Past Forward

Jimmie C. Gardner was a rising professional baseball player when he was wrongly incarcerated in 1990. While in prison, Gardner continued to pursue his education, earning three Associates Degrees and numerous certificates. He taught himself the law and worked tirelessly to secure his freedom, while serving as a representative for other prisoners during legal proceedings. He spent 27 years in jail before being exonerated. Since his release, Gardner has become an advocate for other wrongfully imprisoned and over-incarcerated peoples. He is married to US District Court Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner, and is the brother-in-law of Stacy Abrams.Learn more about Jimmie at jcgardnerspeaks.com.Listen to Jimmie's lecture at chapman.edu/wilkinson.Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on the Significance of Race is a ten-part podcast series of informed and enriching dialogues to help us better understand our world – how we got here, who we are, and where we are going as a society. This series engages in conversations with scholars, artists, filmmakers, and activists to investigate racial inequality, systemic racism, racial terrorism, and racial justice and reconciliation. Through education, art, and storytelling, we can all learn to be allies and engage the world to help evolve to a place of compassion and social equity.Guest: Jimmie C. GardnerHost: Jon-Barrett IngelsProduced by Public Podcasting in partnership with Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Chapman University.

Jane P. Perry is a retired Researcher Teacher from UC Berkeley's Child Study Center. Since sheltering in place, Jane has interviewed with Paula Whitacre, appeared in Hidden Timber Books Small Press Author Reading Series, and has published in Persimmon Tree, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Women Writers, Women's Books and The Oaklandside.White Snake Diary: Exploring Self-InscribersAtmosphere Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Heidi Turner is a writer and musician from Maui, Hawaii who writes in the in-between space of grace and disaster. She earned an MA in English from Azusa Pacific University and is now pursuing an MFA in Fiction from the University of New Hampshire.The Sacred Art of Trespassing BarefootHeritage Future, 2019A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Larry Oda was born in a Justice Department Internment Camp in Crystal City, Texas during World War II and lives in Monterey, California. He was educated in Monterey City Schools and earned his Bachelor’s and Master's degrees from California State University, Fresno.Larry is Chair Emeritus of the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation and served two terms as the National President of the Japanese American Citizens League. He has served on the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) National Board, and President of the BCA Coast District Council, and is currently a Trustee of the Big Sur Land Trust. He is the author of The Seapride Canning Company and the Oda Family HistoryLarry retired as the Maintenance Superintendent and Administrative Hearing Officer after 27 years with the City of Salinas, California. His interests include US-Japan Relations, Auto Restoration, and Golf.Tim Thomas is a fisheries historian and author who has researched the fisheries and cultural history of Monterey for over thirty years. For sixteen years he was the Historian/Curator for the Monterey Maritime Museum. Tim is the co-author of Monterey’s Waterfront, author of the Japanese on the Monterey Peninsula, and author of The Abalone King of Monterey: “Pop” Ernest Doelter, Pioneering Japanese Fishermen & The Culinary Classic that Saved an Industry.Tim is also the historical consultant for the Monterey Bay Aquarium and has worked and developed programs for Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and California State Parks. Tim has been featured on PBS, BBCand on C-span He is on the board of directors of the Monterey Japanese American Citizens League and curator of Japanese American Heritage Center. He has traveled and lectured extensively on the Monterey Japanese community both here and in Japan. Learn more about the Japanese American Citizens League of Monterey Peninsula at jacl.org.Chapters is a multi-part series concerning the history and the lessons of civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices carried out against communities or populations—including civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices that are perpetrated on the basis of an individual’s race, national origin, immigration status, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.This project was made possible with support from Chapman University and The California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, a state-funded grant project of the California State Library.Guests: Larry Oda and Tim ThomasHosts: Jon-Barrett Ingels and Jonelle StricklandProduced by: Public Podcasting

