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Saturday, April 18
 

9:00am EDT

Christian Advocacy for the Common Good: Loving Our Neighbors in Public
Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Chapel
Advocacy for social justice can be viewed by people of faith as either dangerously radical or pityingly naive. Meyaard-Schaap has spent years pushing Christians to see it differently. By tracing its lineage through Christian history, he shares how faith-rooted advocacy through storytelling, writing, and direct action is more than merely a political act, but a public act of love for our neighbors.

Book signing follows in the Chapel Narthex 
Speakers
avatar for Kyle Meyaard-Schaap

Kyle Meyaard-Schaap

Rev. Kyle Meyaard-Schaap is the Executive Director of the Association for a More Just Society-US. His work has been featured in news outlets such as PBS, NPR, CNN, NBC News, the New York Times, and more. He was named a Yale Public Voices Fellow on the Climate Crisis in 2020 and to the Grist 50 Fixers cohort in 2022 or for his work on climate change education and advocacy... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Chapel
  Concurrent Session, Solo Session

9:00am EDT

Forms of Joy and Witness: Poetry and Prose in Conversation
Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium
In this conversation, Ross Gay and Patrick Rosal reflect on what they have learned from one another about play, collaboration, and attentiveness, both on and off the page.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby  
(Please note: Ross Gay requests no photos, videos, or audio recordings at any time throughout his participation in the Festival.This includes before, during, and after sessions, at book signings, and in between events. Thank you for honoring this request.) 

Speakers
avatar for Ross Gay

Ross Gay

Ross Gay is the author of four books of poetry: Against Which; Bringing the Shovel Down; Be Holding, winner of the PEN America Literary Jean Stein Award; and Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, winner of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry A... Read More →
avatar for Patrick Rosal

Patrick Rosal

Patrick Rosal is the author of The Last Thing and has been published in The New York Times, The Nation, Best American Poetry and elsewhere. A Guggenheim and NEA Fellow, he is a Distinguished Professor at Rutgers-Camden. His mother and father immigrated from the Philippines and met in the U.S., while his father was still a Catholic priest and theologian in the Thomist tradition... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium
  Concurrent Session, Conversation

9:00am EDT

Grace Notes: Tiny Moments that Make Our Stories Sing
Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Recital Hall
Using several examples across the modern landscape of literary fiction, Bilal explores the power of the instant in storytelling, attuning us to the littlest details that add sparkle, beauty and meaning to the works we love.  

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby
Speakers
avatar for Aaliyah Bilal

Aaliyah Bilal

Aaliyah Bilal is a fiction and nonfiction writer who focuses on the Black American Muslim experience and stories that connect Chinese and Afro-Diasporic peoples. She has experience as a director and producer of short films and she has published stories and essays with The Michiga... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Recital Hall
  Concurrent Session, Solo Session

9:00am EDT

Playing with Fire: Christian Poets Reflect on Faith and Practice
Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Gezon Auditorium
David Clark and L.S. Klatt discuss the publication journey of their new edited collection Playing with Fire: Christian Poets Reflect on Faith and Practice. In this session, they talk about the genesis of the project, the community of writers they cultivated in exploring what a Christian poetics might look like, and the special challenges and graces they encountered in putting together a theologically diverse collection of essays.

Book signing follows in the Spoelhof Atrium
Speakers
avatar for George David Clark

George David Clark

George David Clark is the author of Reveille (winner of the Miller Williams Poetry Prize, Arkansas) and Newly Not Eternal (LSU), and coeditor, with Lew Klatt, of Playing with Fire: Christian Poets Reflect on Faith and Practice. The editor-in-chief of 32 Poems, David teaches creative writing at Washington & Jefferson College... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Gezon Auditorium
  Concurrent Session, Conversation

9:00am EDT

Stained Glass and Sticky Hands: Writing Faithfully for Children in Our Holy and Messy World
Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Prince Conference Center, Board Room
Children are born into a world of both stunning sunsets and dropped ice cream cones. Our words and our presence can model what it means to live with an awareness of God’s goodness alongside the bumpy realities of skinned knees and playground politics. Reid encourages and equips us to contemplate the power of words infused with grace and truth and always grounded in hope.

