Sylvia Apple
Sylvia Apple has been an artist for over thirty-five years. She creates “quilted paintings,” sculpture in clay, stone and metal, and paintings in oil and water based media. She has kept a journal for over forty years and incorporated her haiku and short poems into her visual work. She has taught workshops and classes in both art and writing.

Sylvia has exhibited her work in numerous national exhibits and competitions. In 2002 Sylvia had a solo show mounted at the National Quilt Museum. Her book, Fergus, Memoirs of a Scottish Terrier, is the story of her dog’s life through his eyes.

Georgia Ann Butler
Returning from a research trip to Ireland, Georgia Anne Butler has begun writing book three in her trilogy Of the Wing. Butler began her career as an instructor of English composition at Penn State. She later taught in adult education before returning to higher education as an editor and designer of online courses. In 2008 she founded Pinchey House Press and has since published books the first two books in her trilogy Of the Wing.  Across Pennsylvania, teachers and librarians have enthusiastically responded to book one, The Legend Awakes, and anticipate the newly released book two: The Ivory-billed Obsession.

John F. Carr
John F. Carr was born in Philadelphia. He was reared in San Diego and was graduated from San Diego State University. John and his wife live with their two children reside in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania. His first novel, The Ophidian Conspiracy, was published in 1973. In 1977 John joined J.E. Pournelle & Associates as an Executive Editor. Over the next twenty years, John and Jerry Pournelle edited over twenty-five science fiction anthologies. John has published eight novels, including The Battle of Sauron and his most recent novel, The Fireseed Wars, published in 2009.

Judy Ann Davis
Judy Ann Davis began her career in writing as a copy and continuity writer for WGBI Radio and WYOU-TV in Scranton, PA.  She has worked public relations for the Clearfield Area School District and adult education for the Central Intermediate Unit 10 and the Clearfield County Career and Technology Center.  Over a dozen of her short stories have appeared in various literary and small magazines.  She holds a degree in Journalism and Communications from Point Park University in Pittsburgh and is a member of Pennwriters.

Red Fox Woman is her first novel.  She lives with her husband in Clearfield, PA.

Jeffrey Frazier
Jeffrey Frazier is author of seven books in a series titled Pennsylvania Fireside Tales.
The author was born and raised in Centre Hall, Centre County, where he says he grew up in a “Tom Sawyer sort of way”. After graduating from Penn State in 1967 and moving away, he realized how much he loved the Pennsylvania mountains and their stories. It was this “home-sickness” that inspired him to collect and write the old-time tales. Since that time he has collected those same anecdotes from all over the state. Frazier takes the role of an investigative reporter to find the kernel of truth in each story.

John Gastil & Cindy Simmons
In 2011 John Gastil (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin) and Cindy Simmons (J.D., University of Washington) moved to State College to serve on the faculty of Penn State University. Cindy will join the School of Communications as Senior Lecturer, and she will also teach in the Law School. John will serve as Head of the Communication Arts and Sciences Department. John and Cindy previously taught at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Greg Halpin
Greg Halpin was born and raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He opened gourmet coffee shop Café del Sol in the mid 1990s where some of the scenes take place in his book, Welcome to Scranton. Halpin now lives in State College, Pennsylvania with his wife Elisha. He works for his alma mater, Penn State University. Halpin hosts a Jazz program each month on WPSU-FM.

Jennifer Herbstritt
The second eldest of four children, Jennifer Herbstritt was born in St. Marys, Pennsylvania on September 21, 1981.  She graduated from The Pennsylvania State University in May 2003 earning Bachelor of Science degrees in Life Sciences and Psychology.  Then, in May 2005 she graduated from the Lock Haven State University of Pennsylvania earning a Masters degree in Health Sciences/Physician Assistant Studies.  Currently, she resides in Princeton, New Jersey where she is employed as Adjunct Faculty in the Biology Department at Middlesex County College.  Jennifer enjoys running, and actually finished her first ultra-marathon in October 2010. She is currently working on a children’s series. Leaving Virginia is her first book.

Sandra Hill   
Sandra Hill of State College is the bestselling author of more than thirty romantic fiction novels.  Not matter if the theme is historical, contemporary, or time travel, whether they be Vikings, Saxon knights, Cajuns, or Navy SEALs, the common element in all her books is humor. Her most recent book, Dark Viking, was on the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Borders, and Barnes & Noble bestseller lists, and won a Hughie award for best time travel and a CAPA award for best historical fiction.  Her book, Wild Jinx earned a starred review from and was chosen as one of the Top Ten Romances of 2008 by Booklist, the publication of the American Library Association.

Ken Hull
Ken Hull started his career in 1983 as an artist. He began with the wildlife of central Pennsylvania and expanded his horizons to include scenes of the American Southwest and Europe. During those years, Ken participated in numerous juried art shows and has received many awards. In December 2007 he published his first book titled going LOCAL! It chronicled his adventures around central Pennsylvania on his motorcycle searching out locally owned and operated restaurants, pubs and cafés. With its success, he published a second volume in October 2010. Artist, traveler, adventurer and author, Ken’s creative passions have no bounds.

Marie Jackman
Marie Jackman was born in Adelaide, Australia, in 1929, the fifth generation of a family that emigrated from Cornwall to the Burra region in South Australia. Moving to central Pennsylvania in 1967, she earned the B.A. degree in English Literature in the Honors Program at Penn State University and subsequently taught college-level English for many years. She embarked on her novel, The Gommock, after a visit to the Burra and forming an acquaintance with its resident historian.