Stephanie Harper is the author of Wesley Yorstead Goes Outside (Propertius Press, 2020), as well as a poetry collection entitled Sermon Series (Finishing Line Press, 2017). She writes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.Wesley Yorstead Goes OutsidePropertius Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Nick Olson is an author and editor from Chicagoland now living in North Carolina. He was a finalist for Glimmer Train’s Very Short Fiction Award, and he’s been published in SmokeLong Quarterly, Hobart, decomP, and other fine places. His debut novel, Here’s Waldo, is available now.Here's WaldoAtmosphere Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Ivan Forde works across printmaking, sound, and installation. Ivan's training in English literature and epic poetry guides the themes he explores in his visual art practice such as migration and memory. Awards, and Fellowships include the 2020 Emerging Artist Award Baxter Street Camera Club, Civitella Ranieri Fellowship 2019, The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans class of 2017, ACRE Projects, Vermont Studio Center, Pioneer Works, and the Lower East Side Printshop. Group exhibitions and performances include Visitor Welcome Center, MICA, The Jewish Museum, SCAD, MCA Chicago, The Whitney Museum, Studio Museum Harlem Postcards, the International Print Center, Lagos Photo Festival 17, and a 2018 solo exhibition at The Baxter Street Camera Club of New York. Ivan graduated with an MFA in Printmaking from Columbia University. Learn more about Ivan at ivanforde.com.Listen to Ivan's lecture at chapman.edu/wilkinson.Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on the Significance of Race is a ten-part podcast series of informed and enriching dialogues to help us better understand our world – how we got here, who we are, and where we are going as a society. This series engages in conversations with scholars, artists, filmmakers, and activists to investigate racial inequality, systemic racism, racial terrorism, and racial justice and reconciliation. Through education, art, and storytelling, we can all learn to be allies and engage the world to help evolve to a place of compassion and social equity.Guest: Ivan FordeHost: Jon-Barrett IngelsImage credit: Marco GiugliarelliProduced by Public Podcasting in partnership with Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Chapman University.

Philip Brunetti has been writing fiction and poetry since his early 20s. His innovative work has been published in various literary journals including Cobalt, The Boiler, The Wax Paper, and Identity Theory. He lives in Brooklyn and currently works as a librarian. Newer Testaments is his first published novel.Newer TestamentsAtmosphere Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Susannah Rodríguez Drissi is an award-winning writer, poet, playwright, translator, and scholar. Her work has appeared in Publisher’s Weekly, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Miami Herald, Nuevo Herald, Literal Magazine, and elsewhere. She is the author of The Latin Poet’s Guide to the Cosmos (Floricanto Press, 2019) and the award-winning plays Houses Without Walls, Rey y Atenea, and Hola, Soledad. Her novel Until We’re Fish published in October, 2020.Until We’re FishPropertius Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Eddy Boudel Tan is the author of two novels, After Elias (Fall 2020) and The Rebellious Tide (Summer 2021). His work depicts a world much like our own — the heroes are flawed, truth is distorted, and there is as much hope as there is heartbreak. ​After EliasDundurn, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Janet Stilson lives in 2 worlds. On one hand, she is a journalist. On the other, she writes scripts, novels and short stories that largely fall in the grounded sci-fi and fantasy genres and illuminate the human condition in provocative ways. She lives in New York with her husband and two opinionated cats.The JuiceDragon Moon Press, 2021A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Angelica J. Allen is an Assistant Professor and Co-director of Africana Studies at Chapman University. She received her Ph.D. in African and African Diaspora Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and holds an MA in Africana Studies from New York University. Her book project is titled, “Afro-Amerasians: Blackness in the Philippine Imaginary,” which explores a community in the Philippines known as the Black Amerasians, a population born from the union of African American military men and Filipina women. As both a member of the Black Amerasian community and a scholar of that community’s experiences, Angelica’s goal is to develop a research project dedicated to advancing social justice by granting more visibility to Black Amerasian perspectives. She is a visual artist and has been awarded fellowships from the Ford Foundation, and the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies.Charissa Threat is an Associate Professor of History at Chapman University where she teaches courses in United States and African American history. Her research interests are in race and gender in twentieth century U.S. history, civil rights, community activism, and civil-military relations. Her first book, Nursing Civil Rights: Gender and Race in the Army Nurse Corps (University of Illinois Press, 2015), won the 2017 Lavinia L. Dock Book Award from the American Association for the History of Nursing for outstanding research and writing on the history of nursing. She is also the author of several book chapters, most recently, “’Patriotism is Neither Masculine or Feminine”: Gender and the Work of War” in the Routledge History of Gender, War and the US Military, Kara D. Vuic, ed. (Routledge Press, 2017). She is currently at work on her second book, "Sweethearts and Pin-Ups." It is a history that examines home-front activities, wartime participation, and investigates intimate relations among African American women and men in the context of the Second World War. Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on the Significance of Race is a ten-part podcast series of informed and enriching dialogues to help us better understand our world – how we got here, who we are, and where we are going as a society. This series engages in conversations with scholars, artists, filmmakers, and activists to investigate racial inequality, systemic racism, racial terrorism, and racial justice and reconciliation. Through education, art, and storytelling, we can all learn to be allies and engage the world to help evolve to a place of compassion and social equity.Guests: Angelica J. Allen and Charissa ThreatHost: Jon-Barrett IngelsProduced by Public Podcasting in partnership with Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Chapman University.

