Mengxi Seeley is a 1.5 generation immigrant born in China and raised in Utah. She received an MA in East Asian Studies from Stanford University and a BA in international relations from Brigham Young University. After working for many years as an academic translator, she now writes novels inspired by historical research, but with fantastically happy endings.
Mengxi actively participates in the Storymakers Conference, where she has taught as faculty. When not writing, she enjoys reading, gardening, running, and over-analyzing movies with her family. She lives in Virginia with two little princesses and an absent-minded professor. You can find her at mengxiseeley.com
Victoria Winterhalter is a writer and teacher, who loves books and films based on true stories. As a middle grade and young adult author, she enjoys sharing hidden histories and writing stories about characters discovering their self-worth.
She received an MA in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University, an MA in English Education from New York University, and a BA in Elementary Education from The George Washington University. After teaching Language Arts in middle schools for many years, she is now an Associate Professor of English at a community college, where she teaches composition, research, and Children’s Literature.
Born and raised in New Jersey, she currently lives in Virginia with her husband and two daughters. When not writing or reading, Victoria enjoys touring art museums, practicing yoga on her paddle board, and visiting destinations on her bucket list. You can find her at www.victoriawinterhalter.com
Kristen Terrette jumped into the publishing world twelve years ago. In that time, she’s had five traditionally published novels, and a YA Contemporary novel as well as a Bubblegum Horror novel on submission. She is thrilled to have signed with literary managers, Jen Newens for her Young Adult projects and Lindsey Aduskevich for her adult projects. She hopes their partnership will be mighty and fruitful!
Aside from getting down the stories in her head, she started a new adventurous career path in agenting in 2022. She was honored (and surprised!) to receive a coveted spot in the Writers House Intern Program. She loved every minute of it and it paved the way for her to accept a literary manager position with Martin Literary and Media Management. She is diligently working on building her client list and helping these authors get their great works out to the world. She was thrilled to be an ECPA Emerging Leader and is a part of the AALA.
Sophia Lanham was born and raised in San Francisco, California. She has been drawing and creating characters since she could hold a crayon. Some of the books from her early childhood that have influenced her artistically include Mouse Soup by Arnold Lobel, the Adam Raccoon series by Glen Keane, and a collection of classic stories in 5-Minute Good Night Stories. During her middle school years, Sophia created fiction comics where a young girl who lived in the clouds had adventures with her biplane.
In 2021, Sophia moved to Nashville, Tennessee. She graduated with a BFA in Animation at Lipscomb University where she studied and excelled in character design, storyboarding, and visual development. She won an award in the Five Minute Film Festival which later screened at the Nashville Film Festival for her short film Luboš.
After graduating, she returned to her roots of reading picture books and since has been committed to honing her illustrating craft and immersing herself in kid lit. Outside of children’s literature, her favorite stories include many C.S. Lewis books such as Perelandra and The Screwtape Letters. Her experience in animation heavily informs how she approaches illustration. She loves to work with bright color palettes and use textures such as chalk and watercolors. Many of her paintings are influenced by her Filipino and American cultural background mixed with some fantasy flair.
Sophia also enjoys playing piano, taking long walks outside in nature, and playing with her beloved cat, Mishka.
Portfolio: https://sophialanham.myportfolio.com/portfolio
After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, Marti Parham began her professional writing career as an assistant editor at Johnson Publishing’s JET magazine. While working at the legendary publication for nearly a decade, Marti wrote a wide variety of articles that covered topics about health, relationships, business, politics, parenting and much more. A major part of her duties required her to pen profiles on some of entertainment’s most noted celebrities including movie stars Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Chris Rock, Terrence Howard, Taraji P. Henson; and Grammy winners BB King, Alicia Keys, Common and Jill Scott just to name a few.
In addition to writing for various publications, including the Chicago Tribune, Marti also served as an editorial instructor and managing editor for the teen publication True Star Magazine. She currently serves as True Star Media’s programs manager and media manager.
During rare moments of free time, Marti indulges in reading a good book from her long TBR list, painting, analyzing movies, and playing in clay.
Follow Marti on Instagram @MartiParham.
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