ITW’s Bizfest 2025

Ritu Anand, D4Eo Agency

Ritu Anand has been a passionate storyteller since childhood. Caught and admonished for writing -under her desk -during a math class, she recalls being highly inconvenienced. Inspiration had struck from within and there was little else she could have done to curtail it. Today, Ritu has earned the recognition of being an award-winning author of Kara’s Dreams, a picture book about being resilient in the face of adversity. She gives tremendous credit to the various teachers at Mater Dei Convent, who, in the formative years of her life, laid an impression upon her. No good story should ever be filed away but be shared, she believes. And that is why, she has chosen to champion voices yet unheard. Ritu is excited to represent writers of kid lit, literary fiction, general fiction and historical fiction. She joined D4EO Literary Agency in Spring 2023. Her clientele has been growing. Soon, she will share some good news about one of her clients seizing the interest of a publisher.

Amy Collins, Talcott Notch Literary Services

Amy Collins is an agent with the Talcott Notch Literary Services agency. She has more than 30 years in the publishing industry as a book buyer, Sales Director for a large non-fiction publisher, and the founder and President of New Shelves Books, one of the largest book sales and marketing companies in the US. Collins is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and has spent her career working with Barnes & Noble, Target, Costco, Books-A-Million, Wal-Mart, as well as bookstores and libraries. As well as an agent, Collins is a trusted expert, speaker, and recommended publishing consultant for some of the largest book and library retailers and wholesalers in the publishing industry. In her agent role, Collins focuses on non-fiction/ history, historical fiction, fantasy, and sci-fi. She can be reached at amysadvice.com.

Kirby Kim, Janklow and Nesbit Agency

A native of Los Angeles, California, Kirby attended Pomona College and got his JD at UC Hastings College of the Law. Kirby has worked for Charlotte Sheedy Literary, Vigliano Associates, WME, and Janklow & Nesbit.

Some of his clients include award winning science fiction writer Ted Chiang, former director of the FBI James Comey, Edgar Award winner James A. McLaughlin (Bearskin), Adam White (The Midcoast), Matthew Sullivan (Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore), Sarah Tomlinson (The Last Days of the Midnight Ramblers), John Teschner (Project Namahana), Meghan Maclean Weir (The Book of Essie), Ed Lin (The Robert Chow series), award winning horror writer Nick Cutter (The Troop), and Mason Coile (William) amongst others.

Mark Tavani, David Black Literary Agency

Mark Tavani started his publishing career in 2000 with Ballantine Books and spent over 23 years with Penguin Random House, Bantam, Del Rey, and G.P. Putnam’s Sons. He edited bestsellers and award-winners across numerous categories of fiction and nonfiction, including books by Jim Abbott, Steve Berry, C.J. Box, Robert Crais, Justin Cronin, Clive and Dirk Cussler, Jeffery Deaver, George Dohrmann, Lisa Gardner, Jack McCallum, Lisa Scottoline, Bill Simmons, and R.L. Stine. He represents both fiction and nonfiction.

Mark represents a wide range of literary and commercial fiction, including book club novels, thrillers, mysteries, speculative fiction, and historical fiction. He enjoys representing fiction that entertains and enriches the lives of readers.

Doug Grad, Grad Literary Agency

Doug’s path on the road to publishing may have been set early. His first job in the industry came in 1978, walking up and down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan wearing a sandwich board advertising a new novel during the 1978 New York City newspaper strike. The next year, he took creative writing at Stuyvesant High School with Frank McCourt, nearly two decades before McCourt won the Pulitzer Prize for Angela’s Ashes. Doug opened the Doug Grad Literary Agency, Inc. in 2008. As a third generation New Yorker and 25-year resident of Brooklyn, Doug moved to Salem, Massachusetts in 2021. No, he has not been turned into a toad by a witch (yet).

After starting at Simon & Schuster as an assistant to the assistant of Michael Korda, 2023 begins Doug’s 37th year as a publishing professional. An editor with imprints at Simon & Schuster, Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins for 22 years, Doug acquired and edited fiction and nonfiction bestsellers. On the nonfiction side, Doug has worked with astronauts, generals, war heroes, gangsters, cops, politicians, sports stars, journalists, musicians, historians and humorists. It’s never boring, and it keeps him out of the saloons!

