Rick Acker
Web Site: http://www.rickacker.com/
Hosting: WS 13
Rick Acker writes novels during his commute to and from his "real job" as a Supervising Deputy Attorney General in the California Department of Justice. His unit prosecutes corporate fraud lawsuits of the type described in his #1 bestseller, WHEN THE DEVIL WHISTLES. Rick has led investigations and lawsuits that made headlines in and out of California. Most recently, he and his team won a string record-breaking judgments and settlements against the Wall Street players who created the toxic mortgage securities that triggered the Great Recession. When Rick isn't writing or lawyering, you can usually find him with his wife, Anette, and their four children. They'll be exploring in the hills east of San Francisco, watching a good movie together, or, of course, reading.
Stephanie Alton
Hosting: WS 19
Stephanie Alton is a literary agent and marketer with The Blythe Daniel Agency, Inc. She represents best-selling and new voices in non-fiction and in select fiction genres. Stephanie promotes books by curating and executing publicity campaigns and online marketing plans. She has worked in publishing for 9 years, and lives on the Gulf Coast of Texas.
Pepper Basham
Hosting: WS 15
Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes romance “peppered” with grace and humor. Writing both historical and contemporary novels, she loves to incorporate her native Appalachian culture and/or her unabashed adoration of the UK into her stories. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she is a wife, mom to five great kids, a speech-language pathologist, and a lover of chocolate, jazz, hats, and Jesus. Her novel, Hope Between the Pages, was a finalist for the prestigious Christy award. You can learn more about Pepper and her books on her website at www.pepperdbasham.com
Ann Byle
Hosting: WS 01
Info coming soon
Joni M. Fisher
Hosting: WS 17
After working decades in journalism, Author Joni M. Fisher turned to crime. She writes suspenseful stories of friendship, family, faith, and crime featuring heroines who don't wait to be rescued. Her Compass Crimes series has won awards from the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Christian Indie Book Awards, Reader’s Favorite Book Awards, Kindle Book Awards, the Royal Palm Literary Awards, and others. A member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the Florida Writers Association, she also served on the Arts and Humanities Advisory Board for Southeastern University. As an instrument-rated private pilot, she reports for General Aviation News. Her fingerprints are on file with the FBI.
Rachel Hauck
Web Site: http://www.rachelhauck.com
Hosting: Early Bird 02
WS 03
Rachel Hauck is an award winning, New York Times Bestselling author, conference speaker and writing coach.
Angela Hunt
Web Site: http://www.angelahuntbooks.com
Hosting: WS 11
Christy-Award winner Angela Hunt writes for readers who expect the unexpected in novels. With over five million copies of her books sold worldwide, she is the best-selling author of more than 150 works ranging from picture books (The Tale of Three Trees) to non-fiction books, to novels.
Now that her two children are grown, Angie and her husband live in Florida with Very Big Dogs (a direct result of watching Turner and Hooch and Sandlot too many times). This affinity for mastiffs has not been without its rewards–one of their dogs was featured on Live with Regis and Kelly as the second-largest canine in America. Their dog received this dubious honor after an all-expenses-paid trip to Manhattan for the dog and the Hunts, complete with VIP air travel and a stretch limo in which they toured New York City.
Afterward, the dog gave out pawtographs at the airport.
Angela admits to being fascinated by animals, medicine, psychology, unexplained phenomena, chickens, and “just about everything” except sports. Books, she says, have always shaped her life— in the fifth grade she learned how to flirt from reading Gone with the Wind.
Her books have won the coveted Christy Award, several Angel Awards from Excellence in Media, and the Gold and Silver Medallions from Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year Award. In 2007, her novel The Note was featured as a Christmas movie on the Hallmark channel. Romantic Times Book Club presented her with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from American Christian Fiction Writers in 2019.
Also in 2006, Angela completed her Master of Biblical Studies in Theology degree. She completed her doctorate in biblical studies in 2008 and her Th.D. in 2015. When she’s not home reading or writing, Angie often travels to teach writing workshops at schools and writers’ conferences. And to talk about her pets, of course. She is also an avid photographer, using her photos to help find homes for animals at local rescues.
