Moderator, Perie Longo, Santa Barbara Poet Laureate, 2007-2009, has published 4 books of poetry, the latest Baggage Claim (2014) and poems in numerous literary journals. This June will be her 40th year teaching poetry at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. She’s thrilled and awed to be still poeting and standing.

Melinda Palacio, current Santa Barbara Poet Laureate, is an award-winning writer. From South Central LA, she holds 2 degrees in Comparative Literature. A 2007 PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow and a 2009 poetry alum of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, she published Bird Forgiveness in 2018.

David Starkey, Santa Barbara’s 2009-2011 Poet Laureate, Founding Director of the Creative Writing Program at SBCC, and the Publisher/Co-editor of Gunpowder Press, published 11 full length collections of poetry and more than 500 poems in literary journals. His novel Poor Ghost was released in March 2024.

Chryss Yost is a Santa Barbara Poet Laureate who served from 2013-2015. She was awarded the 2013 Patricia Dobler Poetry Prize and other honors, including Pushcart Prize nominations. She’s co-editor of Gunpowder Press. Her collection Mouth & Fruit was published 2014, and her poems have been included in the most popular poetry textbooks in the country and widely anthologized elsewhere.

Enid Osborn Poet Laureate of Santa Barbara 2017-2019, published When the Big Wind Comes, set in New Mexico. A Pushcart nominee, her work appears in regional California and Southwest journals. She has a series of themed chapbooks, and she co-edited A Bird Black as the Sun / California Poets on Crows & Ravens in 2011.

Laure-Anne Bosselaar Santa Barbara’s Poet Laureate 2019-2021, is author of 6 collections of poems and is the recipient of a Pushcart. She taught at Emerson, Sarah Lawrence, UCSB, and is part of the faculty at the Solstice Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing. Lately: New and Selected Poems was published January 2024.

Emma Trelles Santa Barbara Poet Laureate 2021-2023, received an Established Artist Fellowship from the California Arts Council. She was named a Poet Laureate Fellow by the Academy of American Poets. Daughter of Cuban immigrants, she’s author of Tropicalia, winner of the Andrés Montoya Prize.

Paul Willis, Santa Barbara Poet Laureate 2011-2013 is an emeritus professor of English at Westmont College. His poems, stories, and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, and he’s been featured on Verse Daily and The Writer’s Almanac and nominated five times for a Pushcart Prize. His YA Elizabethan time-travel novel, All in a Garden Green, was released in 2020.

Moderator: SBWC faculty member, Trey Dowell, is a novelist and a short story aficionado. His expertise in writing effective query letters has helped numerous writers get their projects reviewed by agents and publishers.

Margaux Dunbar Hession is a funny, off-beat, award-winning writer of dark humor stories that balance darker subjects with audacious wit and off-the-wall scenarios, many inspired by her own escapades. Her first novel, Soaring to New Lows springs from her life as former wife of Journey Rock & Roll Hall of Fame drummer, Aynsley Dunbar. Her writing has appeared in multiple journals and publications. She resides in Kailua Hawaii, where she paddles on a 6-person, co-ed, outrigger team.

David Starkey, served as Santa Barbara’s 2009–2011 Poet Laureate. He is founding director of the Creative Writing Program at Santa Barbara City College, co-editor of the California Review of Books, and the publisher and co-editor of Gunpowder Press. Over the past thirty-five years, he has published 11 full-length collections of poetry with small presses and more than 500 poems in literary journals. His novel Poor Ghost was released March 2024.

Candi Sary graduated from the University of California, Irvine. Her novel, Black Crow White Lie (2012), won Reader Views Literary Award, a CIBA, and was first runner-up in the Eric Hoffer Book Award and made into a short film by Chase Michael Wilson. Her latest, Magdalena (2023), also won a CIBA. A mother of two adult children, she lives in Southern California with her husband, a dog, a cat, and several ducks. She can often be found surfing and paddle boarding in the waters of Newport Beach.

James Darnborough grew up in London, UK, before spending 30 years in the media business in South Africa, Australia and the USA. He resides in LA. His historical saga, The Gambler’s Game, is set in the twilight of the 19th Century, as the Old West collides with the opulence of the Gilded Age. One man embarks on a journey that redefines his life. His audacious spirit leads him from dust-chocked plains to the refined ambiance of English garden parties and the allure of Belle Epoque Monte Carlo.

Nancy Klann-Moren was raised in North Hollywood. Her novel, The Clock of Life, is an award-winning story of friendship and struggle at a time in our history when American protests changed the status quo. In her short story collection, Like the Flies on The Patio, she brings us fallible and human characters who live on the page and gently break your heart. Her new novel, Love and Protest, begins with the chance discovery of a diary. This is a coming-of-age-story about two young women’s paths toward becoming activists.

Matthew J. Pallamary, moderator, is an award-winning writer, musician, and sound healer who’s been studying shamanism all his life. He has books covering several genres. His latest story collection is The Thinning Veil: 13 Twisted Tales. He explores how art imitates life and reflects our human condition.

G. Brian Kurtz is an intuitively-guided medical empath, energy healer and author of Access the Real You: Touching Your Divinity and Applying its Wisdom to Your Life. As a speaker and teacher, he has brought his message to more than 2,500 people from six countries. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he works with groups and individuals toward personal growth and healing.

Kelly Giles obtained his Juris Doctor Degree from Pepperdine University School of Law. He practiced U.S. immigration law for twenty-three years and continues to practice Canadian immigration law. He’s written a trilogy of poetry books. Killing Justice is his debut memoir. He currently lives in Culver City, California. He’s passionate about raising awareness about mental illness and the criminal justice system and encouraging others on their healing journey, especially through the arts.

Lorissa Rinehart is an author, cultural producer, and public speaker. Her writing explores women’s history, politics, war, and their points of intersection. Her debut book, First to the Front: The Untold Story of Dickey Chapelle, Trailblazing Female War Correspondent (St. Martin’s Press) has received rave reviews. She’s a TEDx speaker who’s appeared at the National Press Club, Friends of the National World War II Memorial, the Women’s National Press Club, and the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation among other prestigious organizations. She’s been featured on numerous podcasts.

Marianne Dougherty whose latest is Dye: a memoir of art, music, faith, family and hair color, based on the life of celebrity hairdresser Brad Johns, is an award-winning writer and former beauty editor and publisher. In 2017 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Beauty Bus Foundation, which provides grooming services to seriously ill people and their caregivers. In 2019 and 2022, she was a finalist for a Golden Quill Award for journalistic excellence. She lives in Santa Barbara and is author of the novel, What We Remember.

Diana Raab MFA, PhD, is an award-winning memoirist, poet, and thought leader. She’s been writing personal stories and memoir for more than 5 decades. She’s author of 14 books, including 3 memoirs. Her latest, Hummingbird: Messages from My Ancestors, a memoir, has writing and reflection prompts. She speaks and writes about writing for healing and transformation. Many of her talks are based on her books, Writing for Bliss: A Seven-Step Plan for Telling Your Story and Transforming Your Life, and Writing for Bliss: A Companion Journal.