Mimi Nicklin is a keynote speaker and empathetic leader. She's the author of a new book about empathetic influence, Softening the Edge: How Humanity's Oldest Leadership Trait Is Changing Our World. She has been featured on NBC, Forbes, and TechRepublic.Softening the EdgeThe DreamWork Collection, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Jacqueline Olive is an independent filmmaker and immersive media producer with more than fifteen years of experience in journalism and film. Her debut feature documentary, Always in Season, premiered in competition at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was awarded the Special Jury Prize for Moral Urgency. Always in Season has received nominations for Best Writing from IDA Documentary Awards 2019 and the Spotlight Award from Cinema Eye Honors 2019, and the film will broadcast on the Emmy Award-winning PBS series, Independent Lens in February 2020. Jackie also co-directed and co-produced the award-winning hour-long thesis film, Black to Our Roots, which broadcast on PBS WORLD in 2009. Jackie has received artist grants and industry funding from Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Institute, Independent Television Service (ITVS), Ford Foundation, Firelight Media, Chicken & Egg Pictures, International Documentary Association, Kendeda Fund, Catapult Film Fund, Southern Documentary Fund, Alternate ROOTS, and more. She was recently awarded the Emerging Filmmakers of Color Award from International Documentary Association (IDA) and the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation and profiled one of Variety's "10 Filmmakers To Watch."Learn more about Jacqueline at tellitmedia.org.Listen to Jacqueline's lecture at chapman.edu/wilkinson.Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on the Significance of Race is a ten-part podcast series of informed and enriching dialogues to help us better understand our world – how we got here, who we are, and where we are going as a society. This series engages in conversations with scholars, artists, filmmakers, and activists to investigate racial inequality, systemic racism, racial terrorism, and racial justice and reconciliation. Through education, art, and storytelling, we can all learn to be allies and engage the world to help evolve to a place of compassion and social equity.Guest: Jacqueline OliveHost: Jon-Barrett IngelsProduced by Public Podcasting in partnership with Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Chapman University.

Lainey Cameron is a recovering tech industry executive. Her award-winning novel, The Exit Strategy, a #1 Amazon Best Seller, was inspired by a decade of being the only woman in the corporate boardroom. It's been called a "rallying call for women to believe in themselves and join together”.The Exit StrategyThe Wild Rose Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Suman Mallick's debut novel, The Black-Marketer's Daughter, was shortlisted for the Disquiet Open Borders Book Prize. Mallick serves as Assistant Managing Editor of the literary magazine, Under the Gum Tree. He received his MFA from Portland State University. He lives in Texas with his beloved daughter and dog.The Black-Marketer's DaughterAtmosphere Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Joost Douma studied classical Latin and Greek in high school and history and philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. He is the founder of the Dutch National Science Center, NeMo, in Amsterdam. His extensive research for Betrayal of a Republic was conducted over a nine-year period, at relevant sites including Spain, Italy, and Turkey.Betrayal of a Republic: Memoirs of a Roman MatronaHistria Books, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Stephanie Nitahara is the Executive Director of Kizuna, a Nikkei youth organization with the mission of building a community for the next generation of leaders through education, empowerment and engagement. She was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs and following her passion for Nikkei community programming moved to Los Angeles in 2012 to work for the Japanese American Citizens League. She worked in the Pacific Southwest regional office for over five years and through her work built deep roots in the Little Tokyo community. Stephanie believes in inclusive community building and currently serves on the Little Tokyo Community Council’s board of directors as well as an organizing committee member of Okaeri: A Nikkei LGBTQ Gathering.Daniel Yaguchi is the Marketing Assistant for Kizuna. From a young age, the Japanese American community had always been a significant part of his life. Daniel’s first experience with Kizuna had opened up many opportunities for him and gave him a stronger passion for being involved in the community. In 2017 he was a counselor for their summer camp program. It was so meaningful and fulfilling that he has continued to volunteer not only for Kizuna, but for Keiro, JACCC, and any other opportunities that came his way. Prior to working for Kizuna, Daniel worked as the development intern at JACCC. During his free time outside of work and school Daniel enjoys spending time with friends, family, and playing taiko. Daniel has been playing taiko for five years as part of the LA Taiko Ichiza performance group, performing at numerous events throughout the year.Learn more about Kizuna at gokizuna.org.Chapters is a multi-part series concerning the history and the lessons of civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices carried out against communities or populations—including civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices that are perpetrated on the basis of an individual’s race, national origin, immigration status, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.This project was made possible with support from Chapman University and The California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, a state-funded grant project of the California State Library.Guests: Stephanie Nitahara and Daniel YaguchiHosts: Jon-Barrett Ingels and Jonelle StricklandProduced by: Public Podcasting

