Authors 2018

is a poet, educator, and the New York Times Bestselling author of 24 books, including SOLO, a Young Adult Novel, and THE CROSSOVER, a middle grade novel which received the 2015 John Newbery Medal for the Most Distinguished Contribution to American literature for Children, the Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor, The NCTE Charlotte Huck Honor, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, and the Paterson Poetry Prize. Kwame writes for children of all ages. Some of his other works include THE PLAYBOOK: 52 RULES TO HELP YOU AIM, SHOOT, AND SCORE IN THIS GAME OF LIFE; the picture books, ANIMAL ARK, OUT OF WONDER and SURF’S UP; and novels BOOKED, HE SAID SHE SAID, and the forthcoming prequel to The Crossover, REBOUND.

The recipient of the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award, Kwame believes that poetry can change the world, and he uses it to inspire and empower young people through his Writing Workshop. A regular speaker at schools and conferences in the U.S., he also travels the world planting seeds of literary love: Singapore, Brazil, Italy, France, Shanghai, and recently, Alexander led a delegation of 20 writers and activists to Ghana, where they delivered books, built a library, and provided literacy professional development to 300 teachers, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an International literacy program he co-founded. In 2015, Kwame served as Bank Street College of Education’s Inaugural Dorothy M. Carter writer-in-residence. The Kwame Alexander Papers, a collection of his writings, correspondence, and other professional and personal documents is held at the George Washington University Gelman Library.

is a Benchley award winner for humor and was the 2012 NSNC Newspaper Columnist of the Year. He has written for TV (“8 Simple Rules,” based on his book) and co-wrote the feature film “Muffin Top,” which was released in November 2014. He also produced and co-wrote the feature film “Cook Off!”, slated for release November 2017.

His novel A Dog’s Purpose spent 70 weeks on the NY Times bestseller list, including 5 weeks at # 1. The Amblin Entertainment /Walden Media production of “A Dog’s Purpose,” starring Dennis Quaid and Britt Robertson, was released by Universal on January 27, 2017 and has thus far grossed $ 180 MM worldwide. Cameron and his writing partner, Cathryn Michon, were screenwriters on the film. The sequel, A Dog’s Journey, was published May 6th, 2012, and was instantly a NY Times bestseller.

Cameron has been a guest on Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, The Today Show, Oprah, Anderson Cooper, and CBS This Morning.

His May 2017 novel A Dog’s Way Home was also a New York Times bestseller.

is the author of the novels BURY WHAT WE CANNOT TAKE, forthcoming from Little A in 2018, and Soy Sauce for Beginners, a Kindle First selection, an O, The Oprah Magazine “book to pick up now,” and a Glamour book club pick. She has received awards from the Steinbeck Fellows Program, Sewanee, Hedgebrook, and the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference. She is the fall 2017 NTU-NAC National Writer in Residence in Singapore. Visit her at kirstinchen.com

is the New York Times bestselling author of fourteen suspense novels, including THE SWITCH, a stand-alone thriller, and GUILTY MINDS, the third to feature “private spy” Nick Heller. Heller was introduced in VANISHED (2009) and returned in BURIED SECRETS (2011).

Joe’s novels HIGH CRIMES (1998) and PARANOIA (2004) have been adapted as major motion pictures. GUILTY MINDS (2016) and COMPANY MAN (2005) won the Barry Award for Best Thriller. KILLER INSTINCT (2006) won the International Thriller Writers’ Thriller Award for Best Novel. BURIED SECRETS won the Strand Critics Award for Best Novel.

A founding member of the International Thriller Writers, Joe is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Association of Former Intelligence Officers. He is a graduate of Yale College and the Harvard Russian Research Center, and lives in Boston.

is a celebrated poet & author with over 25 published books of fiction, non-fiction, memoir and poetry. Her most popular novel, Fear of Flying celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2013. Never out of print, it has sold over 30 million copies in 42 languages. Erica Jong’s latest novel, Fear of Dying was published in the USA by St. Martin’s Press and by many other publishers all over the world. Her awards include the Fernanda Pivano Award for Literature in Italy (named for the critic who introduced Ernest Hemingway, Allen Ginsberg, and Erica Jong to the Italian public); the Sigmund Freud Award in Italy; the Deauville Literary Award in France; the United Nations Award for Excellence in Literature; Poetry Magazine’s Bess Hokin Prize (also won by Sylvia Plath and W.S. Merwin). She lives in Connecticut and New York but her spiritual home is in Venice.

Her debut novel, EVERYTHING HERE IS BEAUTIFUL, was selected as an Indies Introduce title and Indie Next pick by the American Booksellers Association, and named a Most-Anticipated/Top Winter 2018 pick by more than 30 news outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, O Magazine, Poets & Writers, New York magazine, Chicago Review of Books, Seattle Times, Buzzfeed, Marie Claire, Real Simple, Electric Lit, among others. Her short fiction has been published in numerous journals, including the Southern Review, the Gettysburg Review, the Missouri Review, and Harvard Review, and has twice received special mention for the Pushcart Prize. She is the recipient of an Artist’s Fellowship by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a graduate of Stanford University, and currently lives with her husband and two children in Cambridge, MA.

