Meet and Greet the Authors

11:30 — 1:00: Jennifer Wilson is an award-winning writer who has chronicled her travels, both epic and around the corner, in National Geographic Traveler, Gourmet, Esquire, Midwest Living, Better Homes & Gardens, Frommer’s Budget Travel, Parents, and Disney Family Fun. Running Away to Home was awarded Best Nonfiction Book of 2011 by the American Society of Journalists and Authors.

1:00 — 2:30: Rachel Mans McKenny is an author, podcaster, and humorist from the Midwest. Her debut novel The Butterfly Effect was published in December 2020 and has been chosen as this year’s All Iowa Reads book. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Elle, InStyle, The Washington Post, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Electric Literature, The Rumpus, Hobart, and other publications

2:30 — 4:00: Denise Williams wrote her first book in second grade. I Hate You and its sequel, I Still Hate You, featured a tough, funny heroine, a quirky hero, witty banter, and a dragon. Minus the dragons, these are still the books she likes to write. After penning those early works, she finished second grade and eventually earned a PhD. After growing up a military brat around the world and across the country, Denise now lives in Iowa with her husband, son, and two ornery shih-tzus who think they own the house. How to Fail at Flirting was her debut novel and she can usually be found reading, writing, or thinking about love stories.

4:00 — 5:00: Sean Adams is a graduate of Bennington College and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. His fiction has appeared in Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Normal School, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, The Arkansas International, and elsewhere. He lives in Des Moines, Iowa with his wife, Emma, and their various pets.

Meet Children’s and Young Adult Authors

10:00 — 11:30: Thalia Sutton is a writer, editor, entrepreneur, artist, and teacher with a passion for revolution both within one’s self and out in the world. Identifying as a bisexual, non-binary Zen Buddhist with a flare for the dramatic, in her free time she is also a philosopher, political essayist, traveler, comic artist, martial artist, cosplayer, and avid gardener, . Growing up in Des Moines and graduating from high school at the age of 16, Thalia went on to attend the University of Iowa and Columbia University in New York on merit scholarships, achieving a BA in Japanese Language & Literature and an MA in East Asian Studies, respectively. She is also a graduate of the Columbia Publishing Course and the Hokkaido International Foundation (HIF).

11:30 — 1:00: Jill Friestad-Tate is the author of Priscilla’s Perfect Tea Party and Messages on the Moon.  Professor by day, writer when time permits, Jill writes about childhood experiences and little-known historical facts. She lives in Iowa and loves her family, Starbucks, and everything Disney.

1:00—2:30: Victor Santos has a PhD in Applied Linguistics and Technology, an M.S in Language Science and Technology, and a B.A degree in Linguistics. His main interest is found in Language Assessment. He is an award-winning children’s book author who loves writing children’s books that touch the heart and change minds.

2:30 — 4:00: Eileen Boggess is the author of Mia the Magnificent, Mia the Melodramatic, and Mia the Meek, plus the play, Mia the Melodramatic. As a former middle school teacher with a master’s degree in Middle Level Education, she enjoys reading all types of books and writing young adult fiction.