2025 ANWA Writers Conference Faculty
KEYNOTE
GAIL CARSON LEVINE
Gail Carson Levine is best known for Ella Enchanted, which won a Newbery honor and was made into a major motion picture. Gail has written twenty-five more books for children. Her latest, Sparrows in the Wind, is a retelling of the myth of the Trojan War. Most of her books are fantasies, but she’s also written historical fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and picture books. Right now, Gail is working on a historical medieval murder mystery that takes place in Winchester, England, in 1277. She and her husband David and their Airedale, Tess, live in Brewster, New York.
Special Guests
Robert Gerber
Ronald Gerber is President at Lowenstein Associates, where he has been a literary agent since 2019. He is focused on cinematic stories with strong hooks and relatable characters, and is always looking for projects from underrepresented authors. He is a proud graduate of Bard College at Simon’s Rock and Clark University. He resides in Queens, New York with his wife and too many books to count.
Genres he’s looking for: thriller/mystery/crime, literary fiction (serious or humorous), book club fiction, romance, romantic comedy, historical fiction, grounded sci-fi, true crime, memoir, biography, narrative nonfiction, history nonfiction, pop culture books, and contemporary middle grade.
Genres he’s not the best fit for: fantasy, hard sci-fi/space opera, thrillers centered around religious, military, or government conspiracies, YA, picture books, prescriptive nonfiction (i.e., parenting, self-help, how-to, business), and poetry
Victoria Doherty Munro
Victoria Doherty Munro is a junior agent at Writers House representing middle grade, young adult, and adult authors. She started at Writers House as an intern in 2010 and, after graduating from Wellesley College with a degree in English, was hired as the assistant to senior agent Daniel Lazar in 2012. She began building her own list in 2015.
And how’s this for a fun fact? Victoria is descended from both the last accused witch of the Salem witch trials and one of the witch hunters and is pretty sure that means she missed her calling as the star of a bestselling YA trilogy.
Wish list: On the adult side, she’s drawn to anything with a speculative element to it, as well as upmarket contemporary fiction and thrillers with a more literary vibe. On the kids’ side she represents middle grade and YA and is looking for speculative and contemporary, as well as fantasy – and she’d really love to find a spooky middle grade horror story.
Callie Hansen
Callie Hansen is Product Manager for Shadow Mountain Publishing with a background in marketing and a lifelong passion for storytelling. A writer and avid reader with a soft spot for children’s and young adult literature, she thrives on discovering and shaping stories that captivate readers of all ages.
When she’s not immersed in the publishing world, Callie plans Disney and Universal vacations for herself and others. Fueled by creativity, chocolate, and a deep love of stories, she’s always dreaming up her next great adventure—whether on the page or beyond.
Genres she’s looking for: Young Adult Fantasy/Romance, Contemporary Romance, Middle Grade Fiction/Fantasy, Cozy Mystery, Mystery/Thriller, and Historical Fiction.
Writing Coaches
Victorine Lieski
Victorine self-published her first book, Not What She Seems, in April of 2010. In March of 2011, Not What She Seems began its 6 week run on the New York Times best-selling eBook list. By May 2011 she had sold over 100,000 copies. Victorine’s first romantic comedy novel hit the USA Today bestselling books list in January 2015.
Victorine and her husband live in Nebraska with their four children and two cats. She loves all things romance and watches While You Were Sleeping about once every six months. When she’s not writing, she’s designing book covers for authors or making something with her extensive yarn collection.
Victorine and her husband have raised their four children in Nebraska. Victorine also does graphic design work in the publishing industry.
M.A. Nichols
Born and raised in Anchorage, M.A. Nichols is a lifelong Alaskan, though she briefly ventured south to get a fancy bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree from Utah State University—neither of which had anything to do with why she became an author, but they kept her alive while launching her publishing career.
As a child she despised reading, but thanks to her mother’s love and persistence, she saw the error of her ways and developed a deep and abiding obsession with books. Currently, she writes sweet historical romance and fantasy, but as a lover of many genres, she plans to explore more in the future.
Thursday Instructors
Jessica Guernsey
Jennifer Griffith is a USA Today bestselling author, and has received several awards for her writing, including two Swoony Awards (for outstanding clean secular romance). She has been nominated for a Whitney Award, as well as named among the Best Books of 2012 by news station KSL.com. A regular presenter at writing conferences, Jennifer is the author of roughly 50 novels and novellas, with over 46 million KENP page-reads on Kindle Unlimited, and 200,000 e-book and print copies delivered to readers of light fiction. Her work has been optioned for film, read in high school and university classrooms, and has also been called boring and a waste of time by people who aren’t the audience for fluff. Parents of five brilliant young adults, Jennifer and her husband live rurally in the hot Arizona desert, where her husband works as an attorney and as Jennifer’s muse.