With a famed and storied career that has spanned more than six decades, DAN RATHER became one of the world’s greatest journalists. He helped pioneer the very idea that television could be a place for news, and then kept that spirit of innovation alive by constantly pushing the boundaries of what video storytelling could accomplish. Along the way, his work ethic, nose for investigative reporting, and calmness and composure in moments of triumph and tragedy made him a respected voice that millions of people have trusted to make sense of a complicated world.

Rather’s resume reads like a history book. He has interviewed every president since Eisenhower and personally covered almost every important dateline of the last 60 years. From his first big assignment at a local news station covering Hurricane Carla, to the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Rather was there reporting the news to America and the world. On the scene in Dallas, he was key in breaking the news of President John F. Kennedy’s death, and uncovered key developments as a White House correspondent during the widespread criminal conspiracy known as Watergate. He was outside Martin Luther King, Junior’s jail cell in Birmingham and at the anchor desk for countless hours on 9/11 and the days that followed. He reported from the Berlin Wall when it fell, spent a year covering the jungle combat zones of Vietnam, and was forced off the air at Tiananmen Square when the Chinese government’s crackdown began. And yet Rather’s range was such that in addition to covering world changing events, he quickly gained a reputation as a gifted, versatile, and nuanced storyteller whose reports rung with empathy and even humor when warranted.

Rather got his start in print, then moved into radio and local television news, before joining CBS News in 1962. He quickly rose through the ranks, and in 1981 he assumed the position of anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News ­ a post he held for 24 years. His reporting was featured across the network. It helped turn 60 Minutes into an institution, launched 48 Hours as an innovative fly­on­the­wall news magazine program, and shaped countless specials and documentaries. Upon leaving CBS, Rather returned to the in-depth reporting he always loved by creating the Emmy Award winning primetime news magazine and documentary program, Dan Rather Reports on the cable network HDNet. Now, building upon that foundation, he is president and CEO of News and Guts, an independent production company he founded that specializes in high-quality non­fiction content across a range of traditional and digital distribution channels.

While Rather has won all of the most prestigious journalism awards (many times over) and has reported from the majority of nations on earth, he considers himself first and foremost a Texan. He is a proud native son of Wharton and Houston, and he graduated from what is now Sam Houston State University. Rather’s unique Texas phrases have become a hallmark of his winsome and approachable style to reporting and storytelling.

ELLIOT KIRSCHNER is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker. After a career at CBS, producing for the Evening News, Sunday Morning, and 60 Minutes II, Kirschner joined his longtime collaborator Dan Rather as the senior producer for Dan Rather Reports. He now develops film, television, digital, and social media projects. An honors graduate of Harvard College, Kirschner lives with his family in San Francisco, where he is building an innovative venture in science communication.

is a poet, educator, and the New York Times Bestselling author of 24 books, including SOLO, a Young Adult Novel, and THE CROSSOVER, a middle grade novel which received the 2015 John Newbery Medal for the Most Distinguished Contribution to American literature for Children, the Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor, The NCTE Charlotte Huck Honor, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, and the Paterson Poetry Prize. Kwame writes for children of all ages. Some of his other works include THE PLAYBOOK: 52 RULES TO HELP YOU AIM, SHOOT, AND SCORE IN THIS GAME OF LIFE; the picture books, ANIMAL ARK, OUT OF WONDER and SURF’S UP; and novels BOOKED, HE SAID SHE SAID, and the forthcoming prequel to The Crossover, REBOUND.

The recipient of the 2017 Inaugural Pat Conroy Legacy Award, Kwame believes that poetry can change the world, and he uses it to inspire and empower young people through his Writing Workshop. A regular speaker at schools and conferences in the U.S., he also travels the world planting seeds of literary love: Singapore, Brazil, Italy, France, Shanghai, and recently, Alexander led a delegation of 20 writers and activists to Ghana, where they delivered books, built a library, and provided literacy professional development to 300 teachers, as a part of LEAP for Ghana, an International literacy program he co-founded. In 2015, Kwame served as Bank Street College of Education’s Inaugural Dorothy M. Carter writer-in-residence. The Kwame Alexander Papers, a collection of his writings, correspondence, and other professional and personal documents is held at the George Washington University Gelman Library.

grew up in the middle of the woods, in the middle of Indiana, surrounded by ducks, chickens, dogs, and siblings. He spent his grade-school years drawing monsters and writing adventure stories. (And he just sorta never stopped.)

Today, Troy has more than thirty books to his name, including The early Chapter book series The Notebook of Doom, Can I Be Your Dog?, and Caring For Your Lion. His illustrations have also appeared on jigsaw puzzles, an animated backdrop for an opera, and a box of fish sticks.

