Literary Conference 2026
Meet the 2026 Presenters
Alia Hanna Habib
Alia Hanna Habib is a vice president and literary agent at The Gernert Company, where she represents MacArthur Fellows, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, National Book Award finalists, and numerous New York Times bestselling authors. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.
photo cred: Beowulf Sheehan
Alyssa Reynoso-Morris
Alyssa Reynoso-Morris is a queer Afro-Latine/x and Indigenous (Taino) award-winning storyteller, author, and motivational speaker with Dominican and Puerto Rican roots. She is also a mother and community organizer. During the day, she works with community members, non-profit organizations, and government officials to make the world a better place. Then she puts on her writer’s hat to craft heartfelt stories. Alyssa was born and raised in The Bronx, New York, and currently lives in Philadelphia, PA, with her family. She is the author of Plátanos Are Love & Los plátanos son amor (a NCTE Charlotte Huck Recommended Read); The Bronx Is My Home; Gloriana Presente: A First Day of School Book & Gloriana Presente: De la República Dominicana al Bronx; Bold, Brilliant and Latine: Meet 52 Latine and Hispanic Heroes from Past and Present; and Pieces of Home. She hopes you enjoy her stories. You can learn more about her at alyssaauthor.com
Assétou Xango
East-coast based traveling poet, writer and facilitator, Assétou Xango is known as the Dark Goddess Poet. Xango’s work dismantles the dangerous, colonial binaries that restrict our full existence. As a black, pansexual, polyamorous, genderqueer womxn, Xango exists as the in-between, the darkness that serves as the entry to our deeper.
Xango was featured on HBO's Brave New Voices in 2010 and is a two-time TEDxMileHigh Speaker. Xango was a Fellow of the Academy of American Poet Laureates in 2021 and has been published by many prestigious organizations such as Westword and Poets.org.
Xango has a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Masters of Arts in Poetry from Wilkes University. In all xyr work, Xango is dedicated to the visibility and rights of womxn and gender non-conforming people of color through storytelling to dismantle binaries and divisions.
Charlotte Yeung
Charlotte Yeung is a UN Youth Champion for Disarmament, the 2023 Midwest Youth Poet Ambassador, and author of Amazon #1 New Release Isabelle and the Magic Bird. Her first multilingual poem was sent to the Moon via the Lunar Codex. She founded and led a poetry course for women and girls in Afghanistan that was the catalyst for an underground school at Pax Populi. She currently co-teaches an advanced poetry course at the school. She has performed poetry at the US Ambassador's Residence in Dublin and at the United Nations Headquarters. She is on the board of directors for the Kurt Vonnegut Museum. She was previously the 2022 Indianapolis Youth Poet Laureate. She is also a designer with British Ekoalpaka Fashion. She studies Public Policy at Sciences Po Paris and University of Tokyo. In her free time, she reads, writes, and plays Stardew Valley.
Chital Mehta
Chital Mehta's manuscript, 'HAVE YOU SEEN ROMIT?' has been chosen as the winner of the 2025 James Alan McPherson Prize for the Novel, judged by R. O. Kwon. Her book is scheduled for release in 2026 by the University of Nebraska Press.
Her short stories have appeared in The Pinch, Oyez Review, SLAB magazine, and elsewhere. She won the Boggs Fiction contest 2022 for her story - Damaged Gifts. Her story 'The Weight of Happiness' was a Finalist for The Pinch Literary Awards 2022 - Fiction. Her stories often center around displacement and belonging.
She is an alum of Tin House and VONA. She holds an MFA from Lindenwood University. She lives in Delaware.
Cristina Aguilar
As a recognized leader, former executive director, emergent facilitator, and policy strategist in intersectional movements, I am committed to guiding you to center with love, joy, and restorative practices. Answering a sacred calling to support those in social justice movements, this journey honors the path of my ancestors by reclaiming my family’s Mexican curanderisma lineage, enriched by my perspective as a queer Latine from the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. Together, with radical community care and love, we can live into the collective liberation we breathe and dream about.
Cristoso Apache
Crisosto Apache is the current 11th Poet Laureate for Colorado (26-27) and is from Mescalero, New Mexico, on the Mescalero Apache reservation. Crisosto is Mescalero Apache, Chiricahua Apache, and Diné (Navajo). Apache’s clanships are the Salt Clan, born for the Towering House Clan. Apache attended the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) and earned an MFA and is an Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing. Crisosto is also an editor-at-large for The Offing Magazine. Apache’s books are GENESIS (Lost Alphabet), Out-of-Print & Ghostword (Gnashing Teeth Publishing), winner of the Publishing Triangle’s 2023 Betty Berzon Emerging Writers Award and a finalist for the 2023 Colorado Authors League Award in poetry, with a new poetry collection is(ness), from Gnashing Teeth Publishing. Apache is a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee. Crisosto continues to advocate for the Two-spirit/Indigiqueer community for the past twenty years, working in grassroots non-profit organizations both locally and nationally.
