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2025 FEATURED SPEAKER
Patricia Haley Glass
Patricia Haley Glass is a trailblazing, award-winning, #1 Essence and Christian national bestselling
author of 14 novels. Her popular titles include No Regrets, Still Waters, Anointed, Betrayed, Chosen,
Humbled, Forgiven, Relentless, and Redeemed. Besides her literary endeavors, Patricia is an
accomplished businesswoman with dual B.S. degrees from Stanford University in Engineering and
Management as well as an MBA from University of Chicago concentrating in Finance and Marketing.
She’s a senior Operations and Program Manager who supported initiatives across five continents.
Personally, Patricia is a basketball fan who enjoys traveling with her husband, jazz, the theater, playing
spades, board games, puzzles, and time with loved ones. She’s honored to be an active member of Delta
Sigma Theta Sorority and a board member of Profit Through Knowledge. Most notably, Patricia is an
inspirational speaker, mentor, and minister whose her heart belongs to the Lord and to husband Jeffrey.
Darryl Arrington, PhD
Darryl Arrington’s childhood was filled with hardened blacktops, hyperactive curiosity, and go-go music. Halfway through his life, a compelling concern for the mentally ill and the homeless led him to enter the mental health field as a counselor. Darryl has provided clinical and administrative oversight at large resident treatment facilities, organizing staff and programs to help troubled souls rebuild their lives. Inspired by lessons learned from and with each of these groups, Darryl has endeavored to turn pain-borne pearls into literary offerings--thus contributing to each life being that much more glorious.
Featured Book: Epilogue: Now We Rise Above the Trafficking Experience
Renae Bolton
Renae Bolton is a mom of six (yes, six!), which basically makes her a chaos coordinator with a pen. She’s the creative mind behind Bolton Books, where big feelings and learning collide. With five sons, one daughter, and zero bedtime routines left to manage (hallelujah), Renae draws on real-life parenting adventures to craft stories and resources that help kids—and the grown-ups who love them—feel seen, supported, and ready to take on the world.
Featured Book: I Don't Want to Calm Down!
Hallee Bridgeman
Hallee Bridgeman is the USA TODAY bestselling and Carol award-winning author of several action-packed romantic suspense books and series. An Army brat turned Floridian, Hallee settled with her husband in central Kentucky, where they have raised their three children. When she’s not writing, Hallee pursues her passion for cooking, coffee, campy action movies, and regular date nights with her husband. An accomplished speaker and active member of several writing organizations, Hallee can be found online at www.halleebridgeman.com.
Featured Book: Honor Bound
Laura Edge
Laura Edge loves to read, travel, dance, and watch football games. She received her bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Texas at Austin and studied abroad with the American Institute For Foreign Study in London, Paris, Rome, and Athens. Laura has taught reading and writing in middle schools and at a community college near her home in Kingwood, Texas. She is the author of a Christian memoir, Heart of the Matter: A Journey to Faith and sixteen nonfiction books for children and young adults. Learn more about Laura at www.lauaedge.com.
Featured Book: Heart of the Matter: A Journey to Faith
Dr. Arthor L. Faber
Dr. Arthor L. Faber is an Oral Roberts University graduate with a Doctorate in Strategic Leadership and a master’s in Christian Ministry. He is the founder and proprietor of Telos Christian Life and Leadership Coaching, a Christian-based organization specializing in assisting in the development of tomorrow’s leaders with a Christian foundation and influence. Previously, he was the founder and chief executive officer of Platinum Business Enterprises in Long Island, New York, leading the company in offering over 500,00 natives within the region in urban hair care and beauty supplies since 1997. Dr. Faber is currently the founder and Pastor of Restoration Christian Fellowship Church in Aquebogue, NY, serving since 2014. He is the podcast and radio show host of Restoration Radio, and is the author of Effective! - Seven Keys to Christian Leadership Success.
