Season 30 Authors

Justin Torres is an American novelist and an Associate Professor of English at UCLA. He is the author of Blackouts, which won the 2023 National Book Award in Fiction. He is also the author of We the Animals which has been translated into fifteen languages and was adapted into a feature film. The story is loosely based on his childhood upbringing in Baldwinsville, NY, the youngest of three brothers. His short fiction and essays have been featured in The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Washington Post, LA Times Image Magazine, and Best American Essays.

Born and raised in Mississippi, Angie Thomas, now calls Atlanta her home. She is a former teen rapper and holds a BFA in creative writing from Belhaven University. Starting as a senior project in college, Thomas created an award-winning, debut novel, The Hate U Give.  It is a #1 New York Times bestseller and was made into a motion picture. Her second novel, On the Come Up, was published in 2020 and has been described as a “YA love letter to hip–hop.” Her latest book, Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy is an inventive and suspenseful contemporary fantasy trilogy inspired by African American history and folklore.

Mitch Albom is an internationally renowned bestselling author, journalist and devout philanthropist. His books, which include the #1 bestselling memoir of all time, Tuesdays with Morrie, have collectively sold more than 40 million copies in 48 languages worldwide. Albom is the author of ten New York Times bestsellers, with eight debuting at #1. His latest novel, The Little Liar, published in 2023, is told against the backdrop of the Holocaust and delves into the value of truth and consequences of lies. When he’s not writing, Albom spends the majority of his time in philanthropic work. He is the founder of SAY Detroit and in 2010, founded and operates the Have Faith Haiti orphanage in Port-au -Prince, Haiti.