#SMIAHWritersCon

Jessica Day George is the award-winning, bestselling author of sixteen fantasy books- and counting! All of her books are for middle grade or teen readers, and all of them contain the word “dragon” at least once. A BYU graduate armed with a very lucrative BA in Humanities and Comparative Lit, plus a minor in Scandinavian Studies, she is fully employable as a museum docent or . . . someone who writes books about dragons. She has one husband, one dog, and three children. She likes books, dark chocolate, movies, books, small dogs, Disney vacations, books, and knitting.

Traci Hunter Abramson was born in Arizona, where she lived until moving to Venezuela for a study abroad program. After graduating from Brigham Young University, she worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, eventually resigning in order to raise her family. She has written more than forty best-selling novels and is a seven-time Whitney Award winner.

Twitter, Instagram, & TikTok: @traciabramson https://www.facebook.com/tracihabramson/

Don Carey is an author and project manager currently living in Kansas. He writes both Contemporary Realism and Science Fiction Adventure. Don has long been fascinated by human nature, and loves trying to understand the thoughts and motivations of those around him. That interest has served him well as he writes stories about his “imaginary friends.” His day job involves writing computer programs, which is almost the same as writing fiction, but with a lot more semicolons.

I am a ya fantasy/science fiction author. My debut, Oceans of Sand, is coming out June 2023. I have studied extensively the craft of writing and would love to share that knowledge with others! Helping writers fulfill their dreams is a passion of mine.

Tamara Grantham is the author of more than twenty books and novellas, including many multi-
award-winning fantasy novels for middle-grade through adult readers. Several of her novels
launched as #1 bestsellers on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Some of her awards include
two first place Rone awards, a Praiseworthy award, and a finalist in the Realm Makers Awards. Born and raised in Texas, Tamara now lives with her husband and five children in Wichita,
Kansas. When she gets a moment to relax, she enjoys reading fantasy novels and watching every
Star Wars or Star Trek movie ever made.

Jessica Guernsey writes Fantasy and Sci-Fi short stories. With a degree in Journalism from BYU and a Masters in Publishing from WCU, her work is published in magazines and anthologies. By day, she crushes dreams as a slush pile reader for multiple publishers. During NaNoWriMo, Jessica is a Municipal Liaison for the Utah::Elsewhere Region. Frequently, she can be found at writing conferences. She isn't difficult to spot; just look for the extrovert. While she spent her teenage angst in Texas, she now lives on a mountain in Utah with her family.

Discover more at jessicaguernsey.com.

Stacey Leybas writes kidlit ranging from picture books to middle grade fiction. She has a BS in Recreation Management from BYU and now teaches music classes. She is a loyal Arizona sports fan, a compulsive family picture-taker, and a theoretical world traveler. She lives in Kuna, Idaho with her husband and five kids.

Gregg Luke grew up in Santa Barbara, CA. He pursued his education in Natural Sciences at SBCC, UCSB, and BYU. He completed his schooling at the University of Utah, College of Pharmacy—including a rotation in the Utah Poison Control Center. He currently practices clinical pharmacy in Logan, Utah.
Gregg has been a voracious reader and a prolific writer since childhood. He has been published in Skin Diver, Destiny, and New Era Magazines. His suspense novels include The Survivors, Do No Harm, Altered State, Blink of An Eye, Bloodborne, Deadly Undertakings, The Death House, The Healer, Infected, The Hunter’s Son, Insidious, and Plague, six of which were Whitney Award finalists.

Matthew is the author of 6 novels, 4 collections of short stories, and 2 other short stories. He is Kansas born and raised and enjoys many aspects of its outdoors including hunting, fishing, and photography. He also holds jobs at ACEware Systems and K-State Athletics.

I have been writing for almost 15 years and attending conferences for about that long. My first book “Going Home” won first place in the storymakers general fiction first chapters contest in 2010. My second book “Conviction” was a Whitney award finalist in 2019. I hold a bachelors degree in English Literature from Utah State University. Other books I’ve written: The 13 Days of Girls Camp, and accepted for publication through Covenant to come out 2024, Regency romance “Finding Jane Fairfax,” first book of a series.

Brandy L Prettyman is a writer, singer, painter, mother, Army veteran, and coffee snob. A professional jack-of-all-trades, Brandy earned a Bachelor in Business Administration and spent the last decade (maybe it’s longer, but let’s not make this awkward) writing poetry and working on her debut novel. Brandy lives and works from home in Papillion, Nebraska, and like to spend her spare time with her trusty four-legged sidekicks Mary Puppins, Spidie, and Muffin. Most days she can be found drinking a large latte at her writing desk, frantically writing her thoughts down in verse before they disappear.

Andy is a SAG-AFTRA Audiobook Narrator based in Kansas City. Andy is a retired mental health therapist, graduate-level professor, and speaker for dozens of conferences and workshops nationwide. As a former Director of Business Development, Andy managed a large team and specialized in personal branding, marketing, and social media content creation. She is also an author of a children’s picture-book series, a "How-To" e-book, and debut YA novel. Andy’s combined experience enables her to help others learn a different perspective of the business. When she’s not narrating or writing, she’s spending time baking, crafting, or homesteading with her husband, daughter, fur babies, and plants.

I have a bachelor's degree in Classical Greek, a master's degree in Applied Mathematics, and I now work as a software developer and data scientist. I've also taught math at the high school and university levels and served with Teach For America for two years. My wife and I own and operate a children's theatre, where we direct and produce ten plays a year, four of which are our originals. I've written five novels, and over thirty plays of various lengths (from one-acts to full length productions). I'm a father of four boys and I live in Jefferson City, Missouri.

E.B. Wheeler grew up in Georgia and California. She attended BYU, majoring in history with an English minor, and earned an MA in early modern history with an emphasis on British religion and popular belief, as well as an MLA in historic and cultural landscapes, from Utah State University. Her first novel, The Haunting of Springett Hall, won the 2015 Gold Quill award from the League of Utah Writers for best YA fiction, and her adult novels Born to Treason and No Peace with the Dawn (with co-author Jeff Bateman) won the Silver Quill and Gold Quill awards in 2016. Born to Treason was a 2016 Whitney Award finalist in historical fiction. She was also the League of Utah Writer’s 2016 Writer of the Year. She’s a member of SCBWI and LDStorymakers.

Since the age of three, Ellie Whitney has been addicted to reading, so a master’s degree to teach high school English seemed a natural fit. She graduated summa cum laude and received a perfect score on the Praxis, the national teacher qualification exam, for literature, language, and composition. After teaching for over ten years, she has spent the last seven as a writing tutor and freelance editor. Her work has appeared in various local, state, and national publications. Currently, Ellie lives in Virginia with her wonderful family, two Japanese bobtails, and several stashes of dark chocolate.