As an agent, Doug has represented such clients as New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction Jeff Shaara; New York Times bestseller Kerri Rawson (daughter of serial killer Dennis Rader, known as BTK); New York Times bestselling WWII historian Larry Alexander; Grammy-winning jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Hugh Shelton, and true crime and mob writer Michael Benson, among others. In the mystery/thriller genre, Doug represents two-time Agatha Award and four-time Lefty Award winner Ellen Byron (and her alter-ego Maria DiRico); Jerome Preisler, author of the NET FORCE series created by Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik; New York Times bestseller David L. Robbins; psychological suspense writer Debbie Babitt; thriller writer Matthew Betley; and espionage novelist A.J. Chambers.

Sandy Lu, Book Wyrm Literary Agency

Sandy Lu founded Book Wyrm Literary Agency in 2020. Her client list includes Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Publishers Weekly, New York Times, and USA Today bestsellers, Stoker Award, Hammett Prize, and Anthony Award nominees, Goodreads Choice Awards finalists, and New York Times Best of the Year recipient.

Sandy is seeking stories that will draw her in with a unique voice, make her miss her bedtime with a thrilling plot, and characters that will stay with her long after turning the last page. Bonus points if you can make her laugh out loud or unable to hold back tears. She especially loves historical fiction, atmospheric world-building, and anything dark, twisted, or with a supernatural bent. She favors unreliable narrators and serpentine plots that will keep her guessing till the end. Her white whale is a great spy novel set in early 20^th century Shanghai.

She’s currently looking for mystery/thriller/suspense, horror, science fiction/fantasy, historical fiction, historical true crime, narrative nonfiction, upmarket women’s fiction, middle grade, and young adult fiction, as well as narrative nonfiction.

She’s not looking for picture book, graphic novel, screenplay, memoir, contemporary true crime, parenting, sports, political/religious/military thriller, western, erotica, or poetry.

Paula Munier, Talcott Notch Agency

Paula Munier is the Senior Agent and Director of Storytelling for Talcott Notch Literary and the  USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of the Mercy Carr mysteries. Over her 20-plus years in the business, she’s conceived, created, produced, and marketed exceptional content in all formats across all markets for such media giants as WGBH, Fidelity, Disney, Gannett, S&S, Quarto, Greenspun Media Group, among others.

She represents both fiction and nonfiction; her clients run the gamut from debut authors to New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors who’ve won/been shortlisted for such honors as the Edgar, Thriller, Agatha, and Anthony awards as well as the Pushcart Prize, AWP, and PEN awards. Many of her clients’ works have been adapted for stage and screen.

She’s the author of three popular books on writing: The Writer’s Guide to Beginnings: How to Craft Story Openings That Sell, Writing with Quiet Hands: How to Shape Your Writing to Resonate with Readers, Plot Perfect: How to Build Unforgettable Stories Scene by Scene, and the acclaimed memoir Fixing Freddie. The latest book in her Mercy Carr series, Home At Night, was named Library Journal’s Mystery Pick of the Month. The next, The Night Woods, debuts in October 2024.

Joe Brosnan, Senior Editor, Grove Atlantic

Joe Brosnan is a Senior Editor at Grove Atlantic where he specializes in crime fiction. Prior to that, he worked at St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and managed Criminal Element for nearly a decade.

Juliet Grames, SVP, Editorial Director, Soho

Juliet Grames is SVP, Editorial Director at Soho Press, where she has curated the critically acclaimed Soho Crime imprint for the last 15 years. She is the recipient of the MWA’s Ellery Queen Award for her editorial work in the genre. Grames is the author of two novels, most recently The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia, and her writing has appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Best American Mystery & Suspense, Real Simple, the Boston Globe, Parade, and other venues. Her favorite novel of all time is Ellen Raskin’s The Westing Game. 

Dana Isaacson, Independent Editor

Dana Isaacson was a senior editor at the Penguin Random House for thirteen years. He has worked in the book publishing industry for thirty: as abridger, writer, and editor. He has edited everything from bestselling commercial fiction to literary biographies to historical narratives. At PRH he oversaw the crime fiction eBook line Alibi. He edits general fiction, mystery/thrillers, women’s fiction, romantic suspense, non-fiction, and sometimes other stuff. He blogs about writing at www.careerauthors.com. Learn more about him at www.danaisaacson.com.