Wisa Uemura is the Executive Director with San Jose Taiko. In her 22 years with San Jose Taiko, Wisa has served as Performer, Artistic Staff, General Manager and in July 2011 Wisa succeeded its founder to lead the organization as Executive Director. Recognized as a leader within her field, Wisa has presented on taiko, succession planning, organizational culture and communications, nonprofit fundraising and women’s empowerment at the North American Taiko Conference, World Taiko Gathering, Alliance of Artists Communities National Conference, the National Consortium of Creative Placemaking Pacific Summit, and the inaugural National Endowment for the Arts Folk & Traditional Arts Convening. She has served on peer review grant panels for the Knight Foundation Arts and NEA Folk & Traditional Arts programs. Wisa is a senior fellow of the American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley and has completed executive management trainings with BoardSource, FMA, CompassPoint, the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. Franco Imperial is the Artistic Director with San Jose Taiko. In his 22 years with San Jose Taiko, Franco has honed San Jose Taiko's style and created a voice for the current generation while honoring the group's 47-year legacy. He leads SJT in artistic projects that use arts to foster connections between cultural communities, widespread creativity, and a more just and equitable society. Franco has composed over 20 original works for SJT and has co-created and produced collaborations with artists such as Abhinaya Dance Company, 5-time Grammy Award-nominee John Santos, NEA Heritage Fellow Danongan Kalanduyan, artist/teacher Dan Sabanovich, The Bangerz, Epic Immersive, and Aswat Ensemble. He has led workshops at the North American Taiko Conference, European Taiko Conference, Intercollegiate Taiko Invitationals. In 2019 he was selected by the City of San Jose Office Cultural Affairs to be a Creative License Ambassador and presented at the 2019 Pacific Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit. Learn more about San Jose Taiko at taiko.org.Chapters is a multi-part series concerning the history and the lessons of civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices carried out against communities or populations—including civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices that are perpetrated on the basis of an individual’s race, national origin, immigration status, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.This project was made possible with support from Chapman University and The California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, a state-funded grant project of the California State Library.Guests: Wisa Uemura and Franco ImperialHosts: Jon-Barrett Ingels and Jonelle StricklandProduced by: Public Podcasting

David Read is the Executive Director of Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture in Marysville, California. A long-time champion for the arts and well-known community leader, David has brought his experience in marketing, finance and program management to the organization. He has been actively involved for nine years as a volunteer, board member and President before being hired to serve as Executive Director in 2016. David is an active member of Rotary, Veridian Symphony Orchestra and Friends of the Yuba County Library. He has successfully written grants and then managed the funded programs for Veterans Arts Projects, the Jump StArts grant in collaboration with the Yuba County Office of Education for at-risk and system engaged youth and many others. Most recently, YSAC received two grants from the California State Library Civil Liberties program in collaboration with the Japanese American Citizens League to help preserve their local history during WWII. Abbie Cesena is the Managing Director of Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture in Marysville, California and focuses on staff and facility management, fundraising and programming. She holds a BS in Recreation Administration from California State University, Fresno and has over 35 years of experience in municipal recreation, most of which was with the City of Yuba City, Parks and Recreation Department. Abbie has played a significant role in many Yuba-Sutter community events, including the California Prune Festival, Yuba City Cultural Celebration, Way, Way, Way Off Broadway, Applause and many, many more. She has served on the Boards of the California Parks and Recreation Society, Yuba Sutter Juvenile Justice Commission, Sutter Performing Arts Association and Friends of Yuba City Parks & Recreation. Abbie is a 20+ year member of Rotary International and is a Past President of South Yuba County Rotary Club.Learn more about Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture at yubasutterarts.org.Chapters is a multi-part series concerning the history and the lessons of civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices carried out against communities or populations—including civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices that are perpetrated on the basis of an individual’s race, national origin, immigration status, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.This project was made possible with support from Chapman University and The California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, a state-funded grant project of the California State Library.Guests: David Read and Abbie CesenaHosts: Jon-Barrett Ingels and Jonelle StricklandProduced by: Public Podcasting

