Kelli Russell Agodon (she/her) is a bi/queer poet and editor whose newest poetry book, Accidental Devotions, will be published by Copper Canyon Press in May 2026.
Her last book, Dialogues with Rising Tides (Copper Canyon Press), was named a Finalist in the Washington State Book Awards and shortlisted for the Eric Hoffer Book Award Grand Prize in Poetry. She is also the author of Demystifying the Manuscript: Essays & Interviews on Creating a Book of Poems. She is the cofounder of Two Sylvias Press where she works as an editor and book cover designer. She teaches at Pacific Lutheran University’s low-res MFA program, the Rainier Writing Workshop. Kelli is currently part of a project between local land trusts and artists to help raise awareness for the preservation of land, ecosystems, and biodiversity called Writing the Land. She also co-hosts the poetry series"Poems You Need" with Melissa Studdard.
www.agodon.com 

Lauren Kessler is the award-winning author of fifteen books that combine deep research with in-the-trenches reporting. A narrative journalist and immersion reporter, she has, in pursuit of stories: Solo-hiked 500 miles across northern Spain; Ran a writers’ group for Lifers inside at a maximum security prison; Joined a ballet company and danced on stage 30 times; Spent 18 months in middle school classrooms; Worked as a bottom-of-the-rung caregiver at an Alzheimer’s facility. And met so very many extraordinary human beings.

Her books have won three Oregon Book Awards. Her work has appeared in the New York Times magazine, Los Angeles Times magazine, O, salon, and elsewhere—including a national award-winning three-part series on hunger and food insecurity in Lane County for LookOut-Eugene Springield.

Lex Runciman has published eight collections of poems, including The Admirations, which won the Oregon Book Award, and, most recently, Light in the Evergreens, from Cornerstone Press (2026). His poem “Green” introduces the Willamette Valley section of Cascadia Field Guide (Mountaineers Books, 2023), and he is the 2025 recipient of the Sherwin Howard Poetry Award from Weber—The Contemporary West. He lives in
Portland, Oregon. Find more about him at www.lexruncimanpoems.com

Us & Them are two couples who love playing music together. Together, they are a quartet of Corvallis musicians with a wide range of Celtic influences, including Cape Breton, Scottish, Irish, French Canadian, and 18th-century historical performance.

Michael Copperman’s work has appeared in The Oxford American, Guernica, The Sun, Creative Nonfiction, Boston Review, Salon, Gulf Coast, Triquarterly, Kenyon Review and Copper Nickel, among others. His memoir Teacher: Two Years in the Mississippi Delta (University Press of Mississippi 2017) was a finalist for the 2018 Oregon Book Award in CNF. His new book, Seeking Kenny, is about the extremes of the American subculture of wrestling as seen through the story of five-time national champion Kenny Cox’s pilgrimage deep into the wilderness of Kauai’s Na Pali Coast (University of Iowa Press 2026).

As the child of National Geographic filmmakers, John Larison spent much of his youth in remote regions of Australia, the Caribbean, Canada, the South Pacific, Alaska, and the American West. While learning to write, he worked as a fly-fishing and whitewater guide in the Pacific Northwest. His acclaimed, bestselling novel Whiskey When We’re Dry was an Indie Next pick and was named a best book by O, The Oprah Magazine; Goodreads; Entertainment Weekly; Outside; Southern Living; Parade; The Times; and others. His most recent novel, The Ancients, has been called by People Magazine, "A stunning, sweeping novel of humanity and hope.” He teaches classical mythology and creative writing at Oregon State University.

Rosiee Thor began their career as a storyteller by demanding to tell their mother bedtime stories instead of the other way around. They spent their childhood reading by flashlight in the closet until they came out as queer. Now, they write stories for all ages, including young adult novels Tarnished Are The Stars (a Pacific Northwest Indie Bestseller) and Fire Becomes Her, the picture book The Meaning of Pride,  and tie-in novels for franchises like Life is Strange and Firefly. Their short fiction appears in anthologies including the Lambda award nominated Being Ace, and they are the editor of Why On Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology, This is How We Roll, and Being Aro. Their cozy mystery series, Dead & Breakfast, co-written with Kat Hillis, is out now from Berkley. Rosiee lives in Oregon with a dog, two cats, and an abundance of plants.

Eric Wayne Dickey is the author of several poetry chapbooks and a children’s book, Alex the Ant Goes to the Beach, published in 2014 by Craigmore Creations of Portland, OR. He is a John Anson Kittredge Fund for Individual Artists grant recipient from Harvard University, a Vermont Studio Center Fellow, and an alum of the OSU MFA Creative Writing program. The Book of James was just released in August by Finishing Line Press of Georgetown, Kentucky. It is his first full-length poetry collection. He lives in Corvallis and works as a grant writer.

Kate Alice Marshall is the bestselling author of thrillers and horror for kids and adults. Her middle grade books include the Secrets of Eden Eld trilogy and Extra Normal. In YA, she’s written the survival thriller I Am Still Alive, as well as supernatural suspense including Rules for Vanishing and The Narrow. She made her adult thriller debut with What Lies in the Woods, followed by the USA Today bestseller No One Can Know.

She lives outside Seattle with her family, two very friendly (but not very smart) golden retrievers, and a growing collection of fancy pens. 

Madeline McDonnell’s debut novel, Lonesome Ballroom (Rescue Press, 2025), was a finalist for an Oregon Book Award and the Big Other Book Award for Fiction. She has lived in Corvallis since 2014.