Authors Biographies – Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books

2026 Author Biographies

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Colleen Alles is a lifelong Michigander and award-winning writer. The author of three novels and three poetry collections, Colleen earned her MFA at Spalding University. You can find more at www.colleenalles.com.

Alice Benson

April Bentley is the Founder and Executive Director of Rubies Corporation, a Milwaukee-based nonprofit dedicated to prevention, awareness, intervention, and creating safe spaces for youth and families impacted by trauma and exploitation. She is the author of Don’t Rush to Get Old, a personal journey of life lessons, healing, faith, and becoming, and the recording artist behind I’m Free, a declaration of the freedom she has found through overcoming. She also co-authored From Pain to Power, a social-emotional learning comic designed to help young people recognize their internal struggles, understand their emotions, and discover the strength they have within themselves to overcome them.

Maurice Broaddus is an award-winning Afrofuturist, editor, and librarian. He’s had over a hundred short stories published and his books include Marvel’s Black Panther: T’Challa Declassified, Sweep of Stars, Breath of Oblivion, A City Dreaming, Unfadeable, Pimp My Airship, and The Usual Suspects.

Liam Callanan is the author of the national bestseller, Paris by the Book, as well as five other books. He’s taught at UWM for more than 20 years. Learn more at liamcallanan.com

Greg Carter is Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He received his Ph.D. in American Studies from University of Texas at Austin. He is author of The United States of the United Races: A Utopian History of Racial Mixing (2013) and I’d Just as Soon Kiss a Wookiee: Uncovering Racialized Desire in the Star Wars Galaxy (2025). He served as President of the Critical Mixed Race Studies Association between 2017-2019.

Matt Cashion’s story collection, Last Words of the Holy Ghost (UNT Press) won the Katherine Anne Porter Prize, his most recent collection, How We Do Things Here (Cornerstone Press) was a finalist in the Flannery O’Connor Award for short fiction, and his novel Our 13th Divorce (Livingston Press) won the Edna Ferber Book Prize. A three-time winner of the Zona Gale award for short fiction, his short story, “Music Appreciation for Dead People,” won first prize in the 2023 Wisconsin People & Ideas fiction contest, judged by Debra Monroe. He earned an MFA from the University of Oregon and teaches Creative Writing at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where he also serves as faculty advisor for Steam Ticket Literary Journal. (www.mattcashion.com)

DeWitt Clinton

John Coy is the author of young adult novels, chapter books, and fiction and nonfiction picture books. He has received numerous awards for his work and loves working with students to celebrate reading and writing. He lives by the Mississippi River in Minneapolis.

J.R. Dawson

James DeVita, a native of Long Island, NY, is an author, actor, and theater director. He is a core company member at American Players Theater, a classical repertory theater in Wisconsin. His novel, Sanctuary, written under the pen name James Cleary, was published in April, 2026 by Penguin Random House in the US and Canada, and also by HarperCollins in the UK. It will be released internationally in Italy, France, and Germany. His previous novels include The Silenced, A Winsome Murder, and Blue.

Phyllis Dixon

Marisa Dondlinger

Karen Drecktrah

Nancy Flinchbaugh

Kathryn Gahl began writing as a farm girl, kept writing while earning dual degrees in English and nursing, a career as nurse manager, and raising two children, alone. The Wisconsin Library Association awarded Outstanding Achievement Awards to The Velocity of Love and The Yellow Toothbrush: A Memoir of Trauma and Mercy. She believes in the transformative power of dark chocolate, deep sleep, and red lipstick.

Barb Geiger

Kathie Giorgio

Lilly J. Goren has always been fascinated by the intersection of politics and narrative. This has led her down a twisty path studying and teaching political science, literature, film, television, and popular culture in general. She is a professor of political science at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin. She is co-editor, with Nicholas Carnes, of The Politics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Volume II: Into the Multiverse (University Press of Kansas, 2025), and The Politics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Volume I: The Infinity Saga (University Press of Kansas, 2022).