Thomas Bazar is the author of the novel, An Expectation of Plenty, recently published by Atmosphere Press and the plays Momo & Toto and Maximus O.; recently staged by A Band of Actors (A Band of Actors). His recent poems have been published by Lucky Jefferson.An Expectation of PlentyAtmosphere Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Kristina Moriconi is a poet, essayist, and visual artist whose work has appeared in Brevity, Cobalt Review, Lumina, Literary Mama, and elsewhere. She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and two dogs. Her book, In the Cloakroom of Proper Musings: A Lyric Narrative, was published in August 2020.In the Cloakroom of Proper Musings: A Lyric NarrativeAtmosphere Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Rhiannon Garrard is a criminology and policing student who broke out into literature with a paranormal murder mystery. Her books combine her favourite things in life: martial arts, policing and fantastical horror. Rhiannon is a huge fan of Gothic and sci-fi horror books, with horror classics like Frankenstein and Lovecraft's stories being a large influence on her work. She is currently a student with a side job as a special constable with Essex police.Vanity: Murder In The Name Of SinAtmosphere Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Christina Chiu is the winner of the James Alan McPherson Award for her novel Beauty. She is also author of Troublemaker and Other Saints, published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Troublemaker was a nominee for a BOMC Stephen Crane First Fiction Award, and winner of the Asian American Literary Award. Chiu has published in Tin House, The New Guard, Washington Square, The MacGuffin, Charlie Chan is Dead 2, Not the Only One, Washington Square, and has won literary prizes from Playboy, New Stone Circle, El Dorado Writers’ Guild, World Wide Writers. Chiu hosts the virtual Let’s Talk Books Author Series and curates and co-hosts the Pen Parentis Literary Salon in NYC. She is a founding member of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. Christina is also a shoe designer. She received her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University.Beauty2040 Books/Santa Fe Writers Group, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Tucker Lieberman has published three nonfiction books. His essays are in two anthologies recognized by Lambda Literary, and his poetry chapbook based on the Epic of Gilgamesh was a finalist in Grayson Books’ 2020 contest. He is originally from the United States and now lives in Bogotá, Colombia.Ten Past Noon: Focus and Fate at FortyGlyph Torrent, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Jeremy Kitchen is known as Chicago's Punk Rock Librarian, and he really is a librarian and a writer. His most recent publication is a short story in the upcoming collection "Echoes of a Natural World: Tales of the Strange and Estranged" Edited by Michael Daley. He's also co-host of the Eye 94 Podcast.Echoes of a Natural WorldFirst to Knock, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

R. Conrad Speer, a Canadian author, lives in Saskatchewan. His new collection of fiction, ‘Saint Lazarus Day and other stories’, was published in 2020 by Atmosphere Press. He holds a postgraduate certificate in creative writing from the University of Edinburgh.Saint Lazarus Day and Other StoriesAtmosphere Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

