2020 Author Videos

E. Ethelbert Miller is an award-winning writer and literary activist who is the author of two memoirs and several books of poetry, including The Collected Poems of E. Ethelbert Miller, a comprehensive collection that represents over 40 years of his work. For 17 years Miller served as the editor of Poet Lore, the oldest poetry magazine published in the United States. He is also host of the weekly WPFW morning radio show On the Margin with E. Ethelbert Miller and host and producer of The Scholars on UDC-TV. He has been inducted into the 2015 Washington DC Hall of Fame and awarded the 2016 DC Mayor’s Arts Award for Distinguished Honor. Miller’s most recent book of poetry, If God Invented Baseball, was awarded the 2019 Literary Award for poetry by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, and his first memoir, Fathering Words, will be published as a 2oth anniversary edition this spring. www.eethelbertmiller.com

Jonathan Lewis is the author of Babel On, which won the 2017 L+S Press Mid-Atlantic Chapbook Series contest. He is a recipient of a DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities fellowship, a two-time finalist for the Anna Davidson Rosenberg Poetry Award, and the DC winner of the Golden Haiku award. His poetry has appeared in a variety of publications, including Hawai’i Review, Icelandic Connection, Beltway Poetry Quarterly and the Washington Post. Lewis is Editor of The Federal Poet, a Judge for the DC City-Wide Spelling Bee, and hosts the annual Poets’ Corner reading at Tunnicliff’s.

Lee Woodman’s essays and poems have been published in a wide variety of journals. A Pushcart nominee, she is also a longtime artist and media producer, whose radio and film awards include five CINEs, two NY International Film Blue Ribbons, and three Gracies from American Women in Radio and Television. She is the recipient of two Individual Poetry Fellowships from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and her poem, “What to Expect at Congressional Cemetery,” appeared in the January 2020 “Poetic Hill” column. Her poetry collection, Mindscapes, won the 2020 William Meredith Poetry Award, and her forthcoming book, Homescapes, will be published this spring. www.poetleewoodman.com

Mark Parascandola is a documentary fine art photographer based in DC. His previous book, Once Upon a Time in Almería: The Legacy of Hollywood in Spain, focuses on the self-proclaimed “Movie Capital of the World” in Southwestern Spain, and his current title, Once Upon a Time in Shanghai, provides a behind-the-scenes look at the state of today’s burgeoning Chinese cinema industry. www.parascandola.com

Allison McGill is the founder of Lola & Pear Publishing and the author of The Adventures of Duke, the Therapy Dog: Duke Finds a Home, a children’s picture book that tells the story of a rescue dog who finds a new life with a happy family. In 2019, she traveled the country to promote her “Books, Babies & Booze Tour,” with free story times for children held at kid-friendly breweries so that parents could relax and enjoy a beer. Her newest book, Mommy Didn’t Say THAT… will be released this spring. www.lolaandpear.com

Bill Gourgey frequently writes about science and technology and is the award-winning author of “The Glide Trilogy.” He is also the author of an acclaimed series of books for young adults, “Cap City Kids,” which deals with social issues facing urban teens. The series began with Capitol Kid and was followed by Attic Ward and Court Kasey. His most recent book, Castle Keep, finds his teenage hero uncovering a bribery plot that reaches all the way to the Oval Office. His next installment will bring all his characters together as a group of teen avengers who rely on their singular talents to defeat a master villain. gourgey.com.

