Annual Events

Liz Biddle is an independent author, mother, and wife living in the picturesque Shenandoah Valley. She began writing to organize her thoughts and soon realized her passion lay in helping readers understand complex ideas about themselves and the world. Her books encourage self-reflection, foster empathy, and challenge perspectives, offering fresh insights into life’s intricacies.

As a published children's book author with an adult book on the horizon, Liz aims to inspire meaningful connections through storytelling. Her works are crafted to bridge gaps in understanding, enabling readers to recognize and explore facets of life they may not have considered before. Outside of writing, she enjoys exploring the valley’s natural beauty with her family and their dog, dedicating her life to encouraging growth, discovery, and inspiration through her stories.

James Blakey is a three-time finalist for the Short Mystery Fiction Society's Derringer Award, winning in 2019 for his story "The Bicycle Thief" and has published fifty short stories across a variety of genres. He leads critique groups in Harrisonburg, Charlottesville, and Shenandoah County. He serves as Secretary of the Rocktown Writers Guild. In September of 2024 his paranormal thriller SUPERSTITION was published by City Owl Press. He is the publisher and co-editor of CHARLOTTESVILLE FANTASTIC, an anthology of fantasy stories set in the heartland of Virginia. James lives in Broadway.

Lauralee Bliss is a multi-published author of thirty novels and novellas in both historical and contemporary genres. Her latest release is "When the Avalanche Roared" based on the events in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State and the worst avalanche in US history.

When not writing, Lauralee can often be found on the trails where the author has logged over 12,000 miles of hiking including two Appalachian Trail completions, and has penned several books on her trail adventures.

Tammy Cullers is a middle school English teacher by day and a mystery writer by night. She has co-written a three-book cozy mystery series (Custer’s Mill Mysteries) and has also co-written three local history books (Local Lore of the Shenandoah). Now, she’s striking out on her own and has just completed book one of her small-town church choir mystery series–When Murder Gilds the Skies. Tammy is the editor and publisher of a monthly community newspaper, The Chimney Rock Chronicle.

Devlyn D'Alfonzo lives in Central Virginia with her family and many pets. When not writing, she is a practicing veterinarian focused on senior pet care and president of a local non-profit focused on improving LGBTQIA+ community engagement. Her hobbies include reading, trail riding with friends, gardening, and camping.

Lori D'Angelo is a grant recipient from the Elizabeth George Foundation, a fellow at the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts, and an alumna of the Community of Writers. She is associate flash fiction editor at JMWW and holds an MA from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and an MFA from West Virginia University. Her work has appeared in various literary journals including BULL, Gargoyle, Drunken Boat, Moon City Review, and Rejection Letters. Her first book, a collection called The Monsters Are Here, was recently published by ELJ Editions.

Russ Eanes is a writer, walker and cyclist from Harrisonburg, Virginia. Formerly the Executive Director of MennoMedia and publisher for Herald Press, in 2018 he spent six weeks solo-walking 500 miles on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. He has since followed it up with yearly pilgrimages on the Way of St. Francis in Italy and most recently on the Camino Portuguese. He has gone on to write and publish books about his experiences: The Walk of a Lifetime and Pilgrim Paths to Assisi, to teach classes for older adults about travel, and to lead pilgrimage tours especially for older adults in Italy, Portugal and Spain, along with his wife, Jane.

Though now retired, Joseph G. Fitzgerald has been a newspaper editor in Petersburg and Harrisonburg, mayor of Harrisonburg, political hack (although his wife prefers he say political activist or operative), reporter, writer, photographer, webmaster, tech writer, and a night clerk in a 7-Eleven. Not all at the same time. His fiction is drawn from his experiences in journalism and politics, as well as from his imagination.

Beth Ford is a historical fiction author living in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. She is the author of the novels In the Times of Spirits, Love Between Times, and After the Spirits Come: A Continuation of Dickens's A Christmas Carol. She also writes the Cassie Woods, Reporter novella series. Her work has also appeared in a variety of literary journals.

Allison K. Garcia is a Licensed Professional Counselor, but she has wanted to be a writer ever since she could hold a pencil. She is a member of Shenandoah Valley Writers, Virginia Writers Club, the Author Transformation Alliance, and is Social Media Coordinator for the Rocktown Writers Guild. Allison has been featured in local newspapers, radio stations, universities, and podcasts, and her works about marginalized Christians have won several awards Allison’s stories have been featured in six anthologies, and she has seven published novels: Vivir el Dream, Finding Amor, Finding Seguridad, Finding Paz, The Dry Depths of My Soul, These New Pieces of Me, and Tired of Waiting for Tomorrow.