Rachel Huffmire
Rachel Huffmire is an award-winning author who writes futuristic fairytale retellings with twisty plots and happily-ever-afters. She has worked in the book and publishing industry since 2007, managing bookstores, acquiring and editing manuscripts for publishers, directing a marketing department for a small press, and recently signed her first film deal with a major Hollywood producer. She lives in Southern California with her husband, three children, and a library of books that is slowly overtaking their house. It’s not her fault, honest. When she’s not writing, Rachel enjoys baking apple pastries, taking long naps, and wearing warm cardigans.
Teachers
Tyson Abaroa
Whitney Award Winning author, Tyson Abaroa, was born in Provo, UT but raised in Gilbert, AZ. His freshman year of high school he was assigned to write an essay on what he’d be when he grew up. He turned in a step by step plan to become world dictator. That should have been his first clue that maybe he should keep imagining. In July 2001 between his junior and senior year of high school he enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves. After graduating high school, boot camp, and MOS school; his unit was deployed to build a fuel hose line in support of the invasion of Iraq. After this deployment he served in the Chile Santiago East Mission. He married soon after returning home and just before his first anniversary was deployed again. This time to Djibouti, Africa as part of a provisional security company. Tyson’s ADHD has led to an eclectic career after the Marine Corps. He has been a credit card collector, a claims processor, a Track Director for USA BMX, and now a Pest Control Technician. He draws from his experiences and develops stories to write about in his spare time.
Tyson Abaroa
Whitney Award Winning author, Tyson Abaroa, was born in Provo, UT but raised in Gilbert, AZ. His freshman year of high school he was assigned to write an essay on what he’d be when he grew up. He turned in a step by step plan to become world dictator. That should have been his first clue that maybe he should keep imagining. In July 2001 between his junior and senior year of high school he enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves. After graduating high school, boot camp, and MOS school; his unit was deployed to build a fuel hose line in support of the invasion of Iraq. After this deployment he served in the Chile Santiago East Mission. He married soon after returning home and just before his first anniversary was deployed again. This time to Djibouti, Africa as part of a provisional security company. Tyson’s ADHD has led to an eclectic career after the Marine Corps. He has been a credit card collector, a claims processor, a Track Director for USA BMX, and now a Pest Control Technician. He draws from his experiences and develops stories to write about in his spare time.
C. J. Anaya
CJ Anaya is a Plottr Education Lead and the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of The Healer. She writes teen and young adult fantasy romance, and when she isn’t writing, she’s coaching other authors on publishing and marketing their books.
Anika Arrington
Anika Arrington is the author of the Havensgate Chronicles: The Accidental Apprentice (a Whitney Award Finalist) and Ideal Apprentice. She runs the Youtube channel Story Serpent reviewing middle grade and YA literature. When she isn’t writing or running a load of laundry she likes to paint watercolors, watch baseball, and hike with her loving husband and their truckload of children.
Stephanie Black
Stephanie Black is the author of fourteen books, including the Natalie Marsh mystery series and, most recently, The Trespassers. She is a four-time Whitney Award winner for Best Mystery/Suspense and a finalist for Best Speculative Novel. She thinks the ANWA Conference is one of the best events on the planet and loves to hang out with a bunch of people who understand hand-wringing over characterization, the thrill of twisting a plot, and the temptation to overuse em-dashes.
John Burger (Johan Twiss)
Johan Twiss is an award-winning author who’s passionate about writing exciting science fiction and fantasy stories that are suitable for tweens, teens, and adults alike. He has nine published works, including his award-winning novel, Four Years Trapped in My Mind Palace, and the I Am Sleepless series. He’s the recipient of the Lonestar.Ink Rising Star Award, finalist in the Screencraft Cinematic Book Competition, and runner-up in the Book Pipeline Adaptation Contest. He has over forty published children’s stories available on the Sleepy Stories App and doubles as an audiobook narrator when time permits. He’s a loving husband and father with five amazing children and enjoys playing sports, a variety of musical instruments, painting, and exploring the world on road trips with his family. Learn more at www.johantwiss.com.
