2024 Presenters

Kyle is a writer and documentarian, having written and produced two features -- Dead Dad and Recovery -- and numerous episodes of CW's "The Originals" over its 5-season run. In addition, he worked on House, M.D., The Big C, Conan, was the Showrunner for Snapchat's "Save Me", and has developed projects for ABC, Netflix, Sony, Vertigo Entertainment and others. He's currently in production on two documentary films. In addition to his writing, Kyle teaches TV Writing at the Florida State University Film School's MFA Screenwriting program.

Andrea Askowitz is the author of the memoir My Miserable, Lonely, Lesbian Pregnancy. She’s written for The New York Times, Salon, Glamour, The Rumpus, Huffington Post, The Writer, NPR, and PBS, where she’s currently nominated for an Emmy. Andrea hosts and produces the podcast Writing Class Radio and is at work on a new memoir. 

https://andreaaskowitz.com/

Lynne Barrett is the author of Magpies (fiction gold medal, Florida Book Awards), and edited the anthology Making Good Time, True Stories of How We Do, and Don’t, Get Around in South Florida. Her recent work appears in 34 Orchard, Orange Blossom Review, Necessary Fiction, Mystery Tribune, Rivanna Review, and anthologies and craft books including Flash! Writing the Very Short Story, Grabbed: Poets and Writers on Sexual Assault, Empowerment, and Healing, and One Year to a Writing Life. She teaches Creative Writing at Florida International University.

http://www.lynnebarrett.com/

John Dufresne has written two story collections and six novels, including Louisiana Power & Light and Love Warps the Mind a Little, both New York Times Notable Books of the Year. He’s also written four books on writing, two plays -- Liv & Di and Trailerville -- and has co-written two feature films. His stories have twice been named Best American Mystery Stories. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and teaches creative writing at FIU in Miami. He is the co-editor of the forthcoming Flash Fiction America.

Denise Duhamel’s most recent books of poetry are Pink Lady (Pitt Poetry Series, 2025), Second Story (2021) and Scald (2017). Blowout (2013) was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle
Award. In Which (2024) is a winner of the Rattle Chapbook Prize. She and the late Maureen Seaton co-authored five collections, the most recent of which was CAPRICE (Collaborations: Collected, Uncollected, and New) (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2015). Her nonfiction publications include The Unrhymables: Collaborations in Prose (with Julie Marie Wade, Noctuary Press, 2019). A recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, she is a distinguished university professor in the MFA program at Florida International University in Miami.

Allison Langer is a Miami native, University of Miami MBA, writer, and single mom to three children, ages 12, 14 and 16. She is a private writing coach, taught memoir writing in prison and has been published in The Washington Post, Mutha Magazine, Scary Mommy, Ravishly, and Modern Loss. Allison wrote a novel about wrongful conviction and is actively looking for an agent. Currently, she is working on a memoir with her friend and inside student, Clifton Jones (2-Tall). Allison's stories and her voice can be heard on Writing Class Radio, a podcast she co-produces and co-hosts, which has been downloaded more than 650,000 times.

http://www.allisonlanger.com/

Geoffrey Philp, a Silver Musgrave Medal recipient from Jamaica, is the author of two short story collections, two novels, three children's books, and eight poetry collections. His latest work, Archipelagos, published by Peepal Tree Press, was longlisted for the Laurel Prize. Philp's writing has appeared in The Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse, World Literature Today, and Rattle: Poets Respond. His haiku and haibun have been featured on the Japan Society's website, and The Haiku Foundation acknowledges his contributions by listing him in their Registry of Poets. The Academy of American Poets has published his haiku "Between Babylon and the Sea."

Philp's awards include the Marcus Garvey Award for Excellence in Education (2022) and a Luminary Award from the Consulate of Jamaica (2015). One of Philp's poems, "A Prayer for my Children," is featured on The Poetry Rail at The Betsy, an homage to 12 writers who have shaped Miami culture.

Philp's recent works include Marsha and the Mangroves, a children's book about a girl's fight against mangrove destruction, aimed at inspiring young eco-activists. His graphic novel My Name is Marcus, about Marcus Garvey, was released on September 15, 2024.