Diana Abu-Jaber
brings contemporary Miami alive in her lush new novel, Birds of Paradise, the story of a family that comes apart at the seams when its youngest daughter runs away from home - and then finds its way together again. In its review, Amazon.com calls the book "totally involving and deeply satisfying." Abu-Jaber, who lives part of the year in South Florida, is also the author of a culinary memoir, The Language of Baklava, and three previous novels, Arabian Jazz, Crescent and Origin. http://www.dianaabujaber.com/

John U. Bacon
John U. Bacon is a writer, speaker, and sports commentator. His latest in a string of books on Michigan sports is Three and Out; Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan Wolverines in the Crucible of College Football. This is the story of one of college football's star coaches who took over a winning team only to lose the next three seasons. He also is the author of books on the creativity that drives Cirque du Soleil and how Walgreen's became so successful. http://johnubacon.com/

Barry Barnes
drew on his 20 years of corporate business experience and Grateful Dead expertise to write Everything I Know About Business I Learned from the Grateful Dead; The Ten Most Innovative Lessons from a Long, Strange Trip. Nova Southeastern University Professor Barnes explains how the Grateful Dead, one of the most profitable and enduring bands, were masters of improvisation, not only in their music but also in the way they ran their business. http://www.huizenga.nova.edu/Faculty.cfm/barry

Mary Jane Clark
Mary Jane Clark has used her three decades in network television as background for her dozen mystery titles. She's known for motive and plotting rather than bloodshed. She now has launched the Wedding Cake series featuring cake decorator Piper Donovan. The second of this series, The Look of Love, has just been published. http://www.maryjaneclark.com/

Leila Cobo
Leila Cobo, Fulbright scholar, novelist, pianist, TV host and executive editor for Latin content and programming for Billboard magazine. Originally from Cali, Colombia, she has woven her roots and American life into two books, the acclaimed Tell Me Something True, and the just released The Second Time We Met, the story of the emotional tangle of an adored adopted son's search for his biological mother. Prior to Billboard, she was the pop music critic at The Miami Herald. http://leilacobo.com/site/home/

Lauren Groff
Lauren Groff appeared at Literary Feast after the 2008 publication of her acclaimed Monsters of Templeton, an exhilarating blend of history and ghosts set in a fictionalized version of her hometown, Cooperstown, N.Y. She since has published a collection of short stories, Delicate Edible Birds. Her second novel, Arcadia, will come out mid-March 2012. http://www.laurengroff.com/

Ann Hood
Ann Hood braids together the stories of Chinese birth mothers who give up their daughters in The Red Thread, a moving novel of fate and the red thread that binds these characters' lives. Author Jodi Picoult describes it as a "beautifully rendered piece of art." The author of ten books, including the bestsellers The Knitting Circle and Comfort, Hood has also written for The Paris Review, Tin House, and O, The Oprah Magazine. Actress Katherine Heigl is set to star in and produce an adaptation of The Knitting Circle for HBO. http://www.annhood.us/

N.M. Kelby
N.M. Kelby's White Truffles in Winter is an imaginative look at the life of legendary French chef Auguste Escoffier, his loves (actress Sarah Bernhardt and poet Delphine Daffis), his food and how to express love on a plate. Kelby’s prose was described in Kirkus Reviews as "lusciously rich as the truffles and foie gras that dominate Escoffier’s recipes." Raised in Florida, Kelby is the author of five previous novels, including Whale Season and Travel Guide for Reckless Hearts and a guide to writing fiction. http://www.nmkelby.com/www.nmkelby.com/Home.html

Jeffrey Kluger
Jeffrey Kluger, a veteran writer for Time magazine, has made his name by explaining things. His newest book, The Sibling Effect: What the Bonds Among Brothers and Sisters Reveal About Us, describes how this closest of relationships affects our lives. He was co-author of Lost Moon, the book behind the movie Apollo 13, and author of books on complexity and simplicity, the polio vaccine and space exploration.

Charles C. Mann
Charles C. Mann, known for drilling deeply into science and events we think we know, has followed his highly acclaimed 1491: New Revelations about the Americas Before Columbus with 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created. In his new book, he looks at the arrival of European explorers as a biological event that ultimately reshaped two continents and their cultures. http://www.charlesmann.org/

Bernice McFadden
Bernice McFadden brings a fresh vision in her new novel, Gathering of Waters, to the horrific 1955 story of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African-American boy killed in Mississippi supposedly for flirting with a white woman. Her previous books include Glorious, This Bitter Earth, The Warmest December and Sugar. She also writes humorous fiction under the pen name of Geneva Holliday. http://www.bernicemcfadden.com/

Andrew S. Rosen
Andrew S. Rosen in his new book Change.edu: Rebooting for the New Talent Economy, details how far the American higher education system has strayed from the goals of access, quality, affordability and accountability. He then offers a prescription to restore American educational pre-eminence. He is CEO of Kaplan, Inc., the educational conglomerate.

David Rosenfelt
David Rosenfelt has made his name in thrillers with a series starring lawyer Andy Carpenter and his dog, Tara. His newest, Heart of a Killer, joins his other stand-alone mysteries and is a tale of an ordinary man facing an impossible situation. A former marketing executive in the film industry, he and his wife devote their time to rescuing dogs. http://www.davidrosenfelt.com/

Sally Bedell Smith
Sally Bedell Smith has written best-selling biographies of personalities as diverse as William S. Paley, Princess Diana, the Clintons and the Kennedys. Her newest book is Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of the Modern Monarch, an up-close look at the reign that fascinates people on both sides of The Pond. She is a contributing editor of Vanity Fair. http://www.sallybedellsmith.com/

Julia Spencer-Fleming
Julia Spencer-Fleming has just published the seventh in her novels of faith, murder and romance that feature The Rev. Claire Fergusson, who has just returned from service as combat helicopter pilot, and small-town Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne. One Was a Soldier focuses on the issues of the re-entry of veterans after war. She is one of a growing number of mystery writers based in Maine. http://www.juliaspencerfleming.com/

Kate White
Kate White is the veteran editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, author of three career books for women, and eight mystery novels. Her newest books are The Sixes: A Novel, an eerie tale of a secret society of mean girls and the evil that they cause on a college campus, and So Pretty It Hurts, the latest in the Bailey Weggins mystery series about the death of a glamorous supermodel. Kate's writer's eye has been described by the New York Times as "scathingly observant," capturing "the mood...with a verisimilitude some of her peers might recognize." http://katewhite.com/content/

Jeffrey Zaslow
Jeffrey Zaslow specializes in inspirational, narrative nonfiction. His newest work, The Magic Room, takes a peek into a bridal shop and the lives of women on the brink of commitment. This follows his bestseller, The Girls from Ames. He was the co-author of Highest Duty with pilot Chesley Sullenberger and of The Last Lecture with Randy Pausch and is working on the memoir of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her astronaut husband Mark Kelly. http://www.jeffzaslow.com/