Ashley Bustamante
Ashley Bustamante has created stories from the moment she could scribble and staple sheets of paper together. She simply cannot recall a time when writing was not a force in her life. She strives to create stories with positive messages that encourage others to come together. She enjoys participating in the writing community and hopes to nurture other writers in the way she was nurtured by so many throughout her youth.
Darci Cole
Darci Cole is an author, narrator and podcaster. Her debut series THE UNBROKEN TALES is a set of intertwined fairytale retellings for young adults. She has been part of Brandon Sanderson’s beta team since 2015, and co-hosts the Pineapple P Podcast with Gina Denny. Darci lives in Arizona with her husband and four children. Find her on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok, and her website at darcicole.com.
Gina Denny
Gina Denny is a writer, editor, publishing professional, podcaster, speaker, and erstwhile music teacher. She is a contributing editor to the online magazine In Omnia Paratus, has been on numerous writing conference faculties including Storymakers and ANWA, and on the Storymakers conference committee from 2020-2022. Through her freelance work she has supported a multitude of authors along their journey to publication toward both indie and trad, and in addition to providing publishing advice on TikTok to thousands of followers, she is currently the royalties and commissions administrator for Ayesha Pande Literary.
Paige Edwards
Paige Edwards is an award-winning author of inspirational romantic suspense novels. Due to her deep British roots, Paige’s books are often set in the UK, and she hops the pond whenever she gets the chance. She is styled the Lady Paige Edwards when in Scotland, but her favorite title is Grandma. When she isn’t writing, she serves as president of her area’s Interfaith Community Council, enjoys hiking, consumes way too much Dr. Pepper, and is currently converting a Sprinter van into a camper. Paige loves to connect with readers. You can reach her by visiting her website authorpaigeedwards.com.
Camille Fairbanks
Camille Fairbanks earned her BA in English Literature at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada, and has worked as a copywriter, proofreader, managing editor, and social media marketing specialist. Her essay “Divine Nature” was published in Fresh Courage Take: New Directions by Mormon Women (Zvirzden et al., Signature Books). A proud member of the Red Mountain Writers chapter, she finally completed her first manuscript and credits ANWA with showing her how. She is a passionate hand-talker and if you ask her about feminism, sustainability, or the Oxford Comma, you’ll see exactly what she means.
Brekke Felt
A photographer and graphic designer, Brekke has an eye for imagery and composition. An International Award Winning photographer, she has earned her Professional Photographer Certification through the Professional Photographers of America. She has photographed on request for national cover submissions, as well as shot custom images for author’s books and author headshots. She designs word art and graphics used for retail production, school productions, and commissioned projects.
Danyelle Ferguson
Danyelle Ferguson is the author of the award-winning Crystal Creek sweet romance novels. She loves writing stories that feature strong women conquering difficult challenges and finding love along the way. She also writes nonfiction that has been published world-wide in 30+ languages. Once upon a time, she majored in business & marketing and has an ongoing love affair with spreadsheets and graphic design. When she’s away from her laptop, Danyelle enjoys dancing in the kitchen with her family, all things pink, and is obsessed with pretty pens. Follow her online for IRL goofiness, cat photobombs, and writing life updates. www.DanyelleFerguson.com
Dennis Gaunt
Dennis Gaunt has been a writer ever since that fateful day he pulled a magic pen from a stone. At least, that’s what he tells people. The truth is that he has been working with Deseret Book and Shadow Mountain Publishers as a slushpile reader since 2000, and in that time, he’s seen it all and then some, and is eager to share what he’s learned. He has published books and talks for LDS young adults with both Deseret Book and Covenant Communications, and is also a long time youth speaker and teacher. He enjoys playing the guitar, going to Disneyland, and Godzilla movies. He also hates onions.
Jessica Guernsey
Jessica Guernsey writes Fantasy and Sci-Fi short stories. With a degree in Journalism from BYU and a Masters in Publishing from WCU, her work is published in magazines and anthologies. By day, she crushes dreams as a slush pile reader for multiple publishers. During NaNoWriMo, Jessica is a Municipal Liaison for the Utah::Elsewhere Region. Frequently, she can be found at writing conferences. She isn’t difficult to spot; just look for the extrovert.
While she spent her teenage angst in Texas, she now lives on a mountain in Utah with her family. Discover more at jessicaguernsey.com.
Katie Harris
Katie Harris is an Arizona native who loves reading, writing, and definitely not arithmetic. A freelance copywriter, Katie has over a decade of experience creating marketing copy for local and global businesses. When she’s not using words to change the world, she can be found ignoring the laundry, playing chauffeur to her four kids, or wishing she was at Disneyland.
