Stand-up comedian, author and podcaster who's been seen on Comedy Central, HBO, The View, Netflix's Dry Bar Comedy and Showtime in Funny Women of a Certain Age.

Stand-up comic who has performed on late-night shows — from Carson to Kimmel — and appeared in comedy specials on HBO, Comedy Central and Showtime. She was a semifinalist on America's Got Talent.

Award-winning New York Times bestselling author, New Yorker cartoonist and NYU adjunct professor. He has live-drawn for The New York Times, The New Yorker and Writer’s Digest as well as for the Super Bowl, Oscars, Olympics, Golden Globes and the World Series — and will do the same for the workshop’s keynote speakers.

Founder and CEO of Braughler Books. Over the last 12 years, he’s collaborated and worked directly with more than 500 authors on nearly 600 titles in more than 10 countries.

Julie Cantrell is a multiple award-winning New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author, editor, TEDx speaker and ghostwriter. She teaches online for Drexel University’s low-res MFA program and for Story Summit.

Literary agent with Paper Over Board, a division of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency, in Manhattan.

Lori B. Duff was recently named "Atlanta's Funniest Lawyer" when it was revealed that the first place winner was not a lawyer. (She won by default.) Lori is an award-winning author of four humor collections, including her latest, If You Did What I Asked in the First Place, which won the Foreword Indies Gold Medal. She is the vice president of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. In 2020, she won first place in humor writing in the NSNC’s annual column contest.

Co-founder of The Book Doctors, which has helped hundreds of authors get their books published, and the co-founder of Can Do Entertainment, a production company dedicated to bringing new voices and ideas to film and television. Author of 10 books and literary agent at the Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency. Co-wrote The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published. 

Editor of The Hot Sheet, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors and author of The Business of Writing. She brings 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in business strategy for authors and publishers.

Actress, activist and author of five books including the New York Times bestseller and Thurber Prize finalist, I See You Made an Effort. Longtime cohost of Dinner & a Movie on TBS and a regular commentator on NPR. She’s taught essay writing and storytelling at The School of the New York Times, Miami Dade Community College, Thurber House, George Washington University, Maine Media College and the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, where she keynoted in 2020.

Singer, songwriter, wife and mom who has lived through tragedy and found hope and joy on the other side. The Thank You Project, a short film featuring Kellie’s story of gratitude after tragedy, has attracted more than 150 million views and has been featured on NBC’s Today and The Huffington Post and in Cosmopolitan and other national and international media. Kellie has performed across the United States and in Iraq, Israel and China, offering music that engages the soul in all of its beauty and vulnerability. 

Founder and director of the Phoenix Writers Network, freelance writer, editor, writing coach and the author of two memoirs, Halfway to Each Other: How a Year in Italy Brought Our Family Home and A Time To Seek: Meaning, Purpose, and Spirituality at Midlife.

Author and a 30-year veteran of the book publishing industry, having held executive positions at Rodale Inc. and Simon & Schuster, as well as creating and implementing the launch campaigns for more than 150 New York Times’ bestsellers. 

Author of nine books, including the national bestseller, Dear Committee Members, winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor. She is the first woman to have won the Thurber Prize. She is a professor of English at the University of Minnesota.

Co-founder of The Book Doctors, which has helped hundreds of authors get their books published, and co-founder of Can Do Entertainment, a production company dedicated to bringing new voices and ideas to film and television. Author of 16 books on a wide variety of subjects, from memoir to middle-grade fiction, sports to reference. His work has been translated into more than a dozen languages, optioned by Hollywood, and appeared on the cover of The New York Times Sunday Book Review.

Author, lawyer, leadership coach and activist. A Certified Dare to Lead™ facilitator, Karen has helped thousands of people around the world find purpose and meaning in their work. Her award-winning blog, Chookooloonks, is a lifestyle, inspiration and photography destination. A sought-after speaker, Karen is the host of the highly rated podcast, The Make Light Show, and the author of two books, The Lightmaker's Manifesto: How to Work for Change without Losing Your Joy and The Beauty of Different.

Publisher of She Writes Press and SparkPress, president of Warner Coaching Inc., and author of Write On, Sisters!, Green-light Your Book, What's Your Book? and three books on memoir. Brooke is a TEDx speaker, weekly podcaster (of “Write-minded” with co-host Grant Faulkner of NaNoWriMo) and the former executive editor of Seal Press. She writes a monthly column for Publishers Weekly.

An original Saturday Night Live writer, Alan has won five Emmy Awards for his work in television, which also includes It’s Garry Shandling’s Show (which he co-created and produced), the Late Show with David Letterman and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Author of 11 books, including the 2006 Thurber Prize winning novel The Other Shulman, the popular children’s book, Our Tree Named Steve, and a parody of the Haggadah titled, For This We Left Egypt? that he wrote with Dave Barry and Adam Mansbach.