Guests of Honour

Kat Flannery

Kat Flannery’s love of history shows in her novels. She is an avid reader of historical, suspense, paranormal, and romance. A member of many writing groups including the National Romance Writers of America (RWA), Kat enjoys promoting other authors on her blog. When she’s not busy writing, or marketing Kat volunteers her time to other aspiring authors.
She’s been published in numerous periodicals throughout her career, and continues to write for blogs and online magazines. A bestselling author, Kat’s books are available all over the world. The BRANDED TRILOGY is Kat’s award-winning series. With seven books published, Kat continues to write two novels a year.
Find her on Facebook: Kat Flannery, author
Follow her on Twitter: @KatFlannery1
Get Kat’s Newsletter
Website: https://www.katflannerybooks.com/

James Alan Gardner

James Alan Gardner got his B.Math and M.Math with a thesis on black holes, then immediately began writing science fiction instead. He has published ten novels and numerous short stories, including finalists for the Nebula and Hugo, and winners for the Aurora, the Asimov's Readers' Choice award, and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. His most recent novels are All Those Explosions Were Someone Else's Fault and They Promised Me The Gun Wasn't Loaded, both from Tor. In his spare time, he plays a lot of table-top role-playing games, and has recently begun writing material for Onyx Path's Scion line. In his other spare time, he teaches Kung Fu to six-year-olds. Website: https://jamesalangardner.wordpress.com

Lisa Mangum

Lisa Mangum has worked in the publishing industry since 1997. She is currently the Managing Editor for Shadow Mountain Publishing and has worked with several New York Times best-selling authors, including Ally Condie, Brandon Mull, and Jason F. Wright. While fiction is her first love, she also has experience working with nonfiction projects (memoir, educational, cookbooks, etc.) and some children’s picture books.
Lisa is also the author of four national best-selling YA novels (The HOURGLASS DOOR TRILOGY and After Hello) as well as several short stories and novellas. She has also edited four anthologies about magical creatures. She graduated with honors from the University of Utah, and currently lives in Taylorsville, Utah, with her husband, Tracy. Website: http://shadowmountain.com/index.php

Jonas Saul

Jonas Saul is the bestselling author of the SARAH ROBERTS SERIES and has written and published over thirty thrillers. After selling more than two million books, he signed with the Gandolfo Helin & Fountain Literary and Dramatic Rights Management. His recent releases are, The Future is Written, published by pioneering media company Adaptive Studios, and The Immortal Gene, published by Vesuvian Books.
Saul has traveled extensively throughout the world to scout settings for his thrillers, spending several years between Greece, Italy, Denmark, and Hungary. He is regularly invited to be a guest speaker, teacher, or workshop presenter at international writing conferences. Website: http://jonassaul.com/

Leanne Shirtliffe

Leanne Shirtliffe is a writer who has been published in multiple genres, including humour, memoir, and picture books. Some of her titles are The Change Your Name Store, I Love Sharks Too, Saving Thunder the Great, and Don’t Lick the Minivan. Her next picture book, Sloth to the Rescue (Running Press Kids), will be out in Fall 2019.
When she’s not trying to put words in some semblance of order, Leanne can either be found teaching high school English and creative writing, or hanging out with her family. Although most of her (mis)adventures are now limited to the suburbs of Calgary, she once won a caber-toss championship in Bahrain and chased transvestites in Bangkok. Website: http://leanneshirtliffe.com