Book signing follows in the Prince Conference Center, Fireside Room
Speakers
avatar for Aimee Reid

Aimee Reid

Children's author Aimee Reid learned to read through frequent story times with the Beginner Books from Random House. She soon read her way through the books in her Kindergarten classroom and received entrance to the big school library. It was special to release her first picture book... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Prince Conference Center, Board Room
  Concurrent Session, Solo Session

9:00am EDT

The Art of Fashioning the Soul
Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Prince Conference Center, Willow Room
We become what we behold. The imagination shapes how we see the world and our place within it. So how might we intentionally form the imagination to become the type of people we want to become? Lanta Davis introduces “the art of fashioning the soul,” a historic Christian practice that trains the imagination as part of spiritual formation. 

Book signing follows in the Prince Conference Center, Fireside Room
Speakers
avatar for Lanta Davis

Lanta Davis

Lanta Davis writes and teaches about the sacramental imagination, beauty, and character formation. Her book, Becoming by Beholding: The Power of the Imagination in Spiritual Formation, was named one of Christianity Today's best books of the year, and her writing has also appeared... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Prince Conference Center, Willow Room
  Concurrent Session, Solo Session

10:30am EDT

A Conversation with Barbara Brown Taylor
Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium
A conversation with Barbara Brown Taylor, interviewed by Calvin University Pastor Rev. Mary S. Hulst.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby
Speakers
avatar for Barbara Brown Taylor

Barbara Brown Taylor

Barbara Brown Taylor is the New York Times bestselling author of An Altar in the World, Learning to Walk in the Dark, and Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others.

In 2024, she was elected to the Georgia Writer’s Hall of Fame at the University of Georgia, and her new bo... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium
  Concurrent Session, Interview

10:30am EDT

Acts of Translation, Acts of Justice
Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT
Gezon Auditorium
What does it mean to do justice to a text as a translator? What does it mean to do justice in the world? This talk will explore the attention, responsibility, and respect that this work calls us to.  

Book signing follows in the Spoelhof Atrium
Speakers
avatar for Alejandra Oliva

Alejandra Oliva

Alejandra Oliva is an essayist, embroiderer and translator. Her book, Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith and Migration, was published by Astra House, and received a Whiting Nonfiction Grant. She was the Yale Whitney Humanities Center Franke Visiting Fellow in Spring 2022... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT
Gezon Auditorium
  Concurrent Session, Solo Session

10:30am EDT

Lightning Rod Poetry & Tuning Fork Poetics
Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT
Prince Conference Center, Board Room
Jacob Schepers writes, writes about, and edits avant-garde and experimental poetry. In this talk, he discusses pushing the boundaries of poetic practice and what formal, thematic, and philosophical considerations may inform such decisions. He suggests writers and readers alike may benefit from testing riskier and uglier creative practices beyond typical "shock value" alone.
Speakers
avatar for Jacob Schepers

Jacob Schepers

Jacob Schepers is cofounder and coeditor of Ballast, a 501(c)(3) non-profit online literary magazine, and the author of the poetry collections A Bundle of Careful Compromises and Ugly Ground Swell Moss, and the chapbooks Connections & Choreography and Shipwreck Abstracted... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT
Prince Conference Center, Board Room
  Concurrent Session, Solo Session

10:30am EDT

Listening Across Distance
Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT
Chapel
In an era of division, how do we meaningfully talk—and truly listen—to people we don’t agree with? Drawing from years of reporting and firsthand encounters, Astead Herndon reflects on how curiosity, dignity, and empathy open doors across disagreement, and explores what it means to listen without yielding truth, build trust where none seems possible, and reimagine how dialogue can shape healthier communities.
Speakers
avatar for Astead Herndon

