All 2024 Authors and Speakers

Anita Gail Jones

Anita Gail Jones is a multi-talented visual artist, professional storyteller, and writer who has made a name for herself with her debut novel, The Peach Seed. The book was named a top ten finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction in 2021, solidifying Jones’s status as a rising star in the literary world.

Jones is a master storyteller, having spent many years working as an artist-in-residence in San Francisco Bay Area schools. During this time, she combined oral histories, visual arts, and writing in K-12 workshops, honing her craft and perfecting her unique voice. Her experience and dedication paid off when an earlier version of The Peach Seed was named a Novella Semi-Finalist in the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition.

The Peach Seed is a moving exploration of the ways in which families pass down legacies of sorrow, joy, and strength. It is a captivating parable of how even the smallest glimmer of hope can have a ripple effect across generations. The book has garnered much acclaim, including being featured among Essence Magazine’s “15 New Books We Can’t Wait To Read This Summer,” Elle Magazine’s “Books We’re Most Eager to Read for 2023,” and the “2024 Books All Georgians Should Read List” by Georgia Center for the Book.

Publishers Weekly hails her debut novel as “a layered saga of a Southern Black family that weaves stories of the slave trade and the 1960s civil rights movement,” while Elle Magazine describes it as “an epic, enchanting debut.”

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Other 2024 Authors & Speakers

Elliot Ackerman

The author of eight books, former Marine Corps and CIA special ops team member, and co-author of the bestselling thriller 2034: A Novel of the Next World War and its sequel 2054.

Akhil Reed Amar

Renowned Professor of Law at Yale University and Yale Law School. One of this era’s most accomplished legal scholars and author of five books focused on the American Constitution.

Arthur Benjamin

Popular “mathemagician” and acclaimed Harvey Mudd college professor Arthur Benjamin, Ph.D., is the bestselling author of two books on the secret of mental math. His three TED talks have been viewed more than 50 million times.

Talmage Boston

Award-winning litigator and renowned historian Talmage Boston is the author of a highly anticipated new book, How The Best Did It, on the leadership lessons that can be gained from an analysis of our greatest presidents.

Jeffrey Brown

Jeffrey Brown is Senior Correspondent and Chief Arts Correspondent for PBS NewsHour, public television’s prestigious nightly news program viewed by millions. During his career with NewsHour he has served as co-anchor, studio moderator, and field reporter on a wide range of national and international issues.

Kristin Carlucci

“Get Me Carlucci!!” Once called “Washington’s ultimate survivor” by The Washington Post, Frank Carlucci served six presidents and rose to prominence as Deputy Director of the CIA and as Secretary of Defense for President Reagan. Frank Carlucci had a wide-ranging career of one of the twentieth century’s most important behind-the-scenes actors.

John Dalton

A former Secretary of the Navy and distinguished Naval Academy graduate, shares his inspiring journey in “At the Helm: My Journey with Family, Faith, and Friends to Calm the Storms of Life.” His memoir highlights principled leadership, ethical challenges faced, and pivotal contributions to naval history.

Wade Davis

National Geographic Explorer in Residence, Ethnographer, Writer, Photographer and Filmmaker

Jonathan Eig

Acclaimed journalist and bestselling author of biographies of Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Robinson and Mohammed Ali. Recent recipient of The New-York Historical Society’s Book prize awarded annually for the best work of American history and biography.

Alex Filippenko

Filippenko is an Astrophysicist on a Nobel Prize winning team, as well as the 2007 Gruber Cosmology Prize, 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics to all team members. He was voted the “best professor at UC Berkeley 9 years!”.

Craig Frazier

Internationally renowned illustrator, designer and visual storyteller. Author/designer of children’s books and 7 US Postage stamps including the 2006 Love stamp.

Ker Gibbs

Having spent two decades living in China, most recently as President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and a Mandarin speaker, Gibbs understands the most recent changes and implications for American companies, the Taiwan issue and the future of the US-China relationship.

Doris Kearns Goodwin

A Pulitzer-Prize winning biographer, presidential historian, former sports journalist and political commentator.

David Grann

Award-winning New Yorker staff writer and bestselling author of five books including Killers of the Flower Moon, The Wager and The Lost City of Z.

Jeanne Walker Harvey

Jeanne Walker Harvey is a celebrated children’s book author, known for her captivating picture book biographies and heartwarming stories about marine mammal rescue.

Quinton Martins

Quinton Martins, Ph.D., leads True Wild and the Living with Lions project, conserving San Francisco’s mountain lions. With 30 years’ field experience and a Ph.D. from the University of Bristol, he’s an esteemed authority on large wild cats, formerly founding the successful Cape Leopard Trust in South Africa.

Luis A. Miranda Jr.

Prominent figure on the Latino, New York, and national political scene, thought leader, author, and father of Hamilton playwright.

Aza Raskin

Writer, entrepreneur, inventor, explorer and tech visionary Aza Raskin heads up an international nonprofit using AI to decode animal languages. Raskin also co-leads the Center for Humane Technology, dedicated to actualizing a comprehensive shift toward technology that strengthens our well-being, global democratic functioning, and shared information environment.

Jeffrey Rosen

Jeffrey Rosen is the President and CEO of the non-partisan National Constitution Center in Philadelphia where he hosts “We the People,” a weekly podcast of constitutional debate. Author of five books, Rosen graduated from Harvard College, Oxford University, and Yale Law School.

Kori Schake

What are the national security challenges and threats to Liberal Democracies in 2024? Kori Schake is a Senior Fellow and the Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. She is a former presidential policy advisor and leading foreign and defense expert.

Hampton Sides

Acclaimed journalist and bestselling author of seven books including Ghost Soldiers and On Desperate Ground.

Julia Flynn Siler

Julia Flynn Siler is a bestselling author and acclaimed journalist known for her impactful works such as “The White Devil’s Daughters” and “Lost Kingdom: Hawaii’s Last Queen.”

Deepak Srivastava

Healthcare visionary, renowned researcher and President of the Gladstone Institutes with 500 researchers and scientists. The transformation in healthcare is here.

Admiral James Stavridis

A 4-star Navy Admiral, author, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, board member of the Rockefeller Foundation, security analyst for NBC news, and bestselling co-author of 2034: A Novel of the Next World War and its sequel 2054.