As a writer and educator, Kelsey Freeman focuses on Indigenous rights, immigration policy, social justice, and public policy. In 2016, she received a Fulbright Fellowship to teach English and study migration in central Mexico. She is the author of No Option but North: The Migrant World and the Perilous Path Across the Border, which is based on her year of interviewing Central American migrants as they journeyed through Mexico. She currently works at Central Oregon Community College, where she runs a college-readiness program for Native American high school students. Kelsey holds a BA in Government and Legal Studies with high honors from Bowdoin College.No Option but North: The Migrant World and the Perilous Path Across the BorderIG Publishing, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Ann Dávila Cardinal is a novelist and Director of Student Recruitment for Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) where she also earned her MFA in Writing. She comes from a long line of Puerto Rican writers, including poets Virgilio & Jose Antonio Dávila, and her cousin, award-winning author Tere Dávila. Five Midnights was her first solo novel.Category FiveTor Teen, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Lauren Shippen is the author of The Infinite Noise, and the creator and sole writer of the popular audio drama, The Bright Sessions. She also wrote MARVELS, an audio adaptation of the popular comic, released in 2019 by Marvel and Stitcher. MovieMaker Magazine and Austin Film Festival named Shippen one of 25 Screenwriters to Watch. She was born in New York City, and grew up in Bronxville, New York. Currently she resides in Los Angeles.A Neon DarknessTor Teen, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

This Vietnam-era Marine solo paddled 3,500 miles of Canada’s wilderness before discovering it was never the hows that would be difficult to write about; it was those troubling whys.ZHIMON, A Solitary AdventurePronghorn Press, 2019A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Sara B. Larson is the bestselling and critically acclaimed author of the YA fantasy Defy trilogy and the Dark Breaks the Dawn duology. She can’t remember a time when she didn’t write books—although she now uses a computer instead of a Little Mermaid notebook. Sara lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband, their four children, and their Maltese, Loki.Warriors of Wing and FlameTor Teen, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Forest B. Dunning is a retired rancher living in Sheridan, Wyoming. Raised in Birney, Montana, near the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, he has been a student, cowboy, soldier, financial advisor, purebred cattle rancher, cattle buyer, and author. He is a graduate from New Mexico State University with a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Economics and from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College with a master's degree in Military Science. After successful careers as a U.S. Army officer (retired lieutenant colonel) and a civilian financial advisor, Forest returned to his roots and bought a cattle ranch near Sheridan. He has long had a love for Montana and Wyoming history and historical fiction. Noting that much of local history has been overlooked, he has devoted his writing skills to the preservation of history in southeastern Montana, northern Wyoming, and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.Death at Lame DeerFarcountry Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Mark Oshiro is the Hugo-nominated writer of the online Mark Does Stuff universe (Mark Reads and Mark Watches), where they analyze books and TV series. Their debut novel, Anger is a Gift won the 2019 Schneider Family Book Award and was nominated for a 2019 Lammy Award. Their forthcoming novel Each of Us a Desert will be published in September 2020. When they are not working they engage in social activism online and offline. Their life long goal is to pet every dog in the world.Each of Us a DesertTor Teen, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Veronica Murphy is Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Write Out Loud (since 2007). With a passion for promoting literature, she has produced six NEA BIG READ initiatives, 11 literary festivals celebrating 19thcentury literature, history and culture, and conceived and executed a Roald Dahl Centenary Celebration. For the past six years she has coordinated the San Diego Regional Poetry Out Loud competition for this national program. She has an extensive professional resume as a performer, costume designer and development director. Veronica is the 2013 recipient of The Deborah Salzer Excellence in Arts Education Award, a 2015 10News Leadership Award and a California English Teachers Association Award of Merit. She has a BA in Theatre Arts from California State University, San Bernardino. Her most important achievement is raising three amazing sons as a single mother.Larry and Debby Kline are collaborative artists, featured in solo exhibitions at Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts (SF,) California Center for the Arts Museum, La Casa del Tunel Art Center (TJ,) Southwestern College, UCSD Cross Cultural Center, Mesa College and La Jolla Athenaeum. Group exhibitions include Indiana State Museum, Torrance Art Museum and Museum on the Seam (Israel.) We have been featured in periodicals such as Utne and Orion, and books including “The Artists Guide,” and “Design and Ethics: Reflections on Practice.” Awards include three grants from The Gunk Foundation (NY) and grants from Potrero Nuevo Fund (SF,) Center for Cultural Innovation (LA,) UCIRA (SD) and San Diego Art Prize. We were featured in an Emmy Award winning episode of ArtPulse TV and were artists-in-residence at San Diego Natural History Museum, Torrance Art Museum, Center for Land Use Interpretation, Building Bridges Art Exchange and currently UCSD School of Medicine. “Bruce’s Story” is our third illustration project for Write Out Loud San Diego.Chapters is a multi-part series concerning the history and the lessons of civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices carried out against communities or populations—including civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices that are perpetrated on the basis of an individual’s race, national origin, immigration status, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.This project was made possible with support from Chapman University and The California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, a state-funded grant project of the California State Library.Guests: Veronica Murphy and Larry and Debby KlineHosts: Jon-Barrett Ingels and Jonelle StricklandProduced by: Public Podcasting

