Christopher Castellani is the author of five novels, most recently Last Seen (Viking, 2026), for which he received a Literature Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. His fourth novel, Leading Men (Viking, 2019), received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, MacDowell, and the Mass Cultural Council, and is currently being adapted for film by Searchlight pictures. Christopher is a longtime member of the fiction faculty of the Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and he serves as the chair of the writing panel at YoungArts. The current Writer-in-Residence at Brandeis University, he lives in Boston and Provincetown, MA. 

*photo by Michael Joseph

Melissa Ferrick, a genre- and gender-defying songwriter with a 30-year career, continues to disrupt normative categorization. Writing music considered Indie, Alternative, Folk, Punk - Melissa's eighteen albums (so far!) have won numerous awards for songwriting, production, and performance. She's very excited to currently be signed to the Kill Rock Stars label, home to indie acts including Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, The Decemberists and Elliott Smith. Most recently, Melissa'a additional focus is on producing, co-writing, and being an agent at Paladin Artists - as well as a Professor of Practice at Northeastern University, teaching courses in music business, songwriting, and the psychology of creativity. She holds an Ed.M. from Harvard University. 

*photo by Alondra

Paul Harding is the author of three novels, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Tinkers, Enon, and This Other Eden, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and PEN America. He is Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at Emerson College and director of the MFA in Creative Writing & Literature at Stony Brook University. He lives on Long Island, NY. 

*photo by Sam Harding

The Hopeless Romantics are a Boston-based Pop Rock band which delivers infectious melodies, rich harmonies, and unstoppable energy. Fronted by Reid Kieper (lead vocals, guitar) with Drew Leuci (lead guitar), Colin McNamara (bass), and Sean Smith (drums), the group crafts original music that blends that raw, DIY indie spirit with undeniable radio-ready hooks. Produced by renowned musician Francis Dunnery, their debut album captures this dynamic sound, balancing grit and accessibility in equal measure. Leading the charge with their singles Why Won’t She Pick Up The Phone, and All The Young Blood, their next single, Quiet Kind, is slated for release on February 26th, 2026.

*photo by Berk Rosenwald