A Day of Words, Wit & Wisdom

Anne D. LeClaire

Emcee

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A former actor, print journalist and radio broadcaster, Anne LeClaire is a memoirist and the critically acclaimed, best-selling author of ten novels published in twenty-four countries. She is a frequent speaker at colleges and universities, public and private schools, women’s groups, men’s groups, religious retreats, churches, hospitals, libraries, corporate events, literary festivals and conferences. She has been a keynote speaker for The Massachusetts Women’s Bar Association, The Association of American University Women and the Cape Cod Writers Conference, among others, and is a Distinguished Fellow of the Ragdale Foundation.

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Anne has taught creative writing workshops in the United States and in a variety on international venues. She has been a visiting lecturer at Mt. Holyoke College, the University of Tennessee, and Columbia College.​

 

More than three decades ago, Anne began a formal practice of silence, meaning that for the past thirty-five years, she has not spoken on the first and third Mondays of every month.  Out of this practice came her memoir, “Listening Below the Noise: The Transformative Power of Silence” (Harper Collins, 2009) which was named one of the 50 best spiritual books of the year in 2009. She leads popular seminars and workshops exploring silence, creativity and deep listening including, most recently, the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, MA, the Chicago Botanic Gardens in Glencoe, IL, St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle, Anne is a champion ballroom dancer with a passion for the Argentine tango.​

Hank Phillippi Ryan

Author

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Hank Phillipi Ryan is the USA Today bestselling author of 16 psychological thrillers, winning the most prestigious awards in the genre: five Agathas, five Anthonys, and the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. As on-air investigative true crime reporter for Boston's WHDH-TV, she's won an unprecedented 37 EMMYs. She hosts CRIME TIME on A Mighty Blaze and co-hosts THE BACK ROOM and FIRST CHAPTER FUN. Her current novel is cross-country cat-and-mouse chase, ALL THIS COULD BE YOURS (Minotaur Books). It’s an instant USA Today bestseller and the rave starred review from Library Journal says, "should be on everyone's reading list!" Her next standalone thriller, MOTHER DAUGHTER SISTER STRANGER, is out this fall. 

Karen Joy Fowler

Author

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Karen Joy Fowler is an author of science fiction, historical fiction, and literary fiction.  She has written seven novels and has seven grandchildren.  We are all completely beside ourselves won the 2013 PEN/FAULKNER, the California Commonwealth Prize, and was shortlisted for the Man/Booker.  Her most recent novel, Booth, a story about the fascinating family of the infamous John Wilkes Booth, was published by Putnam and longlisted for the Booker.  She lives in Santa Cruz, California with a dog, a cat, and a husband.

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The photographer for her headshot is Bjarte Rettedal. 

Stephen McCauley

Author​

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Stephen McCauley is the author of ten novels, including The Object of My Affection, My Ex-Life, and, most recently, You Only Call When You're in Trouble. Several of his novels have been national bestsellers, and three were made into feature films. In the early 2000's he was named a Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture. He's been teaching creative writing and literature for almost forty years, and currently directs the Creative Writing program at Brandeis University. 

Jane Hamilton

Author​

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Jane Hamilton has published eight novels: The Book of Ruth, A Map of the World, The Short History of a Prince, Disobedience,When Madeline was Young, Laura Rider’s Masterpiece, The Excellent Lombards, and most recently, The Phoebe Variations. Some have won literary prizes, been made into films, have been international best-sellers, and two of them, The Book of Ruth, and A Map of The World, were selections of Oprah’s Book Club. Her nonfiction has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Allure, the Oprah Magazine, Elle, and various anthologies. Through the years she’s taught writing at Carleton College and in the Warren Wilson MFA program, as well as workshops all over the USA and beyond— but for the most part she’s in Wisconsin with her apple farming husband.