Megha Parekh, Amazon Senior Editor

Senior Editor, Megha Parekh, has a love for all things mystery, thriller, or suspense. Some of the authors currently on her list include New York Times bestselling authors Ian K. Smith, Lee Goldberg, and A. R. Torre, Wall Street Journal bestselling authors Matthew Fitzsimmons and Steven Konkoly, USA Today bestselling authors Debra Webb and Debbie Herbert, Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling authors Isabella Maldonado, Brianna Labuskes, Matthew Farrell, Lucinda Berry, and Hilary Davidson, as well as Harper Lee Prize award-winner and Edgar Award-nominated author Victor Methos. Prior to joining Amazon Publishing, Megha worked as an editor at Grand Central Publishing for five years. When she’s not helping her authors plot their latest crimes, she enjoys traveling and catching up on the latest movies and series.

Kristin Sevick, Executive Editor, Minotaur Books

Kristin Sevick is an executive editor at Minotaur Books, part of Macmillan, where she acquires a wide range of commercial fiction. She is honored to have worked with bestselling and award-winning authors such as W. Bruce Cameron, Julie Carrick Dalton, Matt Goldman, Rachel Howzell Hall, T. Jefferson Parker, Spencer Quinn, Lev AC Rosen, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Aggie Blum Thompson, Heather Webber, and many more. She lives in Connecticut with her family, and when not in a bookstore or library can most likely be found at a youth sporting event.

Michelle Jackson, LCS Literary

Michelle represents books that evoke heartfelt emotions and fervent conversations among its readers. Her mission is to mentor and develop authors, particularly those from underrepresented communities, and help them build a brand of quality and authentic reads.

Originally from Jamaica, West Indies, she is now a literary agent with LCS Literary. She began her agenting career as an intern and then a Literary Associate with Olswanger Literary. Michelle is also a published author and has earned educational degrees from New York University, SUNY at StonyBrook, Teachers College Columbia University and Argosy University.​ She is a member of AALA and SCBWI.

Joanna Mackenzie, Kristin Nelson Agency

Joanna MacKenzie is a Sr. Agent with Nelson Literary Agency where she represents authors writing for both the adult and children’s markets across all areas of fiction. She is drawn to vivid, engaging writing and is particularly interested in high concept thrillers (with a soft spot for speculative and anything that challenges tropes), voicey mysteries, dark academia, stories that straddle genres, and women’s fiction where the personal intersects with the world at large – if any of these are set in the Midwest, all the better. Across the board, she’s looking for works that highlight under-represented voices. Her authors are New York Times bestsellers, Edgar and Anthony Award nominees, and critically acclaimed storytellers.

Donald Maass, Maass Agency

Donald Maass founded the Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York in 1980. He is the author of The Career Novelist (1996),Writing the Breakout Novel (2001), Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook (2004), The Fire in Fiction (2009), The Breakout Novelist (2011), Writing 21st Century Fiction (2012) and The Emotional Craft of Fiction (2019).  He is a past president of the Association of Authors’ Representatives, Inc.

Brian Andrews, Bestselling Author

Brian Andrews, along with Jeffrey Wilson, are the New York Times bestselling coauthor team of multiple covert ops and action-adventure thriller series: Tier One, Sons Of Valor, The Shepherds and Tom Clancy’s Act Of Defiance.

Brian is a US Navy veteran, Park Leadership Fellow, and former submarine officer with a psychology degree from Vanderbilt University and a Master’s degree in business from Cornell University. Brian is a principal contributor at Career Authors, a site dedicated to advancing the careers of aspiring and published writers.

Robert Dugoni, Bestselling Author

Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Amazon Charts bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite police procedural series, the Charles Jenkins spy series, the David Sloane legal thriller series, the Keera Duggan legal thriller series, and several standalone novels, including The World Played Chess and The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell. His most recent book, A Killing on the Hill, is a historical true crime thriller set in 1930s Seattle, published by Thomas & Mercer in April 2024. His books are sold in more than twenty-five countries and have been translated into more than thirty languages.