Serene Heiner
Serene Heiner is the creative soul behind the growing Instagram and TikTok accounts @magicalbooknook where she does all kinds of weird things with her eyebrows. She’s a diehard fantasy reader but can be caught cheating on the genre from time to time. She’s a proud mother to seven readers and lives with them and her husband in their Idaho home where books are stacked to the ceiling. Where does she find time to write? The world may never know.
Whitney Hemsath
Whitney Hemsath received her B.A. in Screenwriting from Chapman University, and her animated feature-length screenplay was selected for their 2005 Killer Script list. She also worked as a script reader for the Tom Lynch Production company and a script doctor for TwinStar Entertainment before pursuing other forms of writing. She’s sold and/or published ten short stories and two poems (one of which has been included in college curriculum). Her longer works include a comedic middle-grade time travel novel, an LDS inspirational non-fiction book, and her Costco shopping list. Her secret love is writing song parodies and the way to her heart is through frozen BYU mint brownies.
Tara Holladay
Tara (T.M.) Holladay is the creator of “The Only Character Workbook You’ll Ever Need,” along with the other bestselling workbooks in a series to help writers craft immersive worlds, captivating characters, and gripping plots. She lives in Arizona with her family and writes YA fantasy and rom-com, with four published novels and a novella. She thrives in “project mode” and doesn’t know how to do things halfway; ipso facto, her story-bible-building workbooks are re-launching as a desktop and mobile app in the fall of 2024. Creating intriguing story worlds is about to get a tech upgrade!
DeAnn Huff
D. Ogden Huff is the self-published author of seven novels, two novellas, and many other short stories and articles. She’s a sun addict who moved to Arizona at the age of two. She’s lived there ever since, except for a two-year stint in Utah where she discovered that she gets cold just looking at pictures of snow. Thankfully, she lives in sunny Phoenix with the man of her dreams and a house often full of kids. They are the funniest people she knows and, with them, a dinner table can be a dangerous place where the threat of choking while laughing is always a possibility.
Rachel Huffmire
Rachel Huffmire is an award-winning author who writes futuristic fairytale retellings with twisty plots and happily-ever-afters. She believes there is courage in compassion and writes about optimistic heroes who change the world. She has worked in the book and publishing industry since 2007, managing bookstores, acquiring and editing manuscripts for publishers, directing a marketing department for a small press, and recently signed her first screenwriting deal with a major Hollywood production company. She currently lives in Southern California with her husband, three children, and a library of books that is slowly overtaking their house. When she’s not writing, Rachel enjoys baking apple pastries, taking long naps, and wearing warm cardigans.
KaTrina Jackson
KaTrina Jackson loves penguins, cross-stitch, chocolate, and Star Wars, and spends much of each day trying to fit those loves in around her jobs as a freelance editor and as project manager for Eschler Editing. She graduated with a degree in editing and publishing from Brigham Young University because she couldn’t get enough stories in her life. She’s also a member of three different writing groups, attends multiple writing conferences yearly, and is currently working on publishing her first novel. When she’s not writing, editing, or reading, she can be found practicing yoga, discussing the depth of the Star Wars universe with anyone who will listen, or watching Disney movies. She and her husband live in Olathe, Kansas.
Sarah Lynne John
Sarah Lynne John is crazy about children’s nonfiction, and after you attend her class, you will be too! She is the winner of the Michigan SCBWI Middle Grade Nonfiction
Mentorship Award with Stephanie Bearce and has studied the craft of nonfiction picture books under Kirsten W. Larsen. She is a member of 12X12 and SCBWI, and recently went on submission with her agent, Lynnette Novak of the Seymour Agency.
Victorine Lieske
Victorine self-published her first book, Not What She Seems, in April of 2010. In March of 2011, Not What She Seems began its 6-week run on The New York Times best-selling eBook list. By May 2011 she had sold over 100,000 copies. Victorine’s first romantic comedy novel hit the USA Today Bestselling books list in January 2015. When she’s not writing, she’s watching swoony Korean Dramas, or making something with her extensive yarn collection.
Annette Lyon
Annette Lyon is a USA Today Bestselling author, winner of a Whitney and many other awards, including a Whitney Award and nine Best of State medals in Utah for her fiction. She’s authored more than a dozen novels and even more novellas, a cookbook, a grammar guide, and dozens of articles. She co-founded—and was the original editor for—the award-winning Timeless Romance Anthology series and its spinoff series, and also coauthored The Newport Ladies Book Club. She’s worked as a professional editor in high demand since 2008, though she’s largely hung up the hat in recent years to focus on her own work—and on being a grandma. JUST ONE MORE, her first suspense novel, was released in 2023. She’s represented by Jill Marsal of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.
