Past Speakers

 
 

Photo credit: James Bitz Photography

Allison L. Bitz

@allisonlbitz

Allison L. Bitz is the award-winning author of Three Things About Emmy Crawford and The Unstoppable Bridget Bloom (which won the 2024 Nebraska Book Award). Her YA contemporary romances tackle issues such as body positivity, chronic illness, and mental health.

Allison hails from Lincoln, NE, where she lives with her spouse, two kids, and various rescue pets. When she’s not writing a novel or a song, Dr. Bitz is helping clients in her private counseling practice, planning some form of political action, or trying to track down a pastry to enjoy with her coffee. You can follow her on X, Instagram, and TikTok at @AllisonLBitz. 

Allison spoke on The Resilient Writer: Strategies for Working Through Challenges to Creativity.

Tosca Lee

Tosca Lee is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of eleven books including The Line Between Duology, The House of Bathory Duology (The Progeny, Firstborn), Iscariot, The Legend of Sheba, Demon: A Memoir, Havah: The Story of Eve, and the Books of Mortals series with New York Times bestseller Ted Dekker.

A notorious night-owl, she loves watching TV, eating bacon, playing video games with her kids, and sending cheesy texts to her husband. You can find Tosca hanging around the snack table or wherever bacon is served.

Tosca Lee - NYT Bestselling author of thrillers and Christian historical fiction

Tosca Lee - NYT Bestselling author of thrillers and Christian historical fiction

Tonya Kuper - YA scifi author and Adjunct Professor of Young Adult Literature Writing Workshop at the University of Nebraska at Omaha

Tonya Kuper - YA scifi author and Adjunct Professor of Young Adult Literature Writing Workshop at the University of Nebraska at Omaha

Tonya Kuper

Tonya Kuper writes young adult novels. ANOMALY and ENIGMA make up a young adult scifi duology with plenty of swoon. She first fell in love with reading in elementary school, which eventually lead to earning a BA in Elementary Education and a MS in Reading Education, but she never thought she’d write a novel, let alone several. When Tonya isn’t writing, she teaches Young Adult Literature Writing Workshop at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and is on faculty for the University of Nebraska at Omaha MFA low-residency program. Tonya laughs as much as possible, loves music, and nerds-out over Star Wars and all things pop-culture. She lives in Omaha, NE with her husband and two rad boys.