Dasha Kelly Hamilton

Ross Hightower

Jeanette Hurt In addition to her two bestsellers, Wisconsin Cocktails and The Unofficial ALDI Cookbook, Jeanette Hurt has penned several other books on food and drink including The Whiskey Sour, Drink Like a Woman, and Cauliflower Comfort Food. She is currently at work on her 17th book, which will also feature ALDI.

Thomas Jacobson is a Holocaust survivor who was on the ill-fated M.S. St. Louis. He graduated from UW-Madison Law School in 1962 and founded the first integrated law firm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jacobson successfully argued two cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, overturning Wisconsin’s pre-judgment garnishment and change-of-venue laws.

Catherine Jagoe is a poet, essayist, and translator based in Madison, Wisconsin. The recipient of a Pushcart Prize, among several other honors, she has published ten full-length books and four chapbooks across genres. Her memoir Unbelonging: A Life in Search of Home appeared this summer with UW Press.

Nancy Jorgensen

Michelle Kobriger

Jim Landwehr has a recently published short story collection, All That It Seems, and four memoirs: At the Lake, Cretin Boy, Dirty Shirt and The Portland House. He also has six poetry collections, including Tea in the Pacific Northwest, and Thoughts from a Line at the DMV. Jim serves on the board of directors for the Wisconsin Writers Association and the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, and lives in Waukesha.

Ellen Lawrence

Valya Dudycz Lupescu is a Chicago writer, poet, and editor. Valya is the author of Mother Christmas, The Silence of Trees, Forking Good, and Geek Parenting. She is also the editor of Embroidered Words, the first anthology of Ukrainian speculative fiction translated into English. Valya earned her MFA in Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has been making magic with food and words for 30 years, incorporating traditions from her Ukrainian heritage with practices that honor the Earth. Find her at vdlupescu.com

Rosalind McClain

Hannah Morrissey is the USA Today Bestselling Author of the Black Harbor suspense series, Home for the Homicides, and the upcoming Scream City. Her books have been optioned for film/TV. She lives near Milwaukee with her husband and pugs.

Mary Ann Noe

Joshua Parkes is a former actor and the author of The Dust Behind the Door from Koehler Books, available spring of 2027. His previous works include the Reprobate series of sci-fi noir a dozen Purim Spiels that have been produced throughout the United States.

Amanda Reavy

Margaret Rozga

Jesus Salas

Sara Sarna is a poet, actor and hiker living in Southeastern Wisconsin. Her work has been seen in print and online and heard from stage and radio. for more information, please visit sarasarna.com.

Patty Schopp

Katrina Serwe started poemwalking after a delightful midlife crisis. She published a chapbook, First Steps (Brain Mill Press, 2025) and a full-length collection, A Thousand Miles of Poetry (WWA Press, April 2026) both comprised of poems foraged on Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail. You can follow her journey at KatrinaSerwe.com.

Jon Shelton

David Southward taught for decades at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His poetry collections include Queer Physics (Kelsay Books, 2025), Bachelor’s Buttons (Kelsay Books, 2020) and Apocrypha (Wipf & Stock, 2018). David resides in Milwaukee with his husband, Geoff, and their two beagles. davidsouthward.com

Rhea Thomas

Alison Townsend is the author of the PEN finalist memoir, The Green Hour: A Natural History of Home; two books of poetry, Persephone in America and The Blue Dress; and a short prose volume, The Persistence of Rivers. Her poetry and nonfiction appears widely, and has been recognized in Best American Poetry, The Pushcart Prize, and Best American Essays 2020. She is Professor Emerita of English at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and stewards four acres of prairie and oak savanna outside Madison.

Joyce Uglow is the award-winning author of Stuck! The Story of La Brea Tar Pits, including Best Children’s Books of the Year, 2026 SCBWI Crystal Kite (Midwest), Outstanding Science Trade Book, ALSC | ALA Notable, CBC Librarian Favorites, and CBC Teacher Favorites. Her poems have appeared in various anthologies for children.

Steph Wade

Inga Whischer-Orth

Naomi R. Williams

Wendy Wimmer

Nancy Yarborough