Astead Herndon

Journalist Astead W. Herndon is a host and editorial director at Vox, where he helps lead politics coverage across text, video, audio, and social media platforms. Previously at The New York Times, he distinguished himself as a sharp, accessible voice on American politics, hosti... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT
Chapel
  Concurrent Session, Solo Session

10:30am EDT

Rituals, Mentors, Priorities and Joy: the Ingredients of My Comics Career
Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT
Prince Conference Center, Willow Room
The 2024 publication of Timid, Todd's semi-autobiographical, middle-grade graphic novel, fulfilled a dream he had since he was 8. He will share his 40-year journey to book-length publication, which included development of daily rituals, timely encouragement from people who believed in his work, making writing a priority in his everyday life, and approaching the craft of writing with joy.

Book signing follows in the Prince Conference Center, Fireside Room
Speakers
avatar for Jonathan Todd

Jonathan Todd

Jonathan Todd is the author and illustrator of the semi-autobiographical graphic novel Timid (Scholastic/Graphix), which was inspired by his struggle to overcome shyness as a tween following his family's move from Miami to a Boston suburb in the 1980s. He is a recipient of a 2024 New England Book Award. For more information about Jonathan, including his author visits, visit... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT
Prince Conference Center, Willow Room
  Concurrent Session, Solo Session

10:30am EDT

Writer Websites That Dazzle Publishers
Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Recital Hall
When an agent or publisher receives your pitch, you know what they do? They Google you! Today your writer website is your business card and there is a degree to which it legitimizes you as a professional communicator. Your site can be simple, but it does need to be doing its job. Impress gatekeepers by offering a site that gives them every reason to say “yes.” 

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby
Speakers
avatar for Margot Starbuck

Margot Starbuck

Margot is a New York Times bestselling writer who’s written over 50 books and works with publishers as a writer, editor, and coach. She specializes in helping nonfiction writers get published by equipping them to dazzle gatekeepers. As a collaborator, Margot enjoys writing alongside... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Recital Hall
  Concurrent Session, Solo Session

11:45am EDT

A Conversation with Leyla K. King
Saturday April 18, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT
Chapel
In this interview, Leyla K. King explores the layered, often tender work of telling a life shaped by multiple cultures, identities, and spiritual landscapes.

Book signing follows in the Chapel Narthex
Speakers
avatar for Leyla K. King

Leyla K. King

Leyla K. King is a Palestinian-American Episcopal priest and author. She is a founding member of both Palestinian Anglicans and Clergy Allies (www.palestiniananglicans.org) and The Small Churches Big Impact Collective. She writes about her experiences as a Palestinian, a clergywo... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT
Chapel
  Concurrent Session, Interview

11:45am EDT

A Conversation with Neal Shusterman
Saturday April 18, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium
A Conversation with Neal Shusterman, interviewed by Dean Nelson. 

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby
Speakers
avatar for Neal Shusterman

Neal Shusterman

Neal Shusterman is the New York Times bestselling author of more than fifty award-winning books for children, teens, and adults, including Challenger Deep, which won the National Book Award, Courage to Dream, a Sydney Taylor Honor Book, Scythe, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book, the... Read More →
avatar for Dean Nelson

Dean Nelson

Dean Nelson is the founder and director of the journalism program at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, and the founder and host of the annual Writer's Symposium By The Sea, where he has interviewed great writers for more than 30 years. His most recent books are Talking... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium
  Concurrent Session, Interview

11:45am EDT

Faith, Family, Football: Eli Cranor on the Dark Side of the American Dream
Saturday April 18, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT
Prince Conference Center, Willow Room
In small-town America, football is more than just a game—it's a religion, a family legacy, and a path to salvation. But beneath the bright lights of "Friday Night Lights" lies a world of desperation, corruption, and violence. Award-winning author and former professional quarterback Eli Cranor dissects the powerful themes that fuel his acclaimed Southern noir novels.