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Gloria J. Browne-Marshall
Gloria J. Browne-Marshall is an EMMY Award-winning writer, playwright, social justice attorney, Professor of Constitutional Law at John Jay College (CUNY), and descendant of Exodusters. She teaches classes in constitutional law and created a course on literature, race, and law. Browne-Marshall is the author of stage-plays, poetry, essays, and seven books, including She Took Justice, The Voting Rights War, and her most recent book A Protest History of the United States called "one of the most important books of 2025” by Washington Journal. Gloria has written and produced award-winning films. She joined the Marvel Universe with her short story Chaos in Captain America: The Shield of Sam Wilson. In Fall 2022, she was a Resident Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School. Prior to academia, she litigated civil rights cases. Gloria Browne-Marshall is the founder of Martyrs Day, a July 5th tribute to slain American activists. Gloria is working on her debut novel of historical fiction.
Henry Lien
Henry Lien is a graduate of Brown University, UCLA School of Law, and Clarion West Writers’ Workshop. He is the author of the Peasprout Chen fantasy series (Holt) and the non-fiction book Spring, Summer, Asteroid, Bird: The Art of Eastern Storytelling (W.W. Norton). His books have received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist and New York Times acclaim. His writing has appeared in publications including Literary Hub, Poets & Writers, Asimov’s, Analog, and F&SF, and he is a four-time Nebula Award finalist. Henry also teaches for institutions including the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, the University of Iowa, Clarion West, and Writing the Other. He won the UCLA Extension Department of the Arts Outstanding Instructor of the Year Award. Henry has previously worked as an attorney and fine art dealer. Born in Taiwan, Henry currently lives in Hollywood, California.
Jackie Garcia-Morales
Jackie Garcia-Morales is a Puerto Rican author, literary agent, and publishing professional. As an author, Jackie is represented by Analía Cabello at Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Her debut title, PESKY ROOTS/RAÍCES FASTIDIOSAS, is a bilingual middle grade novel centered on Boricua identity, forthcoming from Arte Público Press/Piñata Books in October 2026. At Storm Literary Agency, Jackie serves as an Associate Literary Agent and Foreign Rights Agent. Beyond her agency and author work, she is the founder of the Catalyst Creators Scholarship for underrepresented writers, a 2x USBBY Outstanding International Books committee member, and a USBBY state ambassador. She is also Co-Founder/Director of The Storytellers Foundation, home to the Spotify award-winning podcast The Storyteller’s Shelf, the Big Bang Notable Book List, and Storyrise, a writing app ecosystem for authors developing books from idea to manuscript. Her writing has appeared in Business Insider, and her work is rooted in access, advocacy, and representation.
Jason Masino
Jason Masino is a poet, educator, and program strategist based in Colorado. He holds a BA from the University of California, Davis and an MFA in Creative Writing from Regis University. He is the author of Sinner's Prayer (Passengers Press, 2022), with Rx: demonology forthcoming from Fifth Wheel Press in 2028. His work has appeared in publications including Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora and South Florida Poetry Journal, and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Outside of writing, he designs programs, builds partnerships, and facilitates conversations that help people navigate complexity and make meaning together.
Khadijah VanBrakle
Khadijah VanBrakle is a Muslim woman of color, born and raised in Canada to American parents. She was a 2021-2023 Highlights Foundation Muslim Storytellers Fellow. Her debut Young Adult novel, Fatima Tate Takes The Cake, was a 2024 NAACP Image Award finalist for Outstanding Youth/Teen literature and a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.
Khadijah writes coming-of-age stories about Black American Muslim teens with universal themes so those who share her dual marginalization will finally see themselves on the printed page. Her sophomore YA novel, My Perfect Family, released in August 2025. It’s received starred trade reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Kirkus. Both of her books are set in New Mexico. For more information, check out her website: khadijahvanbrakle.com or her Instagram @khadijahvanbrakle.