Jennifer Jahn
Hosting: WS 12
Jennifer Brianne Jahn is the first college graduate of her Mexican-American family, graduating from Vanguard University of Southern California at 29 with a degree in English. Jennifer was taught to read at the age of four and began writing short stories filled with very interesting misspellings at the age of six. After completing her Bachelor’s degree, Jennifer married a pastor and they now have four children. Her days are filled with Charlotte Mason homeschool (read: a whole lot of new books every year!), children’s ministry, a weekly small group, and participates in Woods+Books, a homeschool co-op. Jennifer has a passion for writing children’s literature that reflect God’s truth, goodness, and beauty. Jennifer has participated in Julie Hedlund’s 12x12 Picture Book Challenge, is a current member of Write2Ignite and American Christian Fiction Writers, and was a scholarship recipient and graduate of Mira Reisberg’s Children’s Book Academy. She is published in the Daughters of Delight devotional, the Synecdoche Literary Journal, and is a contributing writer for the NKyTribune. Her debut board book is scheduled for publication in the spring of 2026 and a picture book to follow in spring of 2027 with B&H Kids (Lifeway
Steven James
Web Site: http://www.stevenjames.net
Hosting: CE 02
Steven James is the bestselling, critically acclaimed author of sixteen novels. He has a master’s degree in storytelling and is a contributing editor to Writer’s Digest.
Best known for his psychological thrillers, he has received more than a dozen honors and awards for his books, including three Christy Awards for best suspense. His book The Queen was a finalist for an International Thriller Award.
His groundbreaking book on the craft of fiction, Story Trumps Structure: How to Write Unforgettable Fiction by Breaking the Rules, won a Storytelling World Award, recognizing it as one of the year’s best resources for storytellers, as did his follow-up book Troubleshooting Your Novel. He is the host of the podcast “The Story Blender,” where he interviews great storytellers from the world of cinema, oral performance, and writing about the craft of great storytelling.
Tara Johnson
Hosting: WS 18
Tara Johnson is an author and speaker, and loves to write stories that help people break free from the lies they believe about themselves. Tara’s debut novel Engraved on the Heart (Tyndale) earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and was a finalist in the Carol and Christy awards. She is multi-published in both fiction and nonfiction, and is a certified body language expert. In 2025, she was named president of the Author Development Agency of Incubator Publishing. She, her husband, and children live in Arkansas.
Linda Kozar
Hosting: WS 19
Linda Kozar an award-winning multi-published author of fiction and nonfiction inspirational novels and books with a sassy Southern flair.
Linda and her husband Michael live in The Woodlands, Texas and enjoy spending time with their two beautiful daughters, their wonderful husbands, and grands Eden and Wesley.
Steve Laube
Web Site: http://www.stevelaube.com/
Hosting: WS 13
Steve Laube, president and founder of The Steve Laube Agency, is a 35 year veteran of the bookselling industry. He began his career in the bookselling arena and his store in Phoenix was named the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) store of the year in 1989. He then spent 11 years with Bethany House Publishers rising to the position of an editorial director. In 2002 he was named the AWSA Golden Scroll Editor of the Year. The next year he became a literary agent and in 2004 formed The Steve Laube Agency. In 2009 he was named the ACFW Agent of the Year. In 2013 he was inducted into the Grand Canyon University Hall-of-Fame by their College of Theology.
Donald Maass
Hosting: Early Bird 01
A literary agent in New York, Donald Maass’s agency sells more than 150 novels every year to major publishers in the U.S. and overseas.
He is the author of The Career Novelist (1996), Writing the Breakout Novel (2001), Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook (2004) and The Fire in Fiction (2009), Writing 21st Century Fiction (2012) and The Emotional Craft of Fiction (2016). He is a past president of the Association of Authors’ Representatives, Inc.
Joy Massenburge
Hosting: WS 03
Joy K. Massenburge is a multi-published author. She is also a contributing author for Our Daily Bread: Oh, Freedom Edition. When she is not writing, she is speaking at women’s retreats, conferences, and team building workshops for various companies. As the CEO of Joy K. Massenburge & Associates, she leads a team of mindset accountability coaches who help focused-driven women defend their calling, discover their strengths, uncover their blind spots, and declutter their lives by mastering their calendar so they can walk in the fullness of JOY.
She resides near Tyler, Texas. You can find her curled up reading a book to her grandchildren, caretaking for a donkey, hens, a dog, cat, or filling her five-acre country home with fifty-plus people for a Blue Bell ice cream party.
Ami McConnell
Hosting: WS 04
Ami McConnell founded WriterFest Nashville, a gathering for book, song, and screen writers. She also leads the team at Ami McConnell Literary Agency. For a couple of decades she sat on the other side of the desk, most recently as Editor-in-Chief & VP at Simon & Schuster and, before that, as an acquiring editor for HarperCollins. Today she works with artists of all stripes to create books for the commercial market, including many New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestsellers. For kicks and giggles she hosts The WriterFest Podcast and serves as President of the Nashville Women’s National Book Association.