Rachel Howzell Hall, Bestselling Author

Rachel Howzell Hall is the critically acclaimed author of the bestselling thrillers, What Fire Brings, What Never Happened and These Toxic Things. A two-time finalist of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Rachel is the author of And Now She’s Gone and the Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestseller We Lie Here. The first of her highly-anticipated fantasy series, The Last One, will be published in December 2024.

She’s been nominated for a number of mystery awards, including the Anthony, Strand and International Thriller Award, the Lefty, Barry and Shamus. She is also the author of the Audible Originals bestseller See How They Run, and the Thriller Award- and Audie Awards-nominated How It Ends, Rachel is a New York Times bestselling author of The Good Sister with James Patterson. She’s also received acclaim for They All Fall Down and for her Detective Elouise Norton series.

Her short story, “Breakdown in the Right Lane,” was published in Alta Magazine and was selected as a Distinguished Story in Best American Mystery & Suspense for 2023. She lives in Los Angeles.

Tosca Lee, Bestselling Author

Tosca Lee is the New York Times bestselling author of The Line Between, A Single Light, The Progeny, Demon, and others. Her work has received numerous awards, been translated into seventeen languages, and optioned for TV and film. She is best known for her nuanced prose, unexpected points of view, meticulous research, and high-octane thrills. She received her B.A. in English from Smith College and lives with her family in Nebraska.

Jonathan Maberry, Bestselling Author

Jonathan Maberry is a New York Times bestseller, five-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, anthology editor, comic book writer, executive producer, magazine feature writer, playwright, and writing teacher/lecturer. He is the editor of Weird Tales Magazine and president of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers. He is the recipient of the Inkpot Award, three Scribe Awards, and was named one of the Today’s Top Ten Horror Writers. His books have been sold to more than thirty countries. He writes in several genres including thriller, horror, science fiction, epic fantasy, and mystery; and he writes for adults, middle grade, and young adult.

Kiersten Modglin, Bestselling Author

Kiersten Modglin is a #1 bestselling author of psychological thrillers. Her books have sold over 1.5 million copies and been translated into multiple languages. Kiersten is a member of International Thriller Writers, Novelists, Inc., and the Alliance of Independent Authors. She is a KDP Select All-Star and a recipient of ThrillerFix’s Best Psychological Thriller Award, Suspense Magazine’s Best Book of 2021 Award, a 2022 Silver Falchion for Best Suspense, and a 2022 Silver Falchion for Best Overall Book of 2021. Kiersten grew up in rural western Kentucky and later relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, where she now lives with her family. Kiersten’s readers across the world lovingly refer to her as “KMod.” A binge-watching expert, psychology fanatic, and indoor enthusiast, Kiersten enjoys rainy days spent with her favorite people and evenings with her nose in a book.

Tim O’Connell, VP, Publisher, Simon and Schuster / SAGA

Tim O’Connell joined Simon & Schuster in 2021 as Editorial Director for fiction and is now Vice President and Publisher of Saga Press. Prior to joining Simon & Schuster, Tim worked in the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for over fifteen years. Publishing across genres and formats, he has sought to champion unique voices from a wide spectrum of authors.

In 2020, his author of twelve years, Charles Yu, won the National Book Award for Fiction for the novel Interior Chinatown. That same year Vanessa Veselka’s novel The Great Offshore Grounds was longlisted for the same award. This year, Omar El Akkad’s What Strange Paradise won the Scotiabank Giller Award, while Pajtim Statovci’s Bolla was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize in Fiction.

He has edited with numerous bestselling and award-winning authors including Ted Chiang, Nathan Hill, Lauren Hough, Karin Tidbeck, Jonah Mixon-Webster, Amitava Kumar, Clémence Michallon, and Sergio de La Pava.

Neil Nyren, Former EVP, Associate Publisher, and Editor in Chief, G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Neil Nyren is the former EVP, Associate Publisher, and Editor in Chief of G.P. Putnam’s Sons; and the winner of the 2017 Ellery Queen Award from the Mystery Writers of America and the 2025 Thriller Legend award from the International Thriller Writers.

Among the writers of crime and suspense he has edited are Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, John Sandford, C. J. Box, Robert Crais, Carl Hiaasen, Daniel Silva, Jack Higgins, Frederick Forsyth, Ken Follett, Jonathan Kellerman, Martha Grimes, Alex Berenson, Thomas Perry, Gerald Seymour, Ed McBain, and Ace Atkins. In all, he has edited more than 300 New York Times bestsellers.