Featured Book: Effective! Seven Keys to Christian Leadership Success
Naomi Fata
Naomi Fata is a professional sewist specializing in bridal alterations and custom fitted slipcovers. In her spare time, she is a speaker, author, and regular contributor to God's Corner for her local newspaper. Naomi has earned certificates and degrees in the following areas: Christian life coaching, Bible, psychology, non-profit management and social welfare. She and her husband Tony live in upstate New York and homeschool their three children.
Joni M. Fisher
Joni M. Fisher writes award-winning, suspenseful stories about heroines who don't wait to be rescued. Her stories feature friendship, family, faith, and crime. Her books have won awards in the Kindle Book Awards, Reader’s Favorite Book Awards, Christian Indie Book Awards, Next Generation Indie Book Awards, and others. A member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and the Florida Writers Association, she also served on the Southeastern University Arts and Humanities Advisory Board.
Featured Book: East of Evil
Cora Jo E Foster
Cora Jo E. Foster is a wife, mother of four, and an avid writer.
She grew up in a pastor’s home and was saved at the age of six.
Cora Jo began writing as a teenager and has had a passion for writing ever since.
She is the author of the Liberty’s Agents Series and co-authored a ladies devotional book called, Ladies of Liberty.
She married her husband Caleb and since then has served alongside him in children’s and youth ministries. They are now a family of six serving the Lord together.
Trusting in the Lord, she has launched out with the desire to reach the next generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Featured Book: Jasmine's Prayer
April Graney
April Graney is the mother of five grown children, a wife of 30 years, a children’s book author, and a middle school English teacher at Cookson Hills, a children’s home and school for at-risk students in Oklahoma. She is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, and the author of 3 children’s books. She wrote her newest book, If Jesus Came to My School, to encourage parents of children who are sharing the love and light of Jesus in their schools.
Featured Book: If Jesus Came to My School
Sandra Merville Hart
Sandra Merville Hart, award-winning and Amazon bestselling author of over a dozen inspirational historical romances, loves to discover little-known yet fascinating facts from American history to include in her stories. Over half of her published books are set during the Civil War, which has taught her a great deal about research. She is a blogger, speaker, teacher, and past Executive Editor for DevoKids.com. She’s one of the founding ERASERS, a Facebook group that encourages writers and serves on the Planning Committee for this festival. She has taught at writer conferences, women’s retreats, and writers’ groups. Connect with Sandra on her Historical Nibbles blog, https://sandramervillehart.com/.
Featured Book: Tides of Healing, Book 6 in Spies of the Civil War Series
Gina Holder
Gina Holder is an indie author and stay-at-home mom. She’s had an infatuation with books for as long as she can remember. She loves sharing uplifting messages from God’s Word and introducing readers to new and new-to-them authors on her blog. When she’s not writing, Gina enjoys playing the piano, cooking, reading, watching Hallmark mysteries, and solving “escape room” puzzles. She loves growing in her craft as an author. She published her debut novel in 2017. Gina lives in Wyoming with her husband and daughter.
Featured Book: The Puzzle Within
Cindy Ervin Huff
Cindy has been writing since high school in a variety of arenas. She made the leap to novel writing in her later years. She has 9 novels in print in both the contemporary and historical romance genres. She loves getting to know other authors. Her addictions are reading and chocolate.
Featured Book: Cherishing Her Heart
David Johnson
David Johnson grew up in a small town in central Arkansas. He married in 1981 and began his career with the local utility company, where he worked as a Senior Software Engineer until his retirement in 2023. As an ordained Deacon, David enjoys daily scripture study and finds joy in serving the Lord and helping others. His current hobbies include writing fictional novels, painting, drawing, cooking, swimming, and gardening. Due to his wife's career in travel, they have had the opportunity to visit other countries. They have also enjoyed various activities, such as skydiving, SCUBA diving, motorcycle riding, and hiking.
Featured Book: Magiel
Pamela Nance Johnson
Pamela Nance Johnson is a Christian Author. She has been co-contributor to several anthologies before pursing her solo works. Pamela Nance Johnson enjoys sharing the gospel with others using written devotionals, coloring books and journaling. She also loves lifting praise through music ministry.
