BEACON LITFEST IS DELIGHTED TO PRESENT THESE DISTINGUISHED PANELISTS AND GUESTS

 JUNE 14 - MAIN PROGRAM

FRANCINE PROSE – FICTION

Francine Prose is the author of twenty-two works of fiction including the highly acclaimed The Vixen; Mister Monkey; the New York Times bestseller Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932; A Changed Man, which won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize; and Blue Angel, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her works of nonfiction include the highly praised Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife, and the New York Times bestseller Reading Like a Writer, which has become a classic. The recipient of numerous grants and honors, including a Guggenheim and a Fulbright, and is a Director’s Fellow at the Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. Prose is a former president of PEN American Center, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is a Distinguished Writer in Residence at Bard College.

DINAW MENGESTU – FICTION

Dinaw Mengestu is the author of three novels, all of which were named New York Times Notable Books: All Our Names, How to Read the Air, and The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears. A native of Ethiopia who came with his family to the United States at the age of two, Mengestu is also a freelance journalist who has reported about life in Darfur, northern Uganda, and eastern Congo. His articles and fiction have appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Harper’s, Granta, Jane, and Rolling Stone. He is a 2012 MacArthur Fellow and recipient of a Lannan Literary Fellowship for Fiction, a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Prize, Guardian First Book Award, and the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, among other honors. He was also included in The New Yorker’s 20 under 40 list in 2010.

KRISTOPHER JANSMA –FICTION

Kristopher Jansma is the author of multiple works including novels Our Narrow Hiding Places, Why We Came to the City, and The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards, and a book of essays on the creative process, Revisionaries: What We Can Learn from the Lost, Unfinished, and Just Plain Bad Work of Great Writers. His works have garnered numerous awards and mentions including the Sherwood Anderson Fiction Award in 2014, the Pushcart Prize in 2021, Honorable Mention for the PEN/Hemingway Prize. His work was also longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Award for Excellence in Fiction and the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize. Jansma writes a column for Electric Literature entitled Unfinished Business about the fates and afterlives of authors’ incomplete works. His writing has also been published in The New York Times, ZYZZYVA Magazine, The Sun, Prairie Schooner, Chicago Quarterly Review, Salon, Slice Magazine, and many other notable publications. He is an Associate Professor of English and Director of Creative Writing at SUNY New Paltz College.

STACEY D’ERASMO – NONFICTION

Stacey D’Erasmo is the author of five novels and two books of nonfiction. Her first novel, Tea, was selected as a New York Times Notable Book in 2000. Her second novel, A Seahorse Year, was named a 2004 Best Book of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle and Newsday and won both a Lambda Literary Award and a Ferro-Grumley Award. Her third novel, The Sky Below, was a favorite book of the year for the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Sun Times, and the New York Times in 2009. Her fourth novel, Wonderland was named one of the ten best books of the year by Time and the BBC, and was also among NPR’s best books of 2014. Her novel The Complicities was a finalist for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize. Her nonfiction books include The Art of Intimacy: The Space Between, and her latest work The Long Run: A Creative Inquiry. D’Erasmo’s articles and podcasts have been published in The New York Times Book Review, New York Times Magazine, Ploughshares, Interview, The New Yorker, and the Los Angeles Times. She is frequently a faculty member at the Breadloaf Writers Conference. D’Erasmo was a Stegner Fellow in Fiction at Stanford University, received a Guggenheim Fellowship in Fiction in 2009, and was the 2010-11 Sovern/Columbia Affiliated Fellow at the American Academy in Rome. She received the Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize from the Lambda Literary Foundation in 2012. She is currently Co-Director of Creative Writing and Professor of Writing and Publishing Practices at Fordham University in New York City.

CO MOED – NONFICTION

C.O. Moed grew up on New York’s Lower East Side when it was still a tough neighborhood.  A recipient of the Elizabeth George Grant for Fiction and an alum of the groundbreaking WOW Cafe, her work has appeared in various publications, including the Silver Tongued Devil Anthology; AWAKE: Reader for the Sleepless; Thorn Literary Magazine; Unexpected Stories; Inspirational Art Magazine; and Sensitive Skin. She has been a featured reader at many venues and series, including the KGB Bar, great weather for MEDIA/Parkside, Singapore Unbound and the NYC Poetry Festival.  Her debut memoir, It Was Her New York: True Stories and Snapshots (Rootstock Publishing, 2024) was a BookLife Editor's Pick, Kirkus Review Recommended Book and winner of the Firebird Book Award Judges' Pick, among others.

