A. Manette Ansay, Author and Full Professor of Creative Writing at The University of Miami, whose work takes her to the apex of this issue. She is the author of six novels, including Good Things I Wish You (July, 2009) and Vinegar Hill, an Oprah Book Club Selection.

Carolyn Burns Bass, Founder of LITChat (she will be a remote participant and will tweet throughout the event – as she is the creator of LITCHAT, a literary blog community of almost 20,000 members. Carolyn is a leader in this space, showing that an aspiring writer with a desire to build community can find 20,000 friends who want to do the same.

Pablo Cartaya, Director of Escribe Aqui at The Betsy  – (Cuban -American YA Author).  Pablo has been the Literary Programs Manager at Betsy for the last few years and is departing to pursue a teaching career (Sierra Nevada College) and writing career (with several books coming out next year. confirmed

Ray Elman, Founder of Provincetown Arts Magazine, and founder of FIU’s new digital Arts magazine, Inspicio: insight on all the arts with a focus on Miami (inspicio.fiu.edu ) Ray is a Distinguished Fellow at FIU MBUS.

Christina Nosti, Director of Events and Marketing at Books&Books is navigating this at the core and sustaining a traditional bookstore model while embracing newer pathways for reading and writing.