Photo by Aaron Packard
Doug Murano is a Bram Stoker Award-winning and Shirley Jackson Award-winning editor and the founder and CEO of Bad Hand Books. He was born and raised in South Dakota. He is an Active member of the Horror Writers Association, which honored Bad Hand Books with its Specialty Press Award in 2026.
Since its creation in 2021, Bad Hand has partnered with some of the world’s most successful authors—and a number of authors who soon will be—including Stephen King, Mike Mignola, Laird Barron, Chuck Palahniuk, Zoje Stage, Christopher Golden, Gabino Iglesias, Alex Grecian, Hailey Piper, Josh Malerman, Cynthia Pelayo, Benjamin Percy, Ai Jiang, Eric LaRocca, Trevor Henderson, and many more.
Doug and his wife reside somewhere between Mt. Rushmore and Minneapolis with their four children and Alice, the official “Bad Hound.”
Jodi Thompson has been writing for as long as she can remember. Her earliest work, Skippy the Horse, was critically acclaimed by numerous family members and at least one teacher. She eventually discovered that her real talent lies in assisting others with their dreams. After spending some time as a freelance Book Manager and Publicist