Lilia Gonzáles-Chávez, was appointed Executive Director of the Fresno Arts Council in 2011, and was appointed to the California Arts Council by Governor Gavin Newson in 2020. She is a performing artist with over twenty years teaching and performing Ballet Folklorico. With a BA from Fresno State University and a Master’s degree from Fresno Pacific University, Lilia has worked in the education, human services and the arts field first as a teacher and advancing through management and leadership positions in public and nonprofit organizations. She is co-founder of Arte Américas, the Latino cultural arts center in Fresno and served as its Director for nearly ten years. Brynn Saito is a poet, educator, and organizer based in Fresno, CA. She is the author of two books of poetry from Red Hen Press, Power Made Us Swoon (2016) and The Palace of Contemplating Departure (2013). She recently published Dear—, a chapbook and online letter archive funded with an Artist's Grant from Densho, an organization dedicated to sharing the story of the World War II-era incarceration of Japanese Americans. In 2017, Brynn co-founded Yonsei Memory Project (YMP) with artist and farmer, Nikiko Masumoto; YMP uses the arts and storytelling to engage in memory work and draw connections between the Japanese American incarceration and current struggles for justice. Chapters is a multi-part series concerning the history and the lessons of civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices carried out against communities or populations—including civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices that are perpetrated on the basis of an individual’s race, national origin, immigration status, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.This project was made possible with support from Chapman University and The California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, a state-funded grant project of the California State Library.Guests: Lilia Gonzáles-Chávez and Brynn SaitoHosts: Jon-Barrett Ingels and Jonelle StricklandProduced by: Public Podcasting

As Vice President for LA Opera Connects, Stacy Brightman is responsible for all aspects of community, engagement and learning programs that serve more than 150,000 students and community members annually. Stacy and her team provide deep access and radical welcome to opera for community members, from toddlers to seniors, by staging community performances and offering free or very low-cost ticket opportunities, through continuing education opportunities such as pre-show lectures and podcasts; by inviting community members to perform on stage to experience opera first-hand; and through school and residencies that integrate opera learning directly within curriculums. She works with more than 200 schools and 300 additional non-profit organizations annually. Stacy has guided four County-wide festivals, which have impacted more than a million Angelenos with performances, exhibits and symposia presented by more than 120 partners. She frequently serves as a grants and conference panelist and was recently selected to serve as one of Opera America's first three female mentors in the inaugural year of its Women's Opera Network mentoring program.Eli Villanueva, a talented and passionate musician, director and educator, is in his 16th year as Resident Stage Director and teaching artist for LA Opera Connects. Eli teaches and directs as many as 2,000 students annually in original productions including, The Acclaimed In-School Operas, Opera Camp Summer Intensive, and LA Opera’s Off Grand Cathedral Project conducted by Music Director, James Conlon.Eli’s compositions are praised for their appeal to audiences and performers alike. His commissioned works of One-Act operas include THEN I STOOD UP which premiered in 2017, THE WHITE BIRD OF POSTON, FRIEDL and FESTIVAL PLAY OF DANIEL, an adaptation of the 13th-century liturgical play, Play of Daniel. In addition, music ranging from solo to choral works can be found through publishing companies, Fred Bock Music, Laurendale Associates, and Cherry Lane Music.Chapters is a multi-part series concerning the history and the lessons of civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices carried out against communities or populations—including civil rights violations or civil liberties injustices that are perpetrated on the basis of an individual’s race, national origin, immigration status, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.This project was made possible with support from Chapman University and The California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, a state-funded grant project of the California State Library.Guests: Stacy Brightman and Eli VillanuevaHosts: Jon-Barrett Ingels and Jonelle StricklandProduced by: Public Podcasting