JOHN YAU – POETRY

John Yau is author of critically-acclaimed works, including Please Wait by the Coatroom: Reconsidering Race and Identity in American Art, Egyptian Sonnets, Exhibits, A Thing Among Things: The Art of Jasper Johns, The Passionate Spectator: Essays on Art and Poetry, Paradiso Diaspora, Ing Grish, Borrowed Love Poems, Forbidden Entries, Berlin Diptychon, Edificio Sayonara, Corpse and Mirror- a National Poetry Book Series selected by John Ashbery, and Broken off by The Music. He has served as editor for Fetish Arts, The Brooklyn Rail, and Hyperallergic Weekend, and runs the small press, BLACK SQUARE EDITIONS for fiction, poetry and poetry in translation. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including the Academy of American Poets, The American Poetry Review, the Jackson Poetry Prize, and in 2024, Yau's essay collection Please Wait by the Coatroom won the American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation.  

RUTH DANON – POETRY

Ruth Danon is the author of four books of poetry—Turn Up The Heat, Word Has It, Limitless Tiny Boat, and Triangulation From A Known Point; a chapbook, Living with the Fireman; and a book of literary criticism, Work in the English Novel. For 23 years she taught creative and expository writing in the program she designed and directed for adult undergraduates at NYU's School of Professional Studies. After retiring in 2017, she created Live Writing: A Project for the Reading, Writing, and Performance of Poetry, and was curator of the Spring Street Reading Series for Atlas Studios in Newburgh, NY. She is one of the founding curators of the The Beacon LitFest. Danon teaches privately, working with students in Beacon, NYC, and at the Marlene Meyerson JCC for New York Writers Workshop. She is the 2025 Dutchess County Poet Laureate.

GREGORY PARDLO – POETRY

Gregory Pardlo is the author of Spectral Evidence, which was longlisted for the National Book Award, and Digest, winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. His other books include Totem and Air Traffic, a memoir in essays. His honors include fellowships from the New York Public Library’s Cullman Center, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation. He divides his time between New York and the United Arab Emirates where he is Head of the Literature and Creative Writing Program at NYU Abu Dhabi.

VIEVE RADHA PRICE – DRAMA

Vieve Radha Price is the Founder and Co-Director of TÉA Artistry. Vieve launched TÉA in 2009 with the purpose of enhancing the scope, collaborative reach, and methodological rigor of Insight Artistry – the approach to artistic creation, performance, and audience engagement she has been developing for over a decade. In 2017 she established the Insight Artists Collective and published the Insight Artistry handbook in 2024. She also collaborates on Questing for Insight, an introduction to the philosophical approach that grounds her artistry and artistic creation, and in collaboration with other Insight Artists, engaged in a multi-year, multi-part Insight Art project focusing on the dynamics of race in the U.S. Price has created and produced six original, collaboratively devised Insight performance pieces. In the process, she has received several residencies including George Washington University, the Irondale Ensemble Theatre, The Straz Centre for the Performing Arts and The Actors’ Studio, and funding from the United Nations, Odyssey Networks, Intersections International, World Connect, The Brooklyn Arts Council, and others. She is the recipient of the Sargent Shriver Peaceworker fellowship and worked at Search for Common Ground before founding TÉA to create group devised, community-based, theatrical performance pieces that integrate the Insight approach to conflict transformation with the performing arts.

CHUK OBASI – DRAMA

Chuk Obasi serves as the Co-Director of TÉA Artistry. Chuk is also an Actor with the People's Theatre Project, Movement Project Director at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, Adjunct Professor of Musical Theatre at Drew University, and choreographer for STAR Theatre at the Director’s Company. He recently served as Artist in Residence at Intersections International, Artist in Residence for FYR is LiT (Fueling Youth Reading is Leadership in Training) at the Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts in St. Croix, USVA, a Teaching Artist with the National Dance Institute, and Performer with Village Playback Theatre. In conjunction with his artistic work, he is a social justice advocate, and has taught workshops on several social themes as well as using art for social justice for colleges, high schools, and professional organizations - most recently including Drew University, Fieldston Ethical Culture, Humanities Preparatory Academy, and Girl Be Heard. He is the recipient of the 2019 Zelda Fichandler Award - a full scholarship to study with the Michael Chekhov Association. As a performer, he works on both stage and screen.