Featured Book: You're Not Too Busy, It's God's Time Anyway!
Elle E. Kay
Elle E. Kay is a romantic thriller writer who pens stories wherein her heroes and heroines find love in the midst of peril, all while deepening their faith. She’s an international bestselling author of two dozen Christian fiction titles.
Featured Book: Project Sentinel
Claudia LeBoeuf
Claudia LeBoeuf is a former NASA aerospace engineer turned wife and homeschooling mom to five wonderful children. She began writing stories while teaching her children creative writing and won the science fiction category of the 2020 Mountain Brook Fire “Fire Awards.” Her early partiality for Charles Dickens grew into a keen fondness for well-written villains. The exceptional worldbuilding of her favorite author, C. J. Cherryh, have also been an inspiration. Claudia and her family reside in Kentucky, where she enjoys helping with her daughters’ wool business—alpacas, Shetland sheep, and Angora rabbits.
Featured Book: Fields of Prosperis
Diana Leagh Matthews
Diana Leagh Matthews has a heart for the hurting and shares God’s love through the written word and song. Her debut novel, Carol of the Rooms, was published in 2023 and was a Realm Award finalist and her second novel, Forever Changed, released in spring 2025. Leagh (pronounced L-e-e), who lives in South Carolina with her spunky Maltese.
Featured Book: Forever Changed
Katelyn Pfeiffer
Katelyn is a pastor’s kid turned pastors wife. She and her husband have two beautiful children with a third on the way. She signed with Elk Lake Publishing, Inc. in 2023, and released her first book in October of 2024. The second installment of her Provenance Chronicles series, an allegory of Revelation, released on June 19, 2025. When not writing, she is reading, watching her kids, and drinking copious amounts of coffee.
Featured Book: City of End
Grace R. Pringle
Grace R. Pringle has been telling stories since before she could read and writing since before she could spell. She attended the Institute of Children’s Literature and has published multiple clean fantasy books.
Grace is married to fellow writer, Stuart Pringle, and together they have six kids and three cats all being homeschooled together in a house overlooking the St. Lawrence River in Ontario, Canada.
If Grace isn’t writing or reading, you’ll find her listening to Breaking Benjamin, rearranging her house regularly, attending as many medieval fairs as possible, and drawing dragons.
Featured Book: Between the Shadows
Mark David Pullen
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Mark David Pullen is the author of the award-winning middle grade series “The Oasis Chronicles” . His debut novel, “The Oasis King”, was a Pencraft Literary Award winner and received an Honorable Mention in the New York State Book Festival. His second book, “Freedom Through the Narrow Gate” was released in September 2024.His mission is to create wholesome face paced action-adventure stories where children can escape the daily struggles of growing up while learning positive values such as hope, determination, and resilience. He currently lives in Upstate New York. Mark is a proud member of the ACFW Organization. More information can be found at www.theoasisking.com
Featured Book: Freedom Through the Narrow Gate
Yolonda Tonette Sanders, Ph.D.
Yolonda Tonette Sanders, Ph.D., is a storyteller at heart with a passion for both words and people. She is the co-founder of the Faith & Fellowship Book Festivals and has authored numerous works, including novels, poems, short stories, and academic publications. Her writing blends authenticity, emotional depth, and spiritual insight, often drawing from her own journey of faith and resilience.
Yolonda holds a doctorate in organizational leadership from Indiana Wesleyan University and is certified in emotional intelligence. She enjoys teaching, mentoring, consulting, and helping others discover their own voices through writing. When she's not creating or consulting, you’ll likely find her spending time with her husband or enjoying heartfelt moments with loved ones.
To learn more, visit www.yoproductions.net.
Featured Book: Soul Matters
Susan Pope Sloan
After decades of writing short stories, news articles, and corporate documentation, Susan Pope Sloan turned her hand to historical fiction as a way to combine her fascination with history and her love of language. Her series, Rescued Hearts of the Civil War, consists of five books that cover the last year of the war and the start of Reconstruction (1864 - 1866) in her home state of Georgia. In addition to writing about the Civil War, Susan volunteers at the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia. She’s a member of Word Weavers and ACFW.