DiAnn Mills
Web Site: http://www.diannmills.com/
Hosting: CE01
DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who invites readers to expect an adventure through heart-pounding suspense, romance, and faith-filled stories. Her novels have landed on CBA, ECPA, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists and won numerous awards, including the Christy and Carol. A founding board member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Conference Advisor for Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers, DiAnn mentors writers nationwide. She lives in Houston, Texas, where she roasts her own coffee and spoils her grandchildren.
Becky Monds
Hosting: CE 03
Becky Monds is an Associate Acquisitions Editor for HarperCollins Christian Publishing. After working as an events coordinator and marketing manager at an independent bookstore in Nashville, she joined the Thomas Nelson team in 2007. She’s a new mom to twins and loves spending time with her husband, knitting, waterskiing, and, of course, reading great fiction.
Allie Pleiter
Web Site: http://www.alliepleiter.com
Hosting: WS 09
An avid knitter, coffee junkie and firm believer that “pie makes everything better,” Allie Pleiter writes both fiction and non-fiction working on as many as four novels at a time. The enthusiastic but slightly untidy bestselling author of over forty books, Allie spends her days writing, buying yarn, and finding new ways to avoid housework. Allie hails from Connecticut, moved to the midwest to attend Northwestern University, and currently lives outside Chicago, Illinois. The “dare from a friend” to begin writing has produced a seventeen-year career with over 1.4 million books sold. In addition to writing, Allie maintains an active writing productivity coaching practice and speaks regularly on faith, the creative
process, women’s issues, and her very favorite topic—The Chunky Method of time management for writers. Visit her website at www.alliepleiter.com to learn more.
Carol Post
Hosting: WS 16
Carol J. Post writes fun and fast-paced Christian romance and Christian romantic suspense stories. She is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author whose books have won several awards and been nominated for two RITA® awards and an RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award. She is also a popular speaker, presenting workshops on a variety of craft topics. Carol especially enjoys research trips, which usually involve camping, with some hiking, kayaking and bonfires thrown in when possible. She also loves playing the piano and writing songs with her musical husband. Her two grown daughters and grandkids live too far away for her liking, so she now pours all that nurturing into taking care of three sassy cats—Ziggy, Zorro and Ziva—who also love camping and are known to occasionally take over her blog with their “It’s Zaturday!” posts.
Rebecca Reed
Web Site: http://www.RebeccaAndRebecca.com
Hosting: WS 08
Rebecca Reed is the author of 2 contemporary romance novels, a Spanish teacher, former jockey, and co-host with Rebecca Yauger of the Rebecca and Rebecca Podcast where "We Love Books." Visit Rebecca at https://rebeccareedwrites.com/
Donna Snow
Hosting: CE 02
"After serving 30 years in corporate America’s legal field, Donna Snow accepted early retirement in June 2021 to pursue her true calling—helping people know Jesus through His Word. Today, she is the founder and CEO of Artesian Ministries, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to biblical literacy and spiritual growth.
An award-winning author and sought-after speaker, Donna’s passion is writing and teaching Bible studies that make Scripture come alive. Her thirteenth published Bible study on Joshua, ""Strong and Courageous"", received the AWSA 2025 Christian Market Bible Study Book of the Year award.
Donna’s reach extends far beyond borders. She partners with the Lutheran Church in Eurasia to translate her LWML Bible studies into German, Russian, and Ukrainian—offered as free downloads to support missionaries and believers worldwide. Through a new partnership with Lutheran Braille Workers, eight of her Bible studies are now accessible in both large print and braille, ensuring that God’s Word reaches readers of every ability.
A gifted teacher with a heart for Scripture, Donna leads immersive teaching tours around the world. She guides groups through the Holy Land to walk where Jesus walked, through Germany and Scotland in the footsteps of Martin Luther and John Knox, and through Greece, Turkey, and Rome to follow the Apostle Paul's journeys.
Whether she's standing in a church classroom or teaching on ancient soil, Donna's deepest joy is helping others discover the life-changing power of God's Word. Her contagious love for Scripture inspires people everywhere to grow stronger and more courageous in faith.
