There comes a point when the secrets you've kept most hidden become the stories you must tell. I was born in Iran and moved with my family to the U.S. when I was five. Even after earning a PhD in Engl…
Yann Martel is a Canadian author who wrote the Man Booker Prize–winning novel Life of Pi, an international bestseller published in more than 50 territories. It has sold more than 12 million copies wor…
Rick Steves is an American travel writer, television personality, and activist known for encouraging meaningful travel that emphasizes cultural immersion and thoughtful global citizenship. Born in Cal…
Azar Nafisi (Persian: آذر نفیسی) is an Iranian American writer and scholar of English literature whose work explores the political and imaginative power of books. Born in Tehran, she grew up in a fami…
Leif Enger was raised in Osakis, Minnesota, and worked as a reporter and producer for Minnesota Public Radio for nearly twenty years. He lives on a farm in Minnesota with his wife and two sons.
Lisa Scottoline is a #1 bestselling and Edgar award-winning author of 33 novels. Her books are book-club favorites, and Lisa and her daughter Francesca Serritella have hosted an annual Big Book Club P…
Firoozeh Dumas was born in Abadan, Iran and moved to Whittier, California at the age of seven. After a two-year stay, she and her family moved back to Iran and lived in Ahvaz and Tehran. Two years lat…
SCOTT SIMON is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters, having reported from all over the world and from many wars. He is now the award-winning host of Weekend Edition Saturday. With ov…
”Mende Nazer lost her childhood at age twelve, when she was sold into slavery. It all began one horrific night in 1993, when Arab raiders swept through her Nuba village, murdering the adults and round…
KIERAN CROWLEY is a New York Times bestselling crime author and investigative reporter who has received communication from an actual serial killer and deciphered his secret code. Crowley has covered h…
Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull was an English singer and actress who achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her UK top 5 single "As Tears Go By" and became one of the leading female a…
Kao Kalia Yang is an award-winning Hmong-American writer. She is a graduate of Carleton College and Columbia University. Yang is the author of the memoirs The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir and …
Donia Bijan graduated from UC Berkeley and Le Cordon Bleu. After presiding over many of San Francisco's acclaimed restaurants and earning awards for her French-inspired cuisine, in 1994 she opened her…
Steve Luxenberg, a Washington Post associate editor, is an award-winning author and journalist. During 30+ years with The Post, he has overseen reporting that has earned numerous honors, including two…
Anne Michaud is the politics editor for Crain's NY Business and a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal. She previously wrote a nationally syndicated op-ed column for Newsday and was twice named…
Marjan Kamali is the New York Times bestselling author of The Lion Women of Tehran (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster), The Stationery Shop (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster), and Together Tea (EccoBooks/H…
Aimee Cabo Nikolov is a Cuban American who has lived most of her life in Miami. She is a speaker, trained nurse and the president and owner of IMIC, Inc, a medical research company in Palmetto Bay. Ai…
Robert (Bob) Reid grew up in Scotland’s beautiful border country. Hawick was home until it was time to go to university in Edinburgh. A degree and a PhD in Chemistry followed. It was in Edinburgh that…
Sheridan Brown holds advanced degrees in school leadership and is a certified teacher, principal, and educational leader. Having minored in music in college, the arts have always been a central force …
JULIE RYAN Mc GUE is an American writer. Her award-winning memoir, Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging released in May 2021. It is about the five-year search that she and he…