Book signing follows in the Prince Conference Center, Fireside Room
Speakers
avatar for Eli Cranor

Eli Cranor

Nationally-bestselling, Edgar Award-winning author, Eli Cranor played quarterback at every level: peewee to professional. These days, he serves as the Writer in Residence at Arkansas Tech, where he also lends his expertise to the university's football team. His previous works include... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT
Prince Conference Center, Willow Room
  Concurrent Session, Solo Session

11:45am EDT

From Manuscript to Marketplace
Saturday April 18, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Recital Hall
In this session, marketing professionals discuss how books find their readers in a crowded landscape, exploring strategies, trends, and challenges unique to faith-related publishing. This panel offers practical insight into audience engagement, platform building, and the creative collaboration that helps bring books into the world.
Speakers
avatar for Alexis DeWeese

Alexis DeWeese

Alexis De Weese is a writer, digital marketer, and student of theology. Her work is devoted to creating space for necessary conversations within the Church and helping others cultivate practices of digital hospitality. 

As senior marketing manager with Zondervan Reflective, an... Read More →
avatar for Pete Ford

Pete Ford

Pete Ford is a stay-at-home dad as well as a digital marketer for Christian authors, publishers, and nonprofits. By night, he is a reader, focusing on topics including nonviolence, time, the built environment, and spiritual practices like Sabbath.
avatar for Jeremy Wells

Jeremy Wells

Jeremy Wells serves as Senior Marketing Director for Baker Academic & Brazos Press, where he brings
two decades of publishing experience to connecting readers with transformative books. He also works as a
part-time bookseller at Plumfield Books in Ada, Michigan, keeping him grounde... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Recital Hall
  Concurrent Session, Panel Session

11:45am EDT

The Art of Poetry and the Gift of Attention
Saturday April 18, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT
Prince Conference Center, Board Room
Abram Van Engen has been reaching a wide range of listeners for the past five years with his popular podcast Poetry For All and his book Word Made Fresh: An Invitation to Poetry for the Church. He explores poetry as a gift of attention, and he explains why this gift might be worth our time, including how to sift poems and take them up in ways that deepen our spiritual lives.

Book signing follows in the Prince Conference Center, Fireside Room
Speakers
avatar for Abram VanEngen

Abram VanEngen

Abram Van Engen is the Stanley Elkin Professor of the Humanities at Washington University in St. Louis. His books include City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism (2020) and Word Made Fresh: An Invitation to Poetry for the Church (2024), named Best Book of 2024 in Cul... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT
Prince Conference Center, Board Room
  Concurrent Session, Solo Session

2:30pm EDT

A Conversation with Sarah Perry
Saturday April 18, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Recital Hall
A Conversation with Sarah Perry, interviewed by Jennifer L. Holberg, CCFW Director.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby
Speakers
avatar for Sarah Perry

Sarah Perry

Sarah Perry is the internationally best selling author of the novels Melmouth, The Essex Serpent, After Me Comes the Flood, and Enlightenment, and the nonfiction Essex Girls.

Her essays have been widely published, and she has contributed to the Guardian, the New York Times, the ... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Recital Hall
  Concurrent Session, Interview

2:30pm EDT

A Conversation with Terumi Echols
Saturday April 18, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Prince Conference Center, Willow Room
A Conversation with Terumi Echols, Interviewed by Scott Hoezee, Center for Excellence in Preaching.
Speakers
avatar for Terumi Echols

Terumi Echols

Terumi Echols is the President and Publisher of InterVarsity Press (IVP), where she leads a mission-driven publishing ministry committed to deepening lives in Christ and equipping the church for faithful witness and renewal. Under her leadership, IVP has strengthened its financial health, expanded its global reach, and launched significant initiatives... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Prince Conference Center, Willow Room
  Concurrent Session, Interview

