Robert Aickman (1914-1981) is best remembered for his acclaimed “strange stories.” He was the author of eight short story collections of supernatural fiction, two novels, two works of nonfiction, and two autobiographies. He received the World Fantasy Award for his story “Pages from a Young Girl’s Journal” and the British Fantasy Award for his story “The Stains.” He also served as editor for eight volumes of The Fontana Book of Ghost Stories. In addition to his work as a writer, Aickman was co-founder of the Inland Waterways Association, a British conservation group.
Robert Browning (1812 - 1889) is remembered as one of the most celebrated poets of the Victorian era. Browning is best known for his epic poems and collections Pauline, Paracelsus, Men and Women, Dramatis Personae, and The Ring and the Book, as well as his telling of the folktale “The Pied Piper of Hamelin.” His poems are noted for their social commentary and use of dark humor and irony. “Browning societies” dedicated to the study of his work thrived in Great Britain and the United States during his lifetime until the early 20th century.
Kathryn Erbe is best known for her work on Law and Order: Criminal Intent and HBO’s Oz. Additional television credits include American Experience, Billions, The Sinner, How to Get Away with Murder, Instinct, Pose, and City on a Hill. Her film credits include Kensho at the Bedfellow, Dating My Mother, Assassination Nation, and Alex Strangelove. As a member of the Steppenwolf Theater Company, Erbe has appeared in many productions, including The Grapes of Wrath, Curse of the Starving Class, and A Streetcar Named Desire. She is also a member of the Atlantic Theater Company. Erbe was nominated for a Tony Award for her work in The Speed of Darkness. Additional theater credits include Ode to Joy, Checkers, Nikolai and The Others, Natural Affection, and The Father, opposite Frank Langella. Upcoming projects include The Good House and The Bond.
John Darnielle’s first novel, Wolf in White Van, was a New York Times bestseller, a National Book Award nominee, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for first fiction, and widely hailed as one of the best novels of the year. His second novel, Universal Harvester, was released in 2017. Additionally, Darnielle is the author of the “South Pole Dispatch” column in Decibel Magazine; in 2012, he was guest poetry editor for The Mays anthology; and he co-hosts the podcast I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats. Darnielle is the writer, composer, guitarist, and vocalist for the band The Mountain Goats.
Neil Gaiman is the New York Times bestselling author of the Newbery Medal-winning The Graveyard Book and Coraline, the basis for the hit movie. His other books include Anansi Boys, Neverwhere, American Gods, and Stardust, which was honored with the American Library Association's Alex Award as one of 2000's top novels for young adults, as well as the short story collections M Is for Magic and Smoke and Mirrors. He is also the author of The Wolves in the Walls and The Day I Traded My Dad for Two Goldfish, both written for children. Among his many awards are the Eisner, the Hugo, the Nebula, the World Fantasy, and the Bram Stoker. A number of Gaiman’s titles, including Lucifer, American Gods, Good Omens, and The Sandman, have been adapted into television series. Black Hole and The Graveyard are currently being adapted for film.
Javier Marías is one of Spain’s most celebrated contemporary authors. His works include the novels A Heart So White, winner of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, The Infatuations, winner of the National Novel Prize, the Your Face Tomorrow trilogy, Berta Isla, and the short story collection When I Was Mortal. In 2013, he was awarded the Prix Formentor international award. In addition to his fiction writing, Marías runs a small publishing house and writes a weekly column in the Spanish newspaper El País.
Star of stage, screen and television, Molly Ringwald’s recent credits include the film All These Small Moments, The Kissing Booth, Raising Expectations, Tales of the City, and Riverdale. Known for the iconic films Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, and Sixteen Candles, Ringwald began her film career in Paul Mazursky's Tempest, also starring in The Pick-Up Artist, For Keeps, Fresh Horses, Betsy's Wedding, and the foreign films Tous Les Jours Dimanches, Enfants de Salaud, and Goddard's King Lear. Her theater credits include the off-Broadway production of Terms of Endearment, Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive, the Broadway production of Cabaret as Sally Bowles, the Broadway production of Enchanted April, the London production of When Harry Met Sally, Horton Foote's Lily Dale off-Broadway, Jonathan Larson's Tick, Tick...Boom!, and the national theater tour of Sweet Charity. An accomplished author, her books and articles have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Vogue, Esquire, The Guardian, and more. She translated the French novel Lie with Me, which was released in 2019. A lifelong singer, Ringwald toured--and will resume touring--with her jazz quartet and released a debut album with Concord Records. Upcoming projects include Montauk, Wolcott, The Kissing Booth 3, and Spa Day.
Kirsten Vangsness is best known as Penelope Garcia on the CBS drama Criminal Minds; however, she can be found in other places, including a few podcasts (Selected Shorts and Voyage to the Stars), the film noir spoof Kill Me Deadly, and Curtains, the animated short she created, which was released in 2020. She was nominated for Playwright of the Year by LA Weekly and is a company member of Hollywood's Theater of NOTE. Vangsness recently returned from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where two of her plays, Mess and Cleo, Theo and Wu, were performed at Assembly Rooms. In her spare time, Vangsness buses tables at the Blinking Owl Distillery, which she co-owns, in Santa Ana.
