Claudia Chidester is the Director of the Fontaine Archive, an archive of the letters and art works of Virginia and Paul Fontaine

Doug Dorst directs the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Texas State University-San Marcos. He is the author of Alive at Necropolis, the story collection The Surf Guru, and S., a collaboration with J.J. Abrams.

Spike Gillespie is a prolific writer who has published in Elle, Self, GQ, Playboy, Cosmopolitan, Mademoiselle, and Texas Monthly. Gillespie’s books include All of the Wrong Men and One Perfect Boy and Pissed Off: On Women and Anger.

Tom Grimes is the author of five novels, a play, and a memoir. An alumnus of the University of Iowa’s creative writing MFA program, he also edited The Workshop: Seven Decades from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

Michael Hall is an award-winning journalist and editor who joined Texas Monthly in 1997. Previously, he served as associate editor of Third Coast magazine and managing editor of The Austin Chronicle.

Shaun Jordan is director of marketing at Abraham Trading Company. Prior to joining ATC, Shaun operated a sports marketing company that placed elite athletes in instructional clinic environments around the world.

Keith Kreeger has been working with clay for over 20 years. Born and raised in New York, he opened his first ceramics studio in Cape Cod. He brought his work and Keith Kreeger Studios to Austin, Texas, in 2009.

Richard Linklater is a film director and writer whose feature films include Slacker, Dazed and Confused, School of Rock, Before Sunrise, and Boyhood. Linklater founded the Austin Film Society in 1985, where he remains Artistic Director.

James Magnuson is the Director of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas. He is the author of ten novels; his most recent work is The Hounds of Winter.

June Rodil is the beverage director of McGuire Moorman Hospitality, overseeing the wine, beer, and spirits programs at six of Austin’s most popular restaurants: Jeffrey’s, Josephine House, Clark’s, Elizabeth Street Café, Perla’s and Lamberts Barbecue.

Naomi Shihab Nye is a poet, essayist, and teacher. For the past thirty years, she has traveled the world leading writing workshops that inspire students of all ages. She is the author and/or editor of more than 20 volumes.

James Pennebaker is a professor, teacher, and researcher in the Psychology Department at UT who conducts experiments on writing and language use. He is known for his early work showing that expressive writing about emotional upheavals can improve people’s physical and mental health.

Ruth Pennebaker is the author of eight books of fiction and non-fiction, a former columnist for the Dallas Morning News and the Texas Observer, and a commentator for KUT, Austin’s public radio station.

Evan Smith currently serves as president and editor-in-chief of Texas Tribune.

Kirk Walsh (Founder of ABC) has worked as a writer-in-residence in public schools, hospitals, and shelters in New York City and Texas on behalf of Teachers & Writers Collaborative, Gemini Ink, and other nonprofits.

Simone Wicha currently serves as director of the Blanton Museum of Art.

Ana Martinez Stapleton is a creative consultant in the hospitality industry with a lifelong passion for the arts.