Dani Shapiro

Dani Shapiro is the author of 11 books, and the host and creator of the hit podcast Family Secrets. Her most recent novel, Signal Fires, was named a best book of 2022 by Time Magazine, Washington Post, Amazon, and others, and is a national bestseller. Her most recent memoir, Inheritance, was an instant New York Times bestseller, and named a best book of 2019 by Elle, Vanity Fair, Wired, and Real Simple. Dani’s work has been published in 14 languages and she is currently developing Signal Fires for its television adaptation. Dani’s book on the process and craft of writing, Still Writing, was reissued on the occasion of its tenth anniversary in 2023. She occasionally teaches workshops and retreats, and is the co-founder of the Sirenland Writers Conference in Positano, Italy.

Chris Whitaker

Chris Whitaker is the author of the New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling All the Colors of the Dark – a Read with Jenna/TODAY Show Book Club pick. His other acclaimed and bestselling novels include We Begin at the End, Tall Oaks, and All the Wicked Girls. Chris’s novels have been translated into 30 languages and have won the CWA Gold Dagger, the CWA John Creasey Dagger, the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year, the Ned Kelly International Award, and numerous awards around the world. His books have also been selected for Waterstones Thriller of the Month, Barnes & Noble Book Club, Good Morning America Book Club, and for BBC2’s Between The Covers. All The Colors of the Dark is currently in development with Universal Pictures.

Claire Lombardo

Claire Lombardo is the author of the nationally bestselling novel Same As It Ever Was. Her debut, The Most Fun We Ever Had, was an instant New York Times bestseller and a Reese’s Book Club pick. Her novels have been translated or are forthcoming in over a dozen languages. Claire is a graduate of the University of Illinois-Chicago and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her short fiction has appeared in, among others, Barrelhouse Magazine, Little Fiction, and Longform. Her story, “I Only Want to Talk About the Nice Things,” was one of 2016’s Best of the Net, and was #1 on Longform‘s 2015 fiction list. Prior to publishing The Most Fun We Ever Had, Claire spent several years working with homeless children and families in Chicago. She has taught fiction writing at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and Grinnell College and worked as a bookseller at Prairie Lights Books. She lives in Minneapolis.