2:30pm EDT

Families We Know, Families We Imagine: Writing Identity for Young Readers
Saturday April 18, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium
Karina Yan Glaser and Jonathan Todd explore how stories for children can honor the richness of family and identity. In this conversation, they'll discuss crafting characters kids can see themselves in, portraying complex home lives with honesty and warmth, and creating narratives that help young readers feel recognized, included, and deeply at home.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby
Speakers
avatar for Karina Yan Glaser

Karina Yan Glaser

Karina Yan Glaser is the New York Times bestselling author of the Vanderbeeker series, the standalone middle grade novel A Duet for Home, the chapter book Poppy Song Bakes A Way (part of the multi-author series The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class), and the Newbery Honor-winning historical... Read More →
avatar for Jonathan Todd

Jonathan Todd

Jonathan Todd is the author and illustrator of the semi-autobiographical graphic novel Timid (Scholastic/Graphix), which was inspired by his struggle to overcome shyness as a tween following his family's move from Miami to a Boston suburb in the 1980s. He is a recipient of a 2024 New England Book Award. For more information about Jonathan, including his author visits, visit... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium
  Concurrent Session, Conversation

2:30pm EDT

The Grace of Wild Things: Finding a Language for Praise and Lamentation
Saturday April 18, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Prince Conference Center, Board Room
As the son of a veterinarian and the grandson of poor Appalachian farmers, Todd Davis searches for wildness in forests and remote streams. At root is his deep belief that we are kin to all species, not just humankind, and that as kin, we have a responsibility to care for one another. Rooted in praise and lamentation, Davis’s poems seek to situate our small role in the whole of creation.

Book signing follows in the Prince Conference Center, Fireside Room
Speakers
avatar for Todd Davis

Todd Davis

Todd Davis is the author of eight books of poetry, most recently Ditch Memory: New & Selected Poems and Coffin Honey. He also edited A Literary Field Guide to Northern Appalachia and Fast Break to Line Break: Poets on the Art of Basketball. His writing has won the Midwest Book Award and the Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Prize. He teaches environmental studies at Penn State University... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Prince Conference Center, Board Room
  Concurrent Session, Solo Session

2:30pm EDT

Witnessing What’s There: Writing Attention in a Wounded World
Saturday April 18, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Chapel
Daniel José Camacho and Alejandra Oliva explore writing as an act of paying attention—especially in places marked by structural suffering. In this conversation, they consider how faithful witnessing becomes a moral and spiritual practice, inviting writers to see clearly, name truthfully, and cultivate a gaze that honors both human dignity and the possibility of repair.

Book signing follows in the Chapel Narthex
Speakers
avatar for Daniel José Camacho

Daniel José Camacho

Daniel José Camacho is currently working on a book about Bartolomé de las Casas with Avid Reader Press. Previously an editor at Sojourners and Fortress Press, he won a Robert B. Silvers Foundation Grant for his essay "Saint Augustine's Slave Play," which became one of the top-t... Read More →
avatar for Alejandra Oliva

Alejandra Oliva

Alejandra Oliva is an essayist, embroiderer and translator. Her book, Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith and Migration, was published by Astra House, and received a Whiting Nonfiction Grant. She was the Yale Whitney Humanities Center Franke Visiting Fellow in Spring 2022... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Chapel
  Concurrent Session, Conversation

4:00pm EDT

Audiobooks for Authors
Saturday April 18, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Prince Conference Center, Willow Room
Why should authors push for their work in audio? How does the selling of audio rights work with established publishers? How can an indie-published author hire a narrator and create their own audiobook? Join Adam Verner, a veteran narrator, for a deep dive into the world of audio and the importance of the spoken word.
Speakers
avatar for Adam Verner

Adam Verner

Adam is a full time narrator and has recorded over 700 titles for publishers and authors large and small. Winner of a 2017 VoiceArts award and multiple Earphones Awards, he holds his MFA in Acting from Roosevelt University. He lives with his wife and family in beautiful Colorado... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Prince Conference Center, Willow Room
  Concurrent Session, Solo Session

4:00pm EDT

In the Spirit of Others' Words
Saturday April 18, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Prince Conference Center, Board Room
As editor and executive director of 32 Poems for the past 15 years, George David Clark curates and champions his favorite contemporary poems. He discusses the balance of humility and hubris required of active editors, the development of long-term artistic partnerships, editorial creativity, and the spirit of collaboration.