Bethany Turner
Hosting: WS 15
Bethany Turner has been writing since the second grade, when she won her first writing award for explaining why, if she could have lunch with any person throughout history, she would choose John Stamos. She stands by this decision. Bethany now writes pop culture–infused romantic comedies for a generation of readers who crave fiction that tackles the thorny issues of life with humor and insight. Bethany’s rom-coms have won the Colorado Book Award, multiple Colorado Authors League Awards, multiple Selah Awards, and been finalists for the Romance Writers of America’s Vivian Award and the Christy Award. Her work has also been rejected by agents and editors some ninety-three times (and counting) and received some of the most glorious one-star reviews ever written. She’s very proud of her novels and even prouder of her two adult sons, but she considers her greatest achievement having met George Clooney’s dad when she was an adolescent, George Clooney’s mom on her (Bethany’s) fortieth birthday (when Mrs. Clooney sang to her and told her stories from George’s childhood), and once spotting George himself through a window, on the other side of a crowd of people. She lives in Southwest Colorado with her husband, whom she met in the nineties in a chat room called Disco Inferno. As sketchy as it sounds, it worked out pretty well in this case. (After nearly twenty-five years of marriage, Bethany can confidently declare he’s almost certainly not a serial killer as her parents once feared.) Text Bethany anytime at (970) 387-7811 or connect with her across social media @seebethanywrite, where she clings to the eternal dream that John Stamos will someday send her a friend request.
Sara Turnquist
Hosting: WS 20
Sara is a coffee lovin', word slinging, Christian Historical Romance author whose superpower is converting caffeine into novels. She is the author of over 25 titles, first with a smaller traditional publisher and now fully indie. Her books range in setting from the Czech lands to the American Wild West; and from ancient Egypt to the early 1900s. Sara is a sought-after speaker and has taught at many Christian writers’ conferences, including ACFW Virginia, Kentucky Christian Writers Conference, Lancaster Christian Writers Conference, Capital Christian Writers Fellowship Summit, LiteraryScape Summit, and Faith, Hope, Love Christian Writers Conference as well as appearing on multiple writing podcasts and before many writing groups. Her teaching is heralded as not only informative, but also practical. She is the cohost of the podcast Soul & Story and speaks into the lives of writers struggling with anxiety and depression on her YouTube Channel.
Susan May Warren
Web Site: http://www.susanmaywarren.com/
Hosting: Early Bird 02
Susan May Warren is the USA Today bestselling, Christy, Carol and RITA award–winning author of more than sixty novels whose compelling plots and unforgettable characters have won acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. In addition to her writing, Susan is a nationally acclaimed writing teacher and runs an academy for writers, Novel.Academy. For exciting updates on her new releases, previous books, and more, visit her website at www.susanmaywarren.com.
Dr. Ronda Wells
Hosting: WS 10
Physician, award-winning author, lifelong Hoosier, and preacher’s kid, Dr. Ronda Wells is a wife, mom, and grandma who puts faith and family first. She writes “heartfelt stories from the heartland” and is a Guideposts contributor. The Christmas Cherub, her debut inspirational -novella, is a WW2 historical romance that focuses on love, loyalty, and patience. Ronda’s devotionals appear on Arise Daily and monthly on Crossmap. She is published in Hospitality Magazine, Leading Hearts Magazine (upcoming) and medical journals. She has taught at numerous writing conferences including ACFW Online, Virginia Royal Writers, Killer Nashville, and Bouchercon and also presented to multiple ACFW and other local writer’s groups. If her name looks familiar, she is credited by over two dozen inspirational writers for helping with medical scenes in their books. These experiences led her to develop “Novel Malpractice,” a website for authors and a presentation. Connect with her @rondawellsbooks on X, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Pinterest, Linked In, or YouTube @novelmalpractice. When she finds the time, her interests include genealogy and family history, scrapbooking, and traveling cross-country with her husband in their small motorhome.
Jaime Wright
Web Site: http://www.jaimejowright.com%20
Hosting: CE 04
Jaime Jo Wright is winner of the Christy,Carol, Daphne du Maurier, and INSPYAwards. She's also the Publishers Weeklyand ECPA bestselling author of threenovellas. Jaime writes from her house inthe Wisconsin woodlands, where she liveswith her husband, two children, fourfelines, gecko, and various aquatic andamphibious tag-a-longs .
Rebecca Yauger
Web Site: https://rebeccaandrebecca.com/
Hosting: WS 08
Rebecca Yauger is a writer and blogger, and long-time ACFW member, and currently serves as ACFW's Web Manager and Membership Director. Rebecca co-hosts Rebecca and Rebecca, a multi-genre podcast/YouTube channel with Rebecca Reed, where they review books and interview authors each month. Becky lives outside of Dallas with her husband. Find her at https://rebeccayauger.com/.