Vanessa Garcia is a playwright, novelist, screenwriter, and journalist. Her novel White Light was one of NPRs Best Books of 2015 and won an International Latino Book Award. Her most recent play is the immersive hit, The Amparo Experience which Broadway World called “mad genius," and just won a Ruth Foreman (Carbonell) Award this week. Vanessa has also written for Sesame Street among other shows.White LightShade Mountain Press, 2015A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Sara Schaff is the author of two story collections: The Invention of Love (Split/Lip Press 2020) and Say Something Nice About Me (Augury Books 2016), a 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist for short fiction. Her writing has appeared in Kenyon Review Online, Yale Review Online, LitHub, and elsewhere.The Invention of LoveSplit/Lip Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Kelly Fordon is the author of an award-winning short story collection, Garden for the Blind (Wayne State University Press, 2015); a poetry chapbook, The Witness, which won the Eric Hoffer Award for the Chapbook; and a poetry collection, Goodbye Toothless House.I Have the AnswerWayne State University Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Tea Krulos is the author of Heroes in the Night, Monster Hunters, Apocalypse Any Day Now and his new title American Madness. He writes a weekly column on his website (teakrulos.com) titled "Tea's Weird Week" and lives in Milwaukee.American MadnessFeral House, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Sharon Harrigan’s new novel Half has been called “riveting and inventive” by Publisher’s Weekly and “suspenseful, lyrical, and consuming” in a starred review by Booklist. She is also the author of the memoir Playing with Dynamite and teaches writing at WriterHouse in Charlottesville, Virginia.HalfUniversity of Wisconsin Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Jody A. Forrester grew up in Los Angeles during the conflicted fifties and tumultuous sixties. She went to San Jose State College, but left after the first semester to participate full time in the anti-war movement. A graduate from the MFA Bennington Writing Seminars, her essays and short stories have appeared in multiple publications.Guns Under the Bed: Memories of a Young RevolutionaryOdyssey Books (AU), 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Jennifer Hull is a writer and a teacher. She grew up in New York, graduated cum laude from Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in history, and has a master’s degree in education. She has taught K-12 students as well as college freshmen at the Taos campus of the University of New Mexico. She lives in New Mexico, with her husband, twin sons, and cocker spaniel.Shook: An Earthquake, a Legendary Mountain Guide, and Everest's Deadliest DayUniversity of New Mexico Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

The author, Michael H. Blaine spent a career at the Clinton Correctional Facility. Having been an Officer, Sergeant, and Lieutenant, his story reveals the changes he observed and what he experienced. Refusing to compromise his principles and sickened by the downward spiral that Clinton was experiencing, he retired months before the first successful escape at Dannemora on June 6, 2015.The Invisible Walls of Dannemora: Inside the Infamous Clinton Correctional FacilityHistria Books, Gaudium Publishing, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Ruby McConnell is a registered geologist who writes about nature, art, and culture with a particular emphasis on the intersection of the environment and human experience. A recipient of numerous honors, including the Literary Arts Oregon Literary Fellowship, she has written extensively about the Pacific Northwest and the environment.Ground Truth: A Geological Survey of a LifeOvercup Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Laya V Smith is an author, audiobook narrator and academic curriculum creator. Following a particularly rebellious youth, she graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in history. She lives in Salt Lake Cory, Utah with her husband, two children and one beefy Labrador.The LumbermillBlack Rose Writing, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Michael Lee Nirenberg is a filmmaker and writer. He has directed several music videos and the award-winning documentary Back Issues: The Hustler Magazine Story. Mr. Nirenberg has contributed to national magazines and websites. Since 2006, he has worked as a scenic artist on many movies and television shows. He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife and two children.Earth A.D.: The Poisoning of the Maercian Landscape and the Communities That Fought BackFeral House/Process Media, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Audrey Keown set Murder at Hotel 1911 (Crooked Lane 2020) in Chattanooga, Tennessee where she began writing as a journalist. Her fiction features themes of redemption and connection to the past. Like her protagonist, she has battled anxiety and hopes that writing about it will help lift the stigma.Murder at Hotel 1911Crooked Lane, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Maggie Kast is the author of The Crack Between the Worlds: a dancer’s memoir of loss, faith and family (Wipf and Stock, 2009) and a novel, A Free, Unsullied Land (Fomite Press, 2015). Side by Side but Never Face to Face, a novella plus stories, was published by Orison Press in June 2020.Side by Side but Never Face to Face: A Novella and StoriesOrison Books, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.