Stephanie Gardner lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. She grew up in the mountains of Western North Carolina and has strong family roots in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. She holds degrees in history, public history, and library science. Stephanie works as a librarian, archivist, and museum curator. Rattlesnake Granny was released in 2024 and was her first book.

Clifford Garstang is the author of six books, including his most recent novel, The Last Bird of Paradise, and a novel-in-stories, What the Zhang Boys Know, which won the Library of Virginia Literary Award for Fiction. He is also a co-founder and former editor of Prime Number Magazine and the editor of the prize-winning anthology series, Everywhere Stories: Short Fiction from a Small Planet. A former international lawyer, he lives near Staunton VA.

Katie Gigliotti is the best selling author and illustrator of children's picture books, including; Wander World, You are: Finding God in the Little Things and All My Love. A child at heart, she hopes to inspire young minds to use their imagination and creativity to make their dreams come true. She daydreams, wishes, wonders, and crafts her stories out of her home in Culpeper, Virginia. 

Amanda was born in the heart of Atlanta, Georgia, to two white Mennonites. Raised in the social justice legacies of Dr. King and her Anabaptist ancestors, she was also raised to be a good little white girl in a system built for her advantage. Over the past decades, she has committed to the life, study, and embodied work of social justice, including studying Restorative Justice and Conflict Transformation, apprenticing with YogaRoots On Location’s Anti-Racist Raja Yoga School and the People’s Institute for Survival & Beyond’s Undoing Racism Workshop, and organizing with Youth Undoing Institutional Racism, and the American Friends Service Committee. She has a PhD in Expressive Arts. Her research examined the role of arts/culture in sustaining white settlers in long-term decolonization and anti-racism efforts.

Sarah Hanger—a Harrisonburg, VA local and the current practice manager at Weiler Orthodontics— is excited to announce the release of her debut children's book, My First Visit to the Orthodontist. With a decade of firsthand orthodontic experience, Sarah is no stranger to helping kids and their families navigate the sometimes-intimidating world of braces and clear aligners. However, it was her role as a mother to two young children, Cora and Hudson, that truly inspired her to take on a new challenge—writing a book that would ease the worries of young patients before their first orthodontic visit.

Sarah is more than just an orthodontic practice manager—she’s a dedicated mom to two wonderful kids and a passionate advocate for easing children's fears surrounding orthodontic care. When she’s not perfecting smiles, Sarah enjoys traveling and believes every adventure holds a story waiting to be told.

Arnold Dale Haywood grew up on a farm in Indian Trail, NC but today he calls the beautiful Shenandoah Valley home. Where he lives with his bride of 30 years, Sherry. He has two adult children, Cameron and Whitney.

He has a unique writing style that transforms real world occurrences into a fictional format that allows people to expand their thought process beyond the mundane motions of everyday life. He challenges conventional thought with a flair of drama, taste of romance, and dash of reality.

Robert Hoskins was born in Harlan, Kentucky, and educated at Yale University and the University of Kentucky. In his forty years of teaching British Literature and Film Studies at James Madison University he published articles and books on English writers (notably Graham Greene) and served in a variety of academic positions, including three and a half years as department head and eight years as Executive Director of the national College English Association. After retiring, he decided to try experiencing literature from the writer’s side rather than the teacher’s or scholar’s. Since then he has published several novels and volumes of short stories, many of which include fictionalized versions of characters, ideas, and events from his memories of growing up in Eastern Kentucky. He lives with his wife Betty in Virginia and enjoys reading, piano playing, cooking, movies, travel, and spending time with family and friends.

Travis Hupp has been writing poetry in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia for 25+ years. He has written three books of poetry, "Faster, Annihilators!", "Sin and I" and "American Entropy". He's hard at work on a fourth book.

Brent L. Kendrick is a writer, scholar, and educator whose literary contributions span decades. An authority on Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, he edited The Infant Sphinx: Collected Letters of Mary E. Wilkins Freeman (1985), Green Mountain Stories (2023) and is completing a two-volume biography, Dolly: Life and Letters of Mary E. Wilkins Freeman. He is also the author of three creative nonfiction collections: In Bed (2023), More Wit and Wisdom (2024), and The Third Time’s the Charm (2025).

