Go Sleep,” (S&S) illustrated by her father, the Pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist Jules Feiffer.

Marc Kaufman is a journalist and author of “First Contact: Scientific Breakthroughs in the Hunt for Life Beyond Earth” (Simon and Schuster).  A science writer with the Washington Post, Kaufman traveled the world while reporting “First Contact” to speak with scientists on the cutting edge of the burgeoning field of astrobiology — the hunt for life beyond Earth. Marc has been a journalist for more than three decades, mostly at the Post and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He believes that his many years as a foreign correspondent taught him how to be a good translator of science (and scientists.) He lives with his wife, Lynn Litterine, in Silver Spring.

Thomas Kaufman is the author of “Steal the Show” (Minotaur Books), his second book about Washington, DC private eye Willis Gidney.  In addition to writing the third book in his series, Kaufman is working as an Emmy Award-winning director/cameraman, shooting TV programs for BBC, Discovery, and NatGeo.  Thomas has also shot on the sets of “The Wire,” “West Wing,” “John Adams,” and “VEEP.”

Before turning to narrative nonfiction with “City of Scoundrels” and “The White Cascade,” Gary Krist published three novels and two short-story collections. He has written reviews for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Salon, and the Washington Post, and his articles and stories have appeared in National Geographic Traveler, GQ, Esquire, and on NPR. He has been the recipient of The Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Lowell Thomas Gold Medal for Travel Journalism, and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He lives in Bethesda.

Jen Lancaster is the New York Times bestselling author of five memoirs published by NAL, and most recently, the novel “If You Were Here.” Her newest memoir, “Jeneration X: One Reluctant Adult’s Attempt to Unarrest Her Arrested Development, or Why It’s Never Too Late for Her Dumb Ass to Learn Why Froot Loops are Not Dinner,” comes out this May.

Jen’s loyal fans have followed her as she recounts the woes of job loss, sucky city living, weight loss attempts and 1980s nostalgia in her hilarious memoirs, including, “Bitter is the New Black,” “Such A Pretty Fat,” and “My Fair Lazy.” A nationally syndicated monthly columnist for Tribune Media Services’ Humor Hotel, Jen Lancaster lives outside Chicago .  She still blogs at the blog where it all started: www.jennsylvania.com.

Sarah McCoy is the author of “The Baker’s Daughter” (Crown/RH),

“A beautiful, heart-breaking gem of a novel written just the way I like them, with the past coming back to haunt the present, endearing heroines and a sunny, hopeful ending. You’ll wolf it up in one delicious gulp.”
–Tatiana de Rosnay, international bestselling author of Sarah’s Key and A Secret Kept

This is Sarah’s second novel, the first being “The Time It Snowed In Puerto Rico” (RH). She has taught English writing at Old Dominion University and at the University of Texas at El Paso. She currently lives with her husband and dog, Gilbert, in El Paso, where she is working on her next novel. Sarah can be reached on her website, Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads.

Laura Rhoton McNeal is the author of “Dark Water” (Knopf Books for Young Readers), a 2010 finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the San Diego Book Award in young people’s literature.  She holds an MA in fiction writing from Syracuse University and is the author, with her husband Tom, of four young adult novels published by Knopf: “Crooked” (winner of the California Book Award in Juvenile Literature), “Zipped” (winner of the Pen Center USA Literary Award in Children’s Literature), “Crushed”, and “The Decoding of Lana Morris”.  She and Tom live with their sons Sam and Hank near San Diego.

Tom McNeal is the author of the novel “To Be Sung Underwater” (Little, Brown), which was named one of the Best Books of 2011 by USA Today and the Wall Street Journal.  His prize-winning short fiction has been widely anthologized, and his first novel, “Goodnight, Nebraska”, won the James A. Michener Prize and the California Book Award.  McNeal holds an MA in fiction writing from U.C. Irvine and has been a Wallace Stegner Fellow and Jones Lecturer at Stanford University. He and his wife Laura are the authors of four young adult novels: “Crooked”, “Zipped”, “Crushed” and “The Decoding of Lana Morris”.