Troy lives in Indiana with his wife and kids.

has created more enduring fictional characters than any other novelist writing today with his Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Women’s Murder Club, Private, NYPD Red, Daniel X, Maximum Ride, and Middle School series. As of January 2016, he has sold over 350 million books worldwide and currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most #1 New York Times bestsellers. In addition to writing the thriller novels for which he is best known, he also writes children’s, middle-grade, and young-adult fiction and is also the first author to have #1 new titles simultaneously on the New York Times adult and children’s bestseller lists.

The son of an insurance salesman and a schoolteacher, Patterson grew up in Newburgh, New York, and began casually writing at the age of nineteen. In 1969, he graduated from Manhattan College. He was given a full ride to Vanderbilt University’s graduate program in English but dropped out after a year, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to continue reading and writing for pleasure if he became a college professor.

For his initiatives to help kids become passionate readers and for his philanthropic efforts, Patterson was awarded the National Book Foundation’s 2015 Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community.

James Patterson has donated more than one million books to students, emphasizing some of the most under-resourced schools and youth programs in the country. In 2015, Patterson donated $1.75 million to public school libraries throughout the United States, $1 million to independent bookstores, and a further $250,000 in holiday bonuses to individual bookstore employees. He also gave $1 million to independent bookstores in 2014.

Patterson has recently donated over $26 million to his and his wife’s alma maters—the University of Wisconsin, Vanderbilt University, and Manhattan College—and he has established over four hundred Teacher Education Scholarships at twenty-four colleges and universities throughout the country. Patterson has also donated over 650,000 books to U.S. soldiers at home and overseas.

In May 2015, Patterson launched a new children’s book imprint at Little, Brown, called JIMMY Patterson, that is unwaveringly focused on one goal: turning kids into lifelong readers. This imprint also provides resources, strategies, and programs to serve teachers, parents, librarians, and booksellers. Patterson invests proceeds from the sales of JIMMY Patterson Books in pro-reading initiatives.

Patterson has also founded ReadKiddoRead.com, a website designed to help parents, teachers, and librarians ignite a new generation’s excitement for reading. Awarded the National Book Foundation’s Innovations in Reading Prize and the American Library Association’s Great Websites for Kids, the site features thoughtful book reviews from a variety of genres and age ranges, a large and lively Facebook community, and contributions from other authors.

Mr. Patterson’s awards for adult and children’s literature include the Edgar Award, the International Thriller of the Year Award, and the Children’s Choice Award for Author of the Year.

He lives in Palm Beach with his wife, Sue, and his son, Jack.

has dedicated his entire professional life to nonprofit causes as a fundraiser, communications expert, and teacher. He has nearly 25 years of experience in an array of educational settings, starting by teaching swimming to five-year olds and art history to senior citizens. He served as an admissions officer at his alma mater, Fordham, and later at Yale. He taught English in China as a Princeton in Asia fellow immediately after the Tianamen Square massacre. He was a fundraiser for Barnard College, the all-women’s school affiliated with Columbia.

Ed is now a senior administrator at the nation’s premier educational access program, which places gifted students of color at leading private schools. He also worked at GMHC and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. In recent years, Ed has spoken at the Yale School of Management Education Leadership Conference, Fundraising Day in New York, the Westside Y Writer’s Voice, and the 92nd Street Y Tribeca.

In February, he has been invited to speak at the Harvard Graduate School of Education Distinguished Author series. A native of Rochester, NY, he lives in New York City. The Battle for Room 314 is Ed Boland’s first book.

has authored 13 books, including two with veteran actor Robert Wagner: The New York Times bestsellers You Must Remember This (published March 2014) Pieces of My Heart (published 2008), and the Times bestseller John Wayne: Life and Legend.

Among his other books are Empire of Dreams: The Epic Life of Cecil B. DeMille, which won the 2011 Richard Wall Memorial Book Award, Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer, Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford, Ernst Lubitsch: Laughter in Paradise, and The Speed of Sound (all Simon & Schuster).

He has lectured extensively around the world, most frequently at the National Film Theater in London, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Moscow Film Theater. He’s done the commentary tracks for many DVD’s, including “Trouble in Paradise,” “My Darling Clementine,” and “Stagecoach.”

Scott also writes book reviews for The Wall Street Journal, and has written for The New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune, as well as practically every film magazine extinct or still extant. He’s the former literary and art critic for The Palm Beach Post; he and his wife, Lynn, live in West Palm Beach.

is Books Editor for O, the Oprah Magazine, where she curates the Reading Room section and other literary coverage. She also works with Oprah Winfrey on the Oprah Book Club 2.0. She is also a judge for the newly incarnated Book of the Month Club.

Leigh is a long-time member of the book publishing community. She’s worked as a publicity director, supervising campaigns for a wide range of authors—from Umberto Eco and Gunter Grass to Mickey Mantle and Helen Hayes. On a publicity tour for Jimmy Buffett, she flew with him from city to city in a small plane he piloted, despite her fear of flying. Leigh’s also worked as a book editor, acquiring and editing books by Al Gore, Alice Walker, Gloria Naylor, Steve Martin, and Bill Maher, to name a few. She began her career in book publishing as a copy aide for Book World at The Washington Post.