Featured Book: Rescuing Rose
Liz Tolsma
Liz Tolsma is the author of several WWII novels, romantic suspense novels, prairie romance novellas, and an Amish romance. She is a popular speaker and an editor and resides next to a Wisconsin farm field with her husband and their youngest daughter. Her son and oldest daughters are U.S. Marines, while her youngest daughter with special needs is a “lifer.” Liz enjoys reading, walking, working in her large perennial garden, kayaking, and camping. Please visit her website at www.liztolsma.com and follow her on Facebook, X, Instagram, and Pinterest. She is also the host of the Christian Historical Fiction Talk podcast.
Featured Book: What I Left for You
Cindy Thomson
Known for the inspirational Celtic theme employed in most of her books, Cindy Thomson writes both fiction and nonfiction and has published more than a dozen books. She is co-founder of the Faith & Fellowship Book Festival, vice president of the Mordecai Brown Legacy Foundation, frequent creative writing teacher at Thurber House, and a genealogy researcher. Her love of history inspires everything she writes. When she’s not minding grandbabies, she writes from her home in central Ohio where she lives with her husband Tom. Visit her online at CindysWriting.com, on Facebook: Facebook.com/Cindyswriting, Twitter: @cindyswriting, Pinterest: @cindyswriting and Book Bub: @cindyswriting.
Featured Book: Finding Juniper
Sharon D. Tweet
Author. Widow. Mom. Homeschooling veteran. Amateur photographer. Child of God. From the shores of California to the rolling hills of Missouri, Sharon has traveled many roads through theatre, archery, and her husband’s cancer. She resides on the fringe of the Kansas City metropolitan area with or near her kids and grandkids, writing, editing, and helping others bring order from the chaos of daily life. Sharon writes contemporary Christian fiction and her overriding desire is to share a love of God’s word through written fiction and encourage others to #Discover #LoveOnPurpose, and to #LiveYourFaithBoldly!
J. A. Webb
J. A. Webb is a former atheist and now a devoted follower of Christ, a military veteran, husband, father, small business owner, and Genesis award-winning author writing thrilling Christian fiction from his four-acre farmstead in the upper Midwest USA.
Featured Book: Fragments
Becca Wierwille
Becca Wierwille is the award-winning author of the Road Trip Rescue series and other stories that show kids they are wonderfully created for the unique adventures in their lives. She also cohosts a book podcast for kids, Ice Cream with Authors: Christian Books for Kids 7-13.
Born with only half of her right arm, Becca aims to help others find beauty in what makes them extraordinary. Despite her dreams of sandy beaches and mountain peaks, she loves living in Pennsylvania with her family.
Featured Book: Road Trip Redemption
Ronda Wells
Physician and award-winning author 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. Visit www.RondaWellsBooks.com to read her devotionals and a free chapter. Connect with her @rondawellsbooks on X, Instagram, Facebook, Threads; and on YouTube @novelmalpractice. Her WW2 novella romance, The Christmas Cherub, releases July 1, 2025.
Featured Book: The Christmas Cherub
Pebbles Wireman
Pebbles Wireman is a public speaker and writer who inspires readers through her personal experience of overcoming the obstacles of her life through faith and perseverance. Although Pebbles battles multiple illnesses, she has not permitted them to stop her from fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming an author and ministering to children in the hospital.
Featured Book: Finding Faith in the Storm
Julie M McDonald Zander
Julie McDonald Zander, an award-winning journalist, earned a bachelor’s degree in communications and political science from the University of Washington before working two decades as a newspaper reporter and editor. Through her personal history company, Chapters of Life, she has published more than 75 individual, family, and community histories. Her debut novel, The Reluctant Pioneer, was a finalist for the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award for Best Historical Novel. She and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest, where they raised their two children.
Featured Book: The Reluctant Pioneer
2025 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
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