Dr. Kendrick taught English at Laurel Ridge Community College, where the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia named him one of the Commonwealth’s top educators (2008). He received the Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence (2010), served as a Chancellor’s Professor (2012-2014), and was the inaugural recipient of the Susan S. Wood Professorship for Teaching Excellence (2016). Earlier, he spent 25 years at the Library of Congress, earning its Distinguished Service Award.

Gayle C. Krause is a PAL member of SCBWI, a member of Mighty KidLit Media, a past member of the Historical Novel Society, and The Poets’ Garage. She served on the Rhyming Revolution’s Best in Rhyme Committee, selecting the best national rhyming picture book for 2015-2017. Her work has been nominated for the Boston Globe /Horn Book and The International Reading Association Award. A Master educator, she’s taught Children’s Literature at the secondary and post-secondary levels. Her books include: Rock Star Santa (Scholastic), RATGIRL: Song of the Viper (Noble Romance) Daddy, Can You See the Moon? and Once Upon a Twisted Tale, (Spork Publishing) and Twice Betrayed and Zadie and the Witch’s Tea (Trowbridge Books).

John Lamb considers himself a lucky man. He was allowed to pursue his two greatest passions: police work and writing.  A retired homicide detective and hostage negotiator, Lamb served with a major Southern California police department.  At the end of his distinguished career, he relocated to the Shenandoah Valley, where he became a professional writer.  He is the author of eight books. They include five murder mysteries published by a division of Penguin, a standalone police procedural novel, and a book about ghost phenomena.  His current book is the first volume in his sardonic memoirs, Service with a Sneer, which won the 2024 Killer Nashville Writer’s Conference Claymore Award for Best Unpublished Nonfiction Manuscript. 

David Martin is an architect technician living in the Shenandoah Valley. In 2024, he self-published his first book, Things Unseen, a fantasy novel about a military engineer who summons a demon to help hunt down the leader of a terrorist cell. In addition to writing, David enjoys spending his time reading, practicing music, and doing graphic design.

Linda Miller, an educator with 36 years of teaching experience, is the author of sixteen children’s books. Since retirement, along with traveling, she enjoys volunteering at Valley Brethren Mennonite Heritage Center and leading school groups to Washington, DC. Using the Heritage Center as the setting, a number of her books reflect life in the late nineteenth century. The idea for her latest book, Three Crabby Friends, came from a hermit crab that showed up in her daughter’s garage in Monte Vista.

I’m a passionate dual language educator and children’s book author. With eight years of experience teaching kindergarten in a dual language program, I specialize in helping bilingual children excel in reading. I create engaging resources for teachers, parents, and students to make learning Spanish fun and effective. My mission is to empower families and educators to foster bilingual literacy. When I’m not teaching or writing, I’m designing creative learning tools or dreaming up new projects to support language development.

Robyn Puffenbarger received her Bachelor of Science in biology from Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. in molecular immunology from the Medical College of Virginia. After a post-doctoral research fellowship at SUNY-Stony Brook, she joined the faculty of Bridgewater College. She is professor in the Department of Biology and Environmental Science. Robyn teaches ornithology, genetics, and intro biology courses. With her husband Bill, they bird watch in the yard and all over the world, having seen birds on four continents.  Since 2021, she’s been part of the Virginia Home Grown team, filming about all aspects of gardening in the Shenandoah Valley for the VPM PBS program. Robyn is a Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener since 2011 and loves learning more about native plants to support wildlife. 

Wendy, a retired nurse and semi-retired hairdresser, treasures her roles as a mother of two grown children and grandmother of three. Her storytelling began when her kids were young, with tales of Mary and John, inspired by
her own children. While her kids grew up, storytelling took a back seat. But with the arrival of her grandchildren, the Mary and John stories returned, sharing vital life lessons from a Christian perspective. Wendy believes her stories are “God inspired,” covering topics like obedience, truthfulness, kindness, and sharing. They see life’s challenges as part of “The Great Adventure,” celebrating God’s ways over human paths. If you enjoy Christian-themed children’s stories, join us for the fun.

Mary Ruberry has authored 3 published books and over 25 papers. She is also a published poet and has worked as an editor. Mary began writing at the age of 9 and still has not stopped. She worked for over 20 years in the biomedical sciences interviewing experts, writing articles, and organizing international conferences. Mary is pleased to now work at JMU in the Center for Global Engagement. Her book, “Messages from the Tara,” provides insights into mastering the human experience for those pursuing a conscious spiritual journey. Mary has worked extensively in the theatre arts, and founded 3 theatre companies in DC and Los Angeles. Mary has also studied classical voice and has performed solo as well as in choral settings.