Book signing follows in the Prince Conference Center, Fireside Room
Speakers
avatar for George David Clark

George David Clark

George David Clark is the author of Reveille (winner of the Miller Williams Poetry Prize, Arkansas) and Newly Not Eternal (LSU), and coeditor, with Lew Klatt, of Playing with Fire: Christian Poets Reflect on Faith and Practice. The editor-in-chief of 32 Poems, David teaches creative writing at Washington & Jefferson College... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Prince Conference Center, Board Room
  Concurrent Session, Solo Session

4:00pm EDT

Place and Landscape as Character
Saturday April 18, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Recital Hall
In conversation, A. Muia, Christine Byl, and Eli Cranor explore how landscape shapes story—becoming not just backdrop but an active, breathing presence. They consider writing rooted in place, the ethics of depicting land and community, and how attentive engagement with the physical world deepens narrative voice, character, and meaning.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby
Speakers
avatar for Christine Byl

Christine Byl

Christine Byl is the author of the novel Lookout, short-listed for the Center for Fiction's 2023 First Novel prize and recipient of a Montana Book Award Honor, and Dirt Work: An Education in the Woods, shortlisted for the 2014 Willa Award in nonfiction. Christine has worked as a professional trail-builder for nearly three decades. She lives in Interior Alaska on the homelands of Dene' people... Read More →
avatar for Eli Cranor

Eli Cranor

Nationally-bestselling, Edgar Award-winning author, Eli Cranor played quarterback at every level: peewee to professional. These days, he serves as the Writer in Residence at Arkansas Tech, where he also lends his expertise to the university's football team. His previous works include... Read More →
avatar for A. Muia

A. Muia

A. Muia is the 2024 winner of the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction for her novel, A Desert Between Two Seas. Her fiction has appeared in journals throughout the U.S. She holds a degree in Spanish language, a master's in teaching English to speakers of other languages, an... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Recital Hall
  Concurrent Session, Conversation

4:00pm EDT

Rethinking Dystopia
Saturday April 18, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium
In this session, novelist Neal Shusterman explores how to use dystopian literature to break down, dissect, and rebuild the current world through the lens of writing. How can writers not only stir up the space, but give readers something to aspire to rather than fear? 

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby
Speakers
avatar for Neal Shusterman

Neal Shusterman

Neal Shusterman is the New York Times bestselling author of more than fifty award-winning books for children, teens, and adults, including Challenger Deep, which won the National Book Award, Courage to Dream, a Sydney Taylor Honor Book, Scythe, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book, the... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium
  Concurrent Session, Solo Session

4:00pm EDT

Sacred Traces: Writing the Texture of Religious Experience
Saturday April 18, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Chapel
In conversation, Aaliyah Bilal and Melody Gee explore how writers draw from lived religious experience—its rituals, questions, inheritances, and contradictions—to craft resonant stories.

Book signing follows in the Chapel Narthex
Speakers
avatar for Aaliyah Bilal

Aaliyah Bilal

Aaliyah Bilal is a fiction and nonfiction writer who focuses on the Black American Muslim experience and stories that connect Chinese and Afro-Diasporic peoples. She has experience as a director and producer of short films and she has published stories and essays with The Michiga... Read More →
avatar for Melody S. Gee

Melody S. Gee

Melody S. Gee is the author of We Carry Smoke and Paper: Essays on the Grief and Hope of Conversion (University of Iowa Press, October 2024) and three books of poetry. She is the recipient of Kundiman fellowships in poetry and fiction, a Sustainable Arts Foundation Award, and Artist Support Grants from the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis... Read More →
Saturday April 18, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Chapel
  Concurrent Session, Conversation
 

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