MODERATORS:

Fiction: BRIAN MAHONEY-Editor-In-Chief, Chronogram

Nonfiction: CAROLINE EISNER-Academic Consultant/Editor

Poetry: ANDREA TALARICO-Stanza Books

Drama: SHANE KILLORAN-Hit House Creative

JUNE 13 – WOMEN IN NOIR

MARGOT DOUAIHY-FICTION

Margot Douaihy is the author of the lyrical crime novel Scorched Grace, which was named a Best Crime Novel of 2023 by The New York Times, The Guardian, Apple Books, CrimeReads, Barnes & Noble, & Novel Suspects, among others. The second book in the Sister Holiday Mystery series, Blessed Water, was named a Best Crime Novel of 2024 by the New York Times and Scribd/Everand, as well as a Feminist Book Club Favorite of the Year, and a Summer Crime & Suspense Pick by NPR’s Fresh Air. Margot is also the author of Bandit/Queen: The Runaway Story of Belle Starr, a true-crime poetry project, and Scranton Lace, a documentary poetry collection about the life and death of a lace factory. She is Co-Editor of the Cambridge University Press Elements in Crime Narrative Series and Multimodal/Multimedia Section Editor of Journal of Creative Writing Studies, Douaihy’s work has been featured or reviewed in Colorado Review, The Florida Review, North American Review, PBS NewsHour, Mystery Tribune, Portland Review, Vanity Fair, Vulture, and others. Douaihy serves as an Assistant Professor with Emerson College.

JULIA DAHL-FICTION

Julia Dahl is author of Invisible City, a finalist for the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award for Best First Novel and was named one of the Boston Globe’s Best Books of 2014 and won the Barry, the Shamus, and the Macavity Awards for Best First Novel. Dahl also wrote the sequels Run You Down and Conviction, which was named one of the best books of 2017 by the Boston Globe and LitHub. Her fourth novel, a stand-alone called The Missing Hours, was called it “a great reckoning with the moment we find ourselves in,” by the New York Times, and was an Oxygen Book Club pick. Her fifth novel, a stand-alone called I Dreamed of Falling, received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and Library Journal, which named it their Mystery Pick of the Month. The book was also selected as the Strand Bookstore’s 2024 October Mystery Pick. Dahl has reported for the New York Post and CBSNews.com, and served as editor at Marie Claire and the Crime Report. Her feature articles have appeared in the Guardian, Fast Company, the Columbia Journalism Review, Business Insider, Seventeen, the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, and Salon, among others. Dahl is a freelance manuscript editor, teaches online course for fiction, and teaches journalism at NYU.

JODE MILLMAN- FICTION

Jodé Millman is the multi-award-winning author of The Empty Kayak, Hooker Avenue, and The Midnight Call, which are the first three installments in her true-crime inspired “Queen City Crimes” Series. The books and series have won The Clue Award, Independent Publisher Award, Independent Press Award, and American Fiction Award, and have been Finalists for the Silver Falchion and Daphne Du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. She’s an IP attorney, a reviewer for Booktrib.com, the host/producer of The Backstage with the Bardavon podcast, and creator of The Writer’s Law School. Jodé lives with her family in the Hudson Valley, where she is at work on her next legal thriller, inspired by local true crimes and the law.

MODERATORS:

Mystery Thriller: JACKIE CORLEY-Towne Square Media

Crime Thriller: CYNTHIA WEINER-The Writers Studio NYC

JUNE 12 – KICKOFF PARTY AND PERFORMANCE

DREW PROCHASKA-MODERATOR & STORYTELLER

Drew Prochaska is a two-time Moth Story SLAM Champion and has coached writers and performers in theater film and stage for over 20 years. He is the creator and host of the consistently excellent —and consistently sold out— Artichoke Storytelling series, in Beacon, NY. Since his vision became reality in 2018, Prochaska continues to believe in the Artichoke as not just a show, but “a creative community with a heart so deep and real, it’s almost church to us.” We are thrilled to have him planning an exceptional experience with us for the BLF 2025 Kickoff!