Caroline Miller, an internationally-known coach and motivational speaker, is the author of “Creating Your Best Life” (Sterling).  The book is the outgrowth of her capstone project in the University of Pennsylvania’s Masters in Applied Positive Psychology program.  It breaks new ground by giving the mass market audience an evidence-based, engaging guide on how to set and accomplish your goals with research-tested tools.

Jennifer Miller is the author of the upcoming novel, “The Year of the Gadfly” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Her journalism has appeared in The New York Times, the Washington Post Magazine, Marie Claire, Men’s Health, The Christian Science Monitor, Salon.com and others. She holds a BA from Brown University, an MS in Journalism and an MFA in fiction writing from Columbia University. Miller is a native of Washington, DC and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, as she says, “with all the other writers.”

L. E. Modesitt, Jr., is the New York Times best-selling author of 60 novels – primarily science fiction and fantasy, a number of short stories, and numerous technical and economic articles. His novels have sold millions of copies all over the world. His first story was published in Analog in 1973.  His latest book, “Princeps” (Tor Books), releases this May and is the sequel to “Scholar,” which was named by Kirkus Reviews as one of the ten best F&SF books of 2011.

Thomas Mullen is the author of “The Last Town on Earth,” which was named Best Debut Novel of 2006 by USA Today and was awarded the James Fenimore Cooper Prize, “The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers,” and his new novel, “The Revisionists” (Mulholland Books).  His books have been named to Year’s Best lists by such publications as The Chicago Tribune, USA Today, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The San Diego Union-Times, The Onion, The Cleveland Plain-Dealer, and by Amazon.com. He lived in Washington, DC, from 2002-2008 and now lives in Atlanta with his wife and sons.

Timothy Noah writes the TRB column for the New Republic. He wrote for Slate for a dozen years, and previously worked at the Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, and the Washington Monthly. Noah received the 2011 Hillman Prize for public service magazine journalism for the series in Slate that forms the basis of his new book “The Great Divergence” (Bloomsbury Press).

Matthew Norman is the author of “Domestic Violets” (Harper Perennial), his debut novel.

“Reminiscent of Richard Russo’s earlier work, Norman’s refreshingly witty style is perfectly suited to articulating the trials of a middle-aged cynic. Wonderfully fast-paced, hilariously genuine, difficult to put down, Domestic Violets is an ideal first novel.”  - Booklist

Norman has an MFA from George Mason University and works as an advertising copywriter. He lives with his wife and daughter in Baltimore and sporadically writes on his blog, The Norman Nation.

Varley O’Connor is the author of the upcoming novel, “The Master’s Muse” (Scribners).  She is the author of three previous novels, “The Cure,” “A Company of Three,” and “Like China.” Her shorter prose has appeared in The Sun magazine, AWP Writer’s Chronicle, Faultline: A Journal of Art and Literature, Driftwood, Algonkian magazine, and The MacGuffin. O’Connor teaches fiction and creative nonfiction writing at Kent State University and for the Northeast Ohio Universities Consortium MFA program.

Alan Orloff makes a third Festival appearance with his latest release, “Deadly Campaign” (Midnight Ink), the second in the Last Laff Mystery series (after “Killer Routine”). His debut mystery, “Diamonds for the Dead,” was an Agatha Award finalist for Best First Novel, and, writing as Zak Allen, he’s published two ebooks, “The Taste” and “First Time Killer.” A former engineer, marketing manager, and newsletter editor, Alan grew up in Montgomery County and is a proud product of the County’s public school system.

Chris Pavone is the author of the highly-anticipated spy thriller, “The Expats” (Crown), which comes out in March.

“I often thought I was reading the early works of Ken Follett, Frederick Forsyth, and Robert Ludlum. Smart, clever suspense, skillfully plotted.” —John Grisham

 

“Bristling with suspense and elegantly crafted, The Expats introduces a compelling and powerful female protagonist you won’t soon forget. Well done!”
—Patricia Cornwell

Chris Pavone grew up in Brooklyn and graduated from Cornell. For nearly two decades he was a book editor and ghostwriter; he is also the author of The Wine Log. Chris and his family have lived in Luxembourg, but recently returned to New York City. The Expats is his first novel.