Loretta Chefchaouni
Loretta Chefchaouni is a former early childhood educator from Florida who writes for teens. Her fantastical tales turn grief and fear into myth and monsters and explore all the scary parts of being human within the safe space of stories. Her work has placed in contests such as The Blue Pencil Novel Award and Voyage YA’s First Chapter Contest. She is an alum of the Pitch Wars mentorship program and the Highlights Foundation’s Muslim Storyteller Fellowship. The mother of mixed-race young adults, she is committed to seeing more authentic Muslim representation on the shelves. The Lustrous Dark is her debut novel, the first book in a YA fantasy duology and a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Her short story, The Little Sister, is included in the anthology A Thousand Nights, coming Sept. 8, 2026.
Monika Gupta
Monika Gupta is an alum of Tin House, Kenyon, One Story, and Roots.Wounds.Words workshops. She holds an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and is a former Vice President of Marketing for a cybersecurity startup. Her work has been featured in the New York Times Modern Love at 13 project and her short story, Baby Arjun, won So to Speak’s fiction competition. The first chapter of her novel-in-progress, The Right Kind, won first place in fiction in Tucson’s Festival of Books Literary Competition. She’s a Reese's Book Club LitUp Fellow and is represented by Renee Zuckerbrot at MMQA.
Pınar Banu Yaşar
Pınar Banu Yaşar is an East Coast based Kurdish writer. Her work builds a relationship between dance and poetry that explores questions on national identity, linguicide, bordering, and the intersections of erotic movement and diasporic migration. She has been published in various journals and anthologies, most recently in Mizna, The Markaz Review, and Sleeping in the Courtyard: An Anthology of Contemporary Kurdish Writers. Yaşar co-founded the Kurdish Poets Collective.
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Riley Odell
Riley Odell is an autistic neurodiversity advocate, anthology editor, and writer of horror, humor, bizarro, and stories about autism. His work has twice been nominated for the Wonderland Award, recognizing superior achievement in bizarro fiction, first for his horror collection Vile Visions Volume 2 and again for his novella Shit, Love, and Burgers. He edited and published Divergent Realms: Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories About Neurodivergence, an anthology of stories about neurodivergent characters written by neurodivergent writers, and is also the madman responsible for Bizarro Circus of Madness, an anthology of bizarro fiction. He lives in Fort Collins with his wife, Jamie, and their two pet children, a dog named Sadie and a rabbit named Newton.
Roohi Choudhry
Roohi Choudhry was born in Pakistan, grew up in southern Africa and now calls Brooklyn, NY, home. She is the author of the novel, Outside Women (University Press of Kentucky, 2025), a finalist for the 2026 Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize, and the William Saroyan Prize. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Michigan and is the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship. Her stories and essays have appeared in Ploughshares, Adi Magazine, Longreads, Poets & Writers, and the Kenyon Review. She has a background in criminal justice reform, urban placemaking, public health, and international development. As a teaching artist, she works primarily within immigrant and BIPOC communities, focusing her generative writing workshops on excavating stories of migration, diaspora, generational memory and on the intersection between art and activism. Find out more at roohichoudhry.com.
photo cred: Beowulf Sheehan
Samuel Kọ́láwọlé
Samuel Kọ́láwọlé was born and raised in Ibadan, Nigeria. His debut novel, The Road to the Salt Sea, won the 2025 Whiting Award for Fiction, was a finalist for the International Book Awards, was longlisted for the 2025 Aspen Words Literary Prize, and is currently a finalist for the 2025 PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel.
Other honors for his work include being a finalist for the Caine Prize for African Writing, the Graywolf Press Africa Prize, and the UK's The First Novel Prize.
He studied at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and holds a Master of Arts degree in Creative Writing with distinction from Rhodes University, South Africa; is a graduate of the MFA in Writing and Publishing at Vermont College of Fine Arts; and earned his PhD in English and Creative Writing from Georgia State University.
He teaches fiction writing full-time as an assistant professor of English and African studies at Pennsylvania State University. He recently joined the Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers as a faculty member.
Upasna Kakroo
Born in Srinagar and raised in four countries, Upasna’s writing talks about the jinns of our past and belonging. In her 20-year career, she has led strategy for organizations such as the University of Michigan and McKinsey. As the CEO of nonprofit Peerbagh, she encourages reading and South Asian storytelling. She has published nonfiction books including Loal (Gulshan, 2024) and has an upcoming young adult historical fiction book, Notes of Freedom (LitKanmani, 2027). Her children’s book, Shaliya Discovers Coronavirus Frumpfchi was commissioned by the Government of India and translated into seventeen languages. She edits Bento - the only South-Asian children’s magazine in print. She is the co-host of the international kidlit podcast, Zubaani. Upasna has won writing awards from Centrum, SCBWI, Kweli, and others.