Profiles of participating authors in the Festival of Books.
Ilona Fridl was born in Southern California and came to live in Wisconsin in 1971. She took creative writing in college, but never took her dream anywhere until her husband, Mark, bought their first computer in 1995. Then she has sold through the years several short stories and articles to Read more
C.J. Hribal is the author of the novels The Company Car, which received the Anne Powers Book Award, and American Beauty, and of the short fiction collections Matty’s Heart and The Clouds in Memphis, which won the AWP Award for Short Fiction. He also edited The Boundaries of Twilight: Czecho-Slovak Read more
Abby Frucht won the Iowa Short Fiction award for her collection of stories, FRUIT OF THE MONTH, in 1987. Since then she has published five novels, raised two sons, been award two national endowment for the arts fellowships, and served as mentor and advisor for fifteen years at Vermont College Read more
Heather McComas won the 2008 Leo Love Merit Scholarship to attend the Taos Summer Writers’ Conference, where she studied with Pam Houston. Heather’s short story “What You’re Looking At” was published in the 2007 anthology Further Persons Imperfect; she has also been published as a science writer. She is currently finishing a trio Read more
Deb DiSandro, owner of Slightly Off, is a professional speaker, author, writing coach, instructor and purseologist. For 20 years, she has shared her Slightly Off Success Principles with writers and audiences across the country. Deb demonstrates how embracing a more fun and realistic approach to life’s challenges leads to laughter, Read more
Stuart Stotts is a songwriter, storyteller and author from Deforest, Wisconsin. He’s worked as a full-time performer since 1986, and he gives over 200 shows a year for kids, families and adults around the Midwest, and sometimes farther. He’s a frequent presenter at conferences and workshops around the country and Read more
Suzanne Buckingham Slade is the author of over 70 books for children. Her works include picture books and biographies, as well as titles about nature, science, and sports. Her recent picture books include Animals are Sleeping (2008), What’s New at the Zoo? (2009) and What’s the Difference? (2010). This fall, Read more
Robert Grede, BA, MBA, is a graduate of DePauw University and The Emory University School of Business. In 1990, after 12 years in advertising working with premier marketers like McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble, and Union Carbide, he founded The Grede Company, consultants in business planning and strategic growth. Clients range Read more
Jeff Koser is the founder of Selling to Zebras, LLC , a sales tools and consulting firm established in 1999. Jeff is also an award winning author of Selling to Zebras, HOW TO CLOSE 90% of the BUSINESS YOU PURSUE FASTER, MORE EASILY and MORE PROFITABLY. He offers more than Read more
After having successfully trudged through 18 years of snowdrifts in her Waukesha homestead’s driveway, Jessi ventured west to Los Angeles where she studied screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University. She eventually traded LA’s smog – and smug – for the oxygen-deprived Front Range of Denver, Colorado and went back to school Read more