LINDA PRATT-STORYTELLER

Linda Pratt spends her days in the world of story, mostly of the picture book variety.  She is the co-founder of the Wernick & Pratt Agency where she works with authors and illustrators developing their careers in children’s books. In recent years she has explored her own creativity as a writer, storyteller, visual artist and producer of Twice Told (@twicetoldbeacon), a quarterly show that pairs dual authors with an image from a featured artist's work for an evening of original perspectives.  Twice Told also co-produces the “Secret Sessions” series with Susan Johnson and Dennings Point Distillery, which celebrates the skeletons in our collective closets via anonymously submitted stories that are “judged” by a hilarious cadre of rotating emcees.

BRIDGET O’NEILL-STORYTELLER

Bridget O’Neill is a podcast host and national storyteller whose been featured in numerous shows including; The Moth, Risk, The Artichoke, Story Collider, Yum’s the Word, The Soundtrack series and many others. Bridget is also the host of the podcast Keepin’ It Real, in partnership with NPR’s WSHU, where she interviews some of the biggest storytellers, comedians, and writers. Find her on Stitcher, Apple, and Spotify. Oh, and she’s also a writer.

JAMIE MULLIGAN-STORYTELLER

Jamie Mulligan has 20+ years of theater experience, and 99% of it occurred backstage. In the last few years he's been onstage as both a storyteller and stand up comedian. He developed stand up comedy at The Beacon and produces storytelling shows Artichoke Presents, featuring professional headliners. Jamie has also appeared as a comic for Laugh It Up Comedy Club, and as a storyteller on the Risk Show and PBS's stories from the stage. He lives in Beacon with his wife and two boys.

DONNA MINKOWITZ-READER/STORYTELLER

Donna Minkowitz is a writer of fantasy, memoir, and journalism lauded by Lilith Magazine for her “fierce imagination and compelling prose.” Science fiction great Terry Bisson called her writing “rich and wild, dark and funny, as fearless as her legendary journalism and as scary as a fairy tale.” And she’s proud that Kirkus has praised the “defiant and playful energy” of her work. Minkowitz is the author of the novel DONNAVILLE, published in 2024 by Indolent Books.

NINA ROBINS-WRITER/READER

Nina Robins is a three time national slam poet, and author of Supermarket Diaries, A Bed with my Name on It,  T. Gondii, Warm Blooded Tree, Ode to Dymphna and Saturday Morning Serotonin. She was a finalist for "Poet laureate" of Westchester County, NY. She spent 17 years living in various institutions, but has finally broken free and wants to help normalize and destigmatize mental illness as best she can. She is a member of the Coalition for Mental Health Advocacy  in Greenburgh, NY.

LILY FRIEDRICH-WRITER/READER

Lily Friedrich is an independent author of romantic thrillers, crafting stories that are forbidden, violent, and intimately sensual. She was born and raised in the Midwest, and has been overjoyed to find this vibrant writing community since moving to Beacon. Alongside her volunteer work for The Beacon LitFest, she co-hosts a free drop-in writing group called “I Feel I’ll Write Today,” creating a welcoming space for writers of all levels, forms, and genres to take time and focus on being creative in a supportive environment.

SAMUEL PETTY-WRITER/READER

Sam Petty is co-host of the bi-weekly writing group “I Feel I’ll Write Today” and a volunteer at The Beacon Litfest. He encourages people to open themselves to the page and share what is within. In his words: “I think there is real magic in literacy. Reading and writing are miraculous skills that connect us across life and death and cultural boundaries, deepening and enriching the drama of our eternal coexistence. There is real magic in our lives when we are looking for and reading the stories around us.”

MATAN BROSHI-WRITER/READER

Matan Broshi did not start reading “real” books until the first lockdown of 2020. Since then, reading has become his favorite pastime and the world of literature slowly engulfed his life. Today, some of his favorite writers are Nabokov, Saul bellow, and Phillip Roth. Matan feels that after reading intensely for a few years, he began to brim over with words, and that is how his passion for reading turned into a passion for writing. Matan has had a short story of his published in the online magazine “adannomadd,” and will have his reading debut at this year’s Litfest! We’re very proud.

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