Peter Stein’s memoir, A Boy’s Journey: From Nazi-Occupied Prague to Freedom in America, tells the story of his early childhood in Prague, his flight to America with his mother to join relatives when he was 12, his reunion with his father three years later, and the fate of other members of his family who were not as fortunate. He is a retired sociology professor who continues to be engaged in Holocaust education for school children, college students and adults. facebook.com/steinpeterj

David R. Rapp is a journalist and the author of a book about the 1908 Chicago Cubs: Tinker to Evers to Chance: the Chicago Cubs and the Dawn of Modern America. He retired from CQ Roll Call in November 2014 after a 30-year career in Washington journalism, most of which was spent with Congressional Quarterly, the premier authority on Congress. He got his start covering Indiana school sports for his hometown newspaper, the Evansville Press, and attended Vanderbilt University on the Grantland Rice Scholarship for Young Sportswriters. He is now immersed in baseball history and in trying to break 80 in his golf game. @RappinDc

Kim Roberts  is the author of A Literary Guide to Washington, DC: Walking in the Footsteps of American Writers from Francis Scott Key to Zora Neale Hurston (University of Virginia Press, 2018), and five books of poems, most recently The Scientific Method (WordTech Editions, 2017). She is the editor of By Broad Potomac’s Shore: Great Poems from the Early Days of our Nation’s Capital (forthcoming from the University of Virginia Press, October 2020), and co-edits the web exhibit DC Writers’ Homes. www.kimroberts.org

Glen Mourning is the author of Crunchy Life: Recess Detention and four other books in his “Crunchy Life” series, which he wrote to inspire young people like himself who grew up in urban America to get an education and fulfill their full potential. The first of five siblings to graduate from college and earn a master’s degree, Mourning writes that he is “blessed to lead by example.” He has been a fourth-grade teacher in the DC Public Schools for nearly a decade. www.mourningknows.com

Christopher Datta has published three novels, Touched with Fire and Fire and Dust (both set in the American Civil War), The Demon Stone (a supernatural thriller), and his memoir, Guardians of the Grail: A Life of Diplomacy on the Edge. He has also published a number of articles on American Foreign Policy in the Journal of American Diplomacy. Touched with Fire received the Gold Medal eLit Award for Historical Fiction in 2016, and was praised by Civil War historian James McPherson as the best Civil War novel he has ever read.  Mr. Datta and his wife Debra recently completed a detective novel, A Perfect Disguise, which they plan to make available at next year’s  event. @ChristopherDattaAuthor

Teri Ellen Cross Davis is a Cave Canem fellow and local poet whose work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, as well as in her 2016 collection, “Haint.” She currently serves as poetry coordinator for the Folger Shakespeare Library.

Paul Smith Rivas is the director of Smith Rivas Study Skills & Academic Coaching and author of This Book Will Not Be on the Test: The Study Skills Revolution. He studied literature in Mexico City, backpacked from Spain to Syria via Morocco and Wales, performed stand-up comedy in Spanish in Buenos Aires, and traveled from Argentina to the United States by bus. He lives on Capitol Hill with his wife and dog. www.smithrivas.com

Eva J. Pell is the former Smithsonian Undersecretary for Science and the author of a series of books for middle schoolers that address the crisis of endangered animals. Her first book, ResQ and the Baby Orangutan, found her teen heroes (and co-founders of the Emergency Service for the Rescue of Endangered Species) venturing into the jungles of Indonesia to rescue an orangutan whose missing mother has been shot by traffickers. The next adventure in the series, ResQ Takes on the Takhi, will be published this spring. www.evapell.com

Platypus Media and Science Naturally, Capitol Hill publishers of books for parents and children, put together a page of free resources exclusively for this event, including videos, puzzles and activities. Use the resources at the website to bond with your family and to provide your children opportunities for learning that are as entertaining as they are educational. IF you like what you see and want more, they are offering a discount code to use on both companies’ websites through the end of May! www.platypusmedia.com/bookfest-2020

James Mann is the author of seven books on American politics and national security issues, including Rise of the Vulcans: The History of Bush’s War Cabinet and The Obamians: The Struggle Inside the White House to Redefine American Power. Of his most recent title, The Great Rift: Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, and the Broken Friendship That Defined an Era, The New York Times writes, “Pick up this engaging book for its insights into Cheney and Powell, but take away the two visions for American leadership they embodied.” A longtime correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, he is currently a fellow in residence at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and lives in DC. james-mann.com