Writing was the furthest thing from Linda Schnepel’s mind until 2015 when a short story, written with the help of her second grade class, created a spark. This spark was fanned into flames in 2017 when she began blogging about her experiences as a new Christian in the 70s, and has slowly grown to include a wide variety of writings. Currently she is working on a memoir in her home in the mountains of Virginia.

Linda’s love for God can be seen in everything she writes. She seeks to tell entertaining stories that teach, inspire, or challenge her readers to grow in their own faith.

Born in Nairobi Kenya to missionary parents, Rosemary Shenk spent the first 13 years of her life in Tanzania and Kenya. With her husband Bruce Buckwalter, she returned to East Africa as an adult, living and working in Kenya and Ethiopia. Bruce and Rose spent five years as co-country representatives in Ethiopia for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), a relief and development organization. Rose’s first career was as a high school English teacher and theater director. Following her time as a development worker, she and her husband now own a small farm in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, raising pasture-based meats for local markets.

Avelia A. Shindyapin was an avid reader even before she could read, or at least a toddler that spent hours looking through picture books. By thirteen, she wrote the first draft of what would become Sofia in Nisl. The fantasy novella was self-published the day before she started high school. The next year spent writing her poetry collection: The Things I've Said at Midnight. Since then, she’s written several short stories, a few flash fiction pieces, and dozens of other poems. At sixteen, she wrote, cast, and directed an audio drama that was performed at Sonic-Con 2023. Most recently, she started a weekly newsletter, which has now been read thousands of times. She lives on Earth with several humans and zero cats.

Born to be a rock star, but also born completely tone-deaf, Amber Showalter learned early on to use the written word as a weapon, as an epitaph, as her own spoken siren song. A self-proclaimed Type-A personality and grown-up punk, world traveler and ex-model, Amber currently makes a living as a Progressive Care nurse on a highly acute inpatient hospital unit. She has been writing poetry since she was fifteen, and has four collections in print: The Carrion of Songs, Esteem Punk, Death Will Be Our Curfew and her latest, Paperback Criminal.

Zach Stivers is the author of the sci-fi fantasy series, Star Tower, and the paranormal romance novel, The Witches of Claw and Fang. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Florida State University and offers beta-reading, cover design and editorial services to other writers and aspiring authors. He co-founded Alliance Book Club, an overly-competitive book club that reads a book a week… or else.

Zach, his wife, their two friendly dogs and their grumpy cat live in central Virginia, just outside Shenandoah National Park. Zach loves running really slow half-marathons, listening to audiobooks at absurdly high speeds, and drinking his coffee at a perfectly normal and moderate rate.

A.D. Stone is an author, chandler, and vintage toy shop owner. 

A lifelong lover of books, art, Arthurian legend, poetry, Disney, and all things whimsical and nostalgic, she takes pride in her creative ability, always looking for the next magical thing to conjure up or be a part of. 

She was born and raised within the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. She still resides there with her significant other and beloved pets.

Lee Swanson has enjoyed a lifelong interest in medieval history. He lived in Germany and England for over twenty-five years, first as a soldier and then as a teacher before returning to live in the United States.

Graduating summa cum laude from the University of North Florida with a master’s degree in European History, Lee’s thesis centered on the Hanse, a confederation of merchants from primarily northern German cities. Many of the colorful characters who populate his novels are drawn from the lives of these resolute wayfarers who traveled the waterways of Europe in search of profit and prestige.

Morgan Vega grew up and lives in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. She earned her BA in English from Bridgewater College and MA in Technical Writing from James Madison University. She has worked in higher education and publishing. She's written two coming-of-age YA contemporary novels, Sleeping Around (2021) and Hooking Up (2025). Publisher's Weekly awarded Sleeping Around the 2022 YA/MG BookLife Prize, calling it "a masterpiece of early college angst, complicated friendships, young love, and overcoming trauma." Follow her on social media at @bymorganvega.

Liesl West never became the little mermaid, to her greatest disappointment. She can’t even swim. But she can write dark fantasy mermaid romance with strong female characters and moody, broody love interests. For now, that’s close enough. She lives with her husband and their fluffy feline overlord in Virginia, where she devours books and watches way too many ocean documentaries.

Find her on social media @authorlieslwest