Besides still editing two of his longtime authors, he now writes about crime fiction and publishing for CrimeReads, BookTrib, The Big Thrill, and The Third Degree, among others, and is a contributing writer to the MWA’s Anthony/Agatha/Macavity-winning How to Write a Mystery. He has spoken at conferences from Maine to Florida, South Carolina to Hawaii.

Keri Rae Barnum, Independent Publicist

Keri-Rae Barnum is the Executive Director of New Shelves Books, one of the largest book sales and marketing content providers in the US. A sought-after publishing expert, Keri works with both traditional and indie press authors on creative marketing campaigns to achieve their goals.

She is a trusted authority in book marketing, speaking to numerous writing and publishing groups each year. Some of her favorite conference collaborations have been with IBPA, Future in Publishing, Women in Publishing, Crime Bake and Moonlight & Magnolias.

Her career has been largely focused on working with bookstores and libraries as well as digital and Print On Demand platforms. She loves teaching authors “the ropes” and spends a large portion of her time working on education and sharing her knowledge with the writing and publishing communities. A favorite venue for this is the New Shelves Books advice vlog, www.NewShelves.com/FAF.

Outside of office hours Keri spends her time wrangling her two children and energetic IrishDoodle puppy with the help of her husband. A military veteran spouse and avid cook, she enjoys traveling as often as possible; but when she can’t hop on a plane, a good book is her favorite escape.

Andrea Bartz, Bestselling Author

Andrea Bartz is a journalist and the New York Times-bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club pick We Were Never Here, The Spare Room, The Lost Night, The Herd, and the forthcoming thriller The Last Ferry Out. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Vogue, and many other outlets, and she’s held editorial positions at Glamour, Psychology Today, and Self, among other publications. She lives in Brooklyn and the Hudson Valley.

Mandy Chalal, Sourcebooks

Mandy Chahal, based in Bryan, TX, US, is currently a Senior Marketing and Publicity Manager at Sourcebooks. Mandy Chahal brings experience from previous roles at Sourcebooks and BRW Architects, Inc. Mandy Chahal holds a Bachelors of Science in Political Science from the University of Houston. With a robust skill set that includes Publishing, Books, Content Development, Copywriting, Publicity and more.

Carter Wilson, Bestselling Author

Carter Wilson is the USA Today bestselling author of ten critically acclaimed, standalone psychological thrillers, as well as numerous short stories. He is an ITW Thriller Award finalist, a five-time winner of the Colorado Book Award, and his works have been optioned for television and film. Additionally, he is the host of the Making It Up podcast and founder of the Unbound Writer company, which provides coaching services, writing retreats, and online classes. Carter lives in Erie, Colorado in a Victorian house that is spooky but isn’t haunted…yet.

Born in New Mexico in 1970, Carter grew up primarily in Los Angeles before attending Cornell University in New York. He lived in Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Miami before moving to Boulder, Colorado in 1996. Throughout his life, Carter has journeyed the globe for both work and pleasure, and his travels have been a constant source of inspiration in his fiction.

In addition to his published novels, Carter has also contributed short fiction to various publications, and most notably was featured in the R.L. Stine young-adult anthology Scream and Scream Again.

Sara DiVello, Author and ITW Social Media Director

Sara DiVello is an author and the creator/host of Mystery and Thriller Mavens, a popular author interview series and interactive Facebook group. Her most recent book, “Broadway Butterfly: A Thriller,” was a CBS New York Book Club Pick, an Entertainment Weekly Most Anticipated Book, and earned starred reviews from Booklist and Library Journal. DiVello also serves as co-chair of the Nantucket Book Festival, on the board of the Nantucket Book Foundation, as the director of social media strategy for the International Thriller Writers association, and on the board of the Friends of the South End Library, where she curates the author speaker series.

K.J. Howe, Bestselling Author, ITW Executive Director

K.J. Howe has traveled all over the world, and lived in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Caribbean, which gave her an insider’s view into many different cultures.

She earned a Masters in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She is a Thriller and Barry Award nominee, and she has won multiple awards including the coveted Thriller Award. Kim is the former Executive Director of ThrillerFest, and current Executive Director ITW.