Matthew Quick (aka Q) is the author of “The Silver Linings Playbook” (Sarah Crichton Books / Farrar, Straus & Giroux) and two young adult novels, “Sorta Like a Rock Star” and “Boy21″ (Little, Brown & Co). His work has received many honors—including a PEN/Hemingway Award Honorable Mention—and has been translated into several languages. The Weinstein Company and David O. Russell have adapted “The Silver Linings Playbook”, starring Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Lawrence. Matthew lives in Massachusetts with his wife, novelist Alicia Bessette.

Leonard Rosen is the author of “All Cry Chaos” (Permanent Press), finalist for the 2012 Edgar Award (the top award for mystery writing) for Best First Novel.  Rosen is a best-selling and widely respected non-fiction author among educational publishers (including Pearson, Allyn & Bacon, Little Brown, and Nelson Doubleday). He has written Radio Essays broadcast by NPR’s Morning Edition, Only A Game, and All Things Considered, as well as op-eds published by the Boston Globe. He has taught writing at Harvard University. He lives in Brookline, MA.

Leah Taylor Jefferson is the author of “Horses of the Presidents” as well as co-author of two travel guides on Africa. She is working on her next book, “The Adventures of Oreo and Algonquin – Civil War Horse Tails.  Leah lives with her husband Steve in West Virginia with their dogs Alice and Shadow, their three cats Attitude, Milly and Gabriel. The real Oreo lives on a nearby farm, and will make an appearance at the Festival!

Baratunde Thurston is the author of “How to Be Black” (Harper).   He is the director of digital at The Onion, the cofounder of Jack & Jill Politics, a stand-up comedian, and a globe-trotting speaker. Thurston was named one of the 100 most influential African Americans of 2011 by The Root, one of the 100 most creative people in business by Fast Company magazine, and will be giving the opening keynote address at SXSW Interactive 2012. Then-Senator Barack Obama called him “someone I need to know.” Baratunde resides in Brooklyn and lives on Twitter (@baratunde).

Christopher Tilghman is the author of “The Right-Hand Shore” (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux), his third novel.  Tilghman’s previous works include two short-story collections, “In A Father’s Place” and “The Way People Run,” and two novels, “Mason’s Retreat” and “Roads of the Heart.” Currently the director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Virginia, he lives with his wife, the writer Caroline Preston, in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Steve Ulfelder is a mystery writer, whose debut novel, “Purgatory Chasm” (Minotaur Books), is a finalist for the 2012 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America.  The book also received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly and was an RT Book Reviews Top Pick.  His new novel, “The Whole Lie” (Minotaur Books), launches May 8, 2012.

Ulfelder received a BA in Creative Writing from Ohio Wesleyan University before spending 20 years as a business and technology journalist. In 2006, he dumped journalism to write novels and focus on Flatout Motorsports Inc., the company he co-founded. Headquartered in Bellingham, Massachusetts, Flatout builds, rents, sells and services race cars. Steve spends weekends with Team Flatout racing his Honda S2000 in Sports Car Club of America competition.

Eric Weiner is author of “Man Seeks God: My Flirtations With the Divine” (Twelve) and, previously, the New York Times best-seller “The Geography of Bliss,” which has been translated into eighteen languages. A former correspondent for NPR and the New York Times, Weiner has reported from more than three dozen countries. His work has appeared in the New Republic, Slate, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Foreign Policy, The New York Times Magazine, and the anthology Best American Travel Writing. He divides his time between Starbucks and Caribou.

John Wiley, Jr. is the co-author of “Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind” (Taylor Trade Publishing), a history of how GWTW became an international phenomenon that has sustained the public’s interest for 75 years. Wiley is one of the world’s foremost authorities on the Mitchell and her novel. He owns an immense collection of related memorabilia, including more than 800 different editions of the novel, and has been interviewed by USA Today, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the London Times and NPR. Wiley publishes The Scarlett Letter, a quarterly newsletter for GWTW fans, and served as artistic adviser for a 1999 U.S. postage stamp featuring the novel.