Heather Jordan
Heather Jordan is the author of a poetry collection, Cheap Grace, and a novel, Through Your Hands. Her second poetry collection, Lottery Ticket, will be published shortly by the University of Wisconsin Press. She studied at the University of Michigan and now teaches writing at Penn State.

Janice McElhoe
As a child in Boalsburg I walked the same paths and stood at the same places where events had changed the lives of the characters in my story.  My friends lived in the same house where Emma Hunter had grown up.  We made the evergreen sprays at the former home of Sophie and Daniel Keller and placed evergreen sprays in the same cemetery where Emma and Sophie first laid flowers in memory of Emma’s father and classmates who had died in the Civil War. However, time moves on and as a young adult I went off to college, began teaching children in other towns and places and raised three daughters.  Eventually, I pursued a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Curriculum and Instruction at the Pennsylvania State University.  Upon graduation I began teaching at Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.  Later I taught at Temple University.  My favorite class to teach was Children’s Literature.  I loved children’s books; the stories and the illustrations.  I also loved to go home to Boalsburg.  It seemed inevitable that I would want to share the story of the birth of Memorial Day.

Jodi Moore
Jodi Moore, author of When a Dragon Moves In and Good News Nelson, writes both picture books and young adult novels, hoping to challenge, nourish and inspire her readers by opening up brand new worlds and encouraging unique ways of thinking.
Jodi is the proud and (admittedly) neurotic mother of two incredibly talented young adults and never ceases to be amazed at how far the umbilical cord really will stretch. She lives in central Pennsylvania with her always-supportive best friend/husband, Larry, and an ever-changing bunch of characters in her head.

Kieryn Nicolas
Kieryn Nicolas resides in central Pennsylvania with her parents, younger sister, their lovable yellow lab, black cat and ten hens. Kieryn was a competitive figure skater for many years and is currently working hard to advance in Taekwondo. She is considering a career as a forensic scientist or crime scene investigator, and has eleven novels in the works. Kieryn enjoys spending time with her close friends, and also loves to read, write, eat chocolate and travel with hopes of someday seeing Brisbane, Australia for herself.

David Pencek
David Pencek was graduated from Penn State in 1994 and has been the editorial director for Town&Gown magazine and Town&Gown’s Penn State Football Annual and Town&Gown’s Penn State Winter Sports Annual since 2005. He covered Penn State athletics for various newspapers for more than 10 years, and also was an arts and entertainment writer for four years for the Norwich Bulletin in Connecticut, where he won a Society of Professional Journalists award.

Melicent Sammis
Melicent Sammis is an avid collector of vintage Christmas ornaments and a twenty-four year member of the Golden Glow of Christmas Past, an organization dedicated to the preservation of the history and spirit of Christmas. Her quest for old Santa ornaments has resulted in a premier collection of glass Christmas ornaments.  A collector since childhood, Ms. Sammis has pursued many other interests which include vintage Christmas illustrations and postcards, old art books, pottery and Beatles memorabilia.

Judith Vicary Swisher
Although Judy had published dozens of articles and chapters, conducted research, and taught at Penn State, her children, when new parents themselves, urged her to instead write the stories that had been part of her family’s holiday traditions for forty years. Her first Christmas book for children, The Last Ornament, was published in 2006, and reissued in 2010. Celebrate Advent – 25 Legends, compiles 25 stories collected from around the world, for families to share year after year. The book includes 25 matching ornaments, and has won three awards.

John Swisher
John Swisher’s Two Paths Crossing: Then and Now, was stimulated during a tour of Greece that focused on ancient sites including Delphi. I wondered what happened to real treasures given to the Oracles. My characters are real people with functional neuroses. I taught Counselor Education at Penn State, published and perished authoring approximately 100 research articles and book chapters. I always enjoyed teaching and writing because I love learning. I live with my wife (also a retired professor and now a children’s author) in Port Matilda, PA. We share six grown children and love chasing our ten grandchildren.

Patricia Thomas
Patricia Thomas’ books, stories, and articles range from the zany verse of “Stand Back,” Said the Elephant, “I’m Going to Sneeze!” (a 40-year genre classic, with international editions including translation into Korean)…to the lyrical Firefly Mountain and Nature’s Paintbox, a poetic approach to nonfiction…to Red Sled, written in a deceptively simple style, based on an ancient writing form-- perfect for beginning readers. She presents at conferences, workshops, and teacher-education seminars, and teaches writing for children. A graduate of Penn State, she is senior writer/editor at Marywood University (where she’s forced to write for grown-ups).

Zoë Brigley Thompson
Zoë Brigley has been listed by The Manhattan Review and The Best American Poetry Blog as one of the best young British poets writing at moment. Originally from Wales, Zoë is a Celtic writer now living in State College. She has published one pamphlet, Heaventree New Writers: Vol. 1 (2004), and her debut full collection of poetry, The Secret (2007), which was published in the UK by Bloodaxe. The Secret was earned a UK Poetry Book Society Recommendation and was listed for the international Dylan Thomas Prize. She also researches the area of violence against women and human rights.

Philip Winsor
Philip Winsor worked as an editor for many years in the New York book publishing industry before becoming Senior Editor for the Humanities at the Pennsylvania State University Press. Now retired, he lives with his wife, Marion, in State College. His story, Mama, appeared in Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine.

Veronica Winters
Veronica Winters is a Russian fine artist living in State College. Veronica received her MFA degree in painting from Penn State in 2005. Currently she teaches art both privately and in schools. Her realist colored pencil drawings and oil paintings has won many awards and her artwork appeared in many art magazines and publications, including The Leisure Painter and American Art Collector. She is also the author of Master Realist Techniques in Colored Pencil Painting in Four Weeks: Projects for Beginners