Her books include The Freedom Broker and Skyjack, which focus on elite kidnap negotiator Thea Paris. She spent extensive time researching the dark world of kidnapping. She has interviewed former hostages, negotiators, hostage reintegration experts, special forces operatives, and Kidnapping & Ransom insurance executives.

K.J. is an avid tennis player, cyclist, and swimmer. Travel and adventure still rank high on her priority list. She has had the pleasure of riding racing camels in Jordan, surfing in Hawaii, ziplining in the Costa Rican jungle, diving alongside Great White Sharks in South Africa, studying modern combat in the Arizona desert, and working with elephants in Botswana. Home is in Toronto, Canada, but she is often missing in action.

Hank Phillippi Ryan, Bestselling Author and On-Air Investigative Reporter

Hank Phillippi Ryan is the USA Today bestselling author of 16 psychological thrillers, winning the most prestigious awards in the genre: five Agathas, five Anthonys, and the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award.  She is also on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s WHDH-TV, winning 37 EMMYs and 14 Edward R. Murrow awards, as well as dozens of other journalism awards.  National book critics call her “a superb and gifted storyteller.” Her current thriller is One Wrong Word, with All This Could Be Yours coming in 2025 from Minotaur.

A television reporter since 1975, Hank’s groundbreaking journalism has changed laws and changed lives; with five new laws enacted, people sent to prison, homes removed from foreclosure, and multi-millions of dollars in refunds and restitution for victims and consumers.  She’s been a radio reporter, a legislative aide in the United States Senate and an editorial assistant at Rolling Stone Magazine. Hank was a founding teacher at Mystery Writers of America University, and past president of national Sisters in Crime. She is currently the co-host of First Chapter Fun and The Back Room, and host of Crime Time on A Mighty Blaze. Hank has been interviewed countless times, live and recorded, for newspaper, magazine, television, radio and podcasts. She’s also interviewed hundreds of authors—in all genres and the biggest names in the business—in her extensive experience handling live and virtual events at libraries, bookstores and conventions, as well as for numerous  print and on-line articles. She is also sought-after teacher, lecturer and keynote speaker.

Hank lives in Boston with her husband, a renowned criminal defense and civil rights attorney.

Laura Dave, Bestselling Author

Laura Dave is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including The Last Thing He Told Me, The Night We Lost Him, and Eight Hundred Grapes. Her novels have been translated into thirty-eight languages, and six of them, including The Night We Lost Him, have been optioned for film and television. She resides in Santa Monica, California.

Joseph Finder, Bestselling Author

Joseph Finder is the New York Times bestselling author of sixteen previous suspense novels, including Judgment, The Switch, The Fixer and Suspicion. He introduced “private spy” Nick Heller in Vanished, an instant bestseller, and the continuing series includes Buried Secrets, Guilty Minds and House On Fire.

Joe’s novels High Crimes and Paranoia have been adapted as major motion pictures. Guilty Minds and Company Man won the Barry Award for Best Thriller. An international bestseller, Killer Instinct won the International Thriller Writers’ Thriller Award for Best Novel. Buried Secrets won the Strand Critics Award for Best Novel.

A founding member of the International Thriller Writers, Joe is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Association of Former Intelligence Officers. He is a graduate of Yale College and the Harvard Russian Research Center, and lives in Boston.

Tess Gerritsen, Bestselling Author

Trained as a medical doctor, Tess Gerritsen built a second career as an internationally bestselling novelist. Her 32 novels include The Spy Coast, Gravity, and The Surgeon. She has won the Nero Wolfe Award and the Rita Award, and Time Magazine named The Surgeon one of the best mystery/thrillers ever written.

Her novels are translated into 40 languages and more than 40 million copies have been sold around the world.  Her series of novels featuring homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles inspired the hit television series “Rizzoli & Isles.” She lives in Maine.

Caroline Kepnes, Bestselling Author

Caroline Kepnes is the New York Times bestselling author of You, Hidden Bodies, Providence and You Love Me. Her work has been translated into a multitude of languages and inspired a television series adaptation of You, currently on Netflix. Kepnes graduated from Brown University and then worked as a pop culture journalist for Entertainment Weekly and a TV writer for 7th Heaven and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. She grew up in Cape Cod, and now lives in Los Angeles.