MARJAN KAMALI is the bestselling author of The Lion Women of Tehran, The Stationery Shop, and Together Tea. Her novels have been translated into more than twenty languages. Born in Turkey to Iranian parents, Kamali spent her childhood in Kenya, Germany, Turkey, Iran, and the United States. She holds degrees from UC Berkeley, Columbia, and NYU, and is the 2022 recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Award. She lives with her family in the Boston area.

*photo by David E. Lawrence

THE GLOW is a Boston-based retro soul-pop band who craft emotional songs with poetic lyrics, captivating melodies and soaring harmonies all of which coalesce into their unique sound. The band is comprised of DJ Ormond and Adam McDermott, who first met in high school, and who both sing and play guitar and piano. Their influences have a wide range: The Dip, Thee Sacred Souls, The Beatles, Eric Clapton, Jonny Kosmo, Labi Siffre, and so many more. You can hear two of their latest releases, Sailing and Easy Life, on Spotify and Apple Music. 

*photo by Amy Kelly

LISA GENOVA graduated valedictorian from Bates College with a degree in Biopsychology and has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard. Acclaimed as the Oliver Sacks of fiction and the Michael Crichton of brain science, she is the New York Times bestselling author of Still Alice, Left Neglected, Love Anthony, Inside the O’Briens, and Remember: The Science of Memory & the Art of Forgetting. Still Alice was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Julianne Moore. Adaptations for four of her other novels are in development. Lisa’s TED talks on Alzheimer’s and memory have been viewed over 11 million times. Her latest novel, More or Less Maddy, was just released in January.

*photo by Greg Mentzer

EMILY GROGAN is a classically trained pianist, punk rock drummer, reggae saxophonist and guitarist/singer songwriter. From staring in the prime-time Canadian television series "Rocker Moms", composing a song for Sony Pictures, being nominated Best Female Vocalist for the Boston Music Awards, to being a multi-instrumentalist in a myriad of bands, Emily Grogan is the quintessential renaissance woman whose passion and creativity is conveyed via her full-spectrum musicianship like no other. She has performed both nationally and internationally and has written and released over 40 songs to critical acclaim.

*photo by Joshua Pickering