E. J. Wenstrom is a fantasy and science fiction author whose award-winning series, Chronicles of the Third Realm War, features a mashup of Greek mythology, Judeo-Christian folklore, and an extra dash of her own special brand of chaos. The debut book in the Series, Mud (#1), was named the Royal Palm Literary Award Book of the Year, and was followed by Tides (#2), and the brand-new Sparks (#3), as well as a prequel, Rain (#0). E.J. believes in complicated heroes, horrifying monsters, purple hair dye, and standing to the right on escalators so the left side can walk. When she isn’t writing fiction, she is a regular contributor to DIY MFA and BookRiot, and co-hosts the Fantasy+Girl Podcast. www.ejwenstrom.com.

Jonathan Bardzik is a storyteller, cook and author based in Washington, DC. A live performer, Jonathan employs stories and food to bring people together, building connections at farm markets and dinner tables, in board rooms and at conferences – everybody eats! Jonathan’s cooking demonstrations, teaching dinners, corporate and non-profit team building events and conference presentations have been enjoyed by audiences across the country. He is the author of Seasons to Taste: Farm-fresh Joy for Kitchen and Table and other cookbooks. jonathanbardzik.com/

Regular BookFest participants Shout Mouse Press and Reach Incorporated have put together a series of readings of Shout Mouse Press children’s books especially for this period of staying at home. The books are written by teens, and each is read by one of the book’s teen authors. They are available on Reach’s YouTube page.

Claudia Kousoulos and Ellen Letourneau are the co-authors of Bread and Beauty: A Year in Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve, a compendium of stories, essays, recipes, and photographs focusing on the people who work the land in this productive corner of Maryland. Claudia Kousoulos is a writer and editor whose freelance work covers architecture, design, cooking, and culinary history, and who worked as a land use planner in Montgomery County for more than 20 years. Ellen Letourneau lives and works in the Agricultural reserve, where she is an event planner, weaver, and baker. www.breadandbeauty.org

Richard Agemo writes short stories in a variety of genres as well as novels exploring alternative views of history and blog posts about Shakespeare that focus on how the canon mirrors real people from the Elizabethan era. His newest story, “Sorrow’s End,” which involves Congressional Cemetery, appears in the June 2019 issue of “LampLight: A Quarterly Magazine of Dark Fiction.” A previous story, “The House Friends,” was included in the anthology New Ghost Stories III. www.richardagemo.com

Garrett Peck is an American historian, tour guide, and author of seven books, of which the most recent is The Great War in America: World War I and Its Aftermath. Previous titles include Walt Whitman in Washington, D.C.: The Civil War and America’s Great Poet, Prohibition in Washington, D.C., and The Smithsonian Castle and the Seneca Quarry. He serves on the advisory council of the Woodrow Wilson House in Washington, D.C., and has lectured at the National Archives, the National Museum of American History, and the Smithsonian Institution. He is currently at work on a new book to be published this spring called A Decade of Disruption: America in the New Millennium 2000-2010. www.garrettpeck.com

Andrew C.A. Jampoler spent nearly 25 years as an active-duty naval aviator and, as a naval historian, is the author of seven books published by the Naval Institute Press. His most recent, Embassy to the Eastern Courts: America’s Secret First Pivot Toward Asia, 1832-37, describes the voyages made by New England merchant Edmund Roberts on behalf of President Andrew Jackson to scout out trade opportunities in Asia. www.jampoler.com.

Grant Goodman is an English teacher in Montgomery County who started writing action-adventure novels for his middle-school students. The DC author has now published three books in his Agent Darcy and Ninja Steve series: “Tiger Trouble” (2015), “Robot Rumble” (2016), and the newest, “Mecha-Mole Mayhem,” which finds Darcy and Steve battling for control of Ninjastoria against an army of mecha-moles wielding metal claws. www.GrantGoodmanbooks.com