Brad McBride
Bradley McBride has He has been a prolific blogger for well over a decade, currently at ThusWeSee.com, and Middle-aged Mormon Man. Self-publishing two non-fiction books along the way. Most recently he has most recently entered the world of fiction, publishing two Christmas novellas, and a new thriller. Bradley’s talent is taking complex concepts and breaking them down to present it in a way that is understandable, and entertaining. He specializes in walking the precarious tightrope between humor and spirituality in his writing.
Cynthia Merrill
Cynthia Merrill is an editor and writing coach by profession, but a writer at heart. She has written a contemporary middle-grade novel and is currently drafting an adult contemporary fiction novel. She believes the world heals and grows through stories; sometimes creators get stuck along the way and need support. Cynthia is passionate about helping writers get their ideas on the page and take their books from first-draft quality into the hands of agents and publishers. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her two goofy kids, a flock of chickens, two guinea pigs, and their dog Jasper.
Stephanie Morris
Stephanie enjoys the Arizona heat by spending time with her husband, five kids and two grandkids and combats the “cold” winters by wearing lots of jackets and fingerless gloves so she can still spend bliss-filled hours in front of a computer tapping away at her obsession. She has served on the ANWA Board of Directors and was the Conference Chair in 2019. Her short stories have been published in A Grimm Ever After, Kismet, and Wards & Rumors of Wards, and a chapter on revising is included in Create, Craft, Critique and More. Her fourth children’s book, A Web of Christmas Love, will be released in October. Her other children’s books are I Hope Your Dreams Are Sweet, The Children in the Box, and Come Dance in the Rain, which was released in February. She is currently working on a middle-grade fantasy and revising her third romance manuscript.
Cori Petross
Cori Petross is a two-time published Indie author. Her debut novel is her memoir Love’s Last Bully for which she’s received two high-rated reviews from Writer’s Digest judges. Her first experience writing memoir was when she was eight years old, and she’s been writing ever since. She loves strong, descriptive emotion that captivates the reader.
Janette Rallison
USA Today, bestselling author, Janette Rallison/ CJ Hill writes books because writing is much more fun than cleaning bathrooms. Her avoidance of housework has led her to write 34 novels that have sold over 1,000,000 print copies and have been on many reading and state lists. Her books are fantasy, sci-fi, and romantic comedy because hey, there is enough angst in real life, but there’s a drastic shortage of humor, romance, and hot guys who fight dragons. She lives in Chandler, Arizona with her husband and enough pets to classify her as eccentric.
Kaleena Shreeve
Kaleena Shreeve, Author of Light & Love, published her debut novel on Kindle Vella in January 2024 and then as an ebook and paperback in April. As a new Indie author, she learned how to design her own book cover, website, and social media posts. She is a self proclaimed non-techy person, but fell in love with the easy-to-use Canva program. She loves reading clean romance novels of all different tropes, watching K-dramas, and eating chocolate-with nuts of course, because what writer isn’t a little nutty. She dreams of cowboys and writes about them too. Shh, don’t tell her dentist husband … wait, he already knows.
Amy Standage
Amy Standage (who writes under the name L. L. Standage) has been making up stories her entire life. In high school, she decided she wanted to be an author and began writing the most cringe-worthy epic fantasies, which, sadly, will never see the light of day. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys laughing with her husband, playing Zelda with her kids, drinking herbal tea, getting pedicures, traveling, and eating food. She loves chocolate and geeks out over anything having to do with England. She lives with her family in the very sunny, cactus-infested fire hazard known as Arizona.
Peggy Urry
Peggy Urry is a long-time member of ANWA serving as secretary, VP, president, and member in her chapter. She also served on the ANWA Board as the Events Chair and then in the Presidency. She has self-published two novels and continues writing and learning more about her craft. She lives in Arizona with her husband and two of their five children and is Oma to three darling grandchildren.
Mercedes M. Yardley
Mercedes M. Yardley is a two-time Bram Stoker Award winner who lives in Las Vegas. She is the author of Darling, the Stabby Award-winning Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu: A Tale of Atomic Love, Pretty Little Dead Girls, Love is a Crematorium, and Nameless Mercedes is the senior fiction editor of Gamut Magazine, a member of the SFWA, ANWA, Brother Grimms Society of North America, and serves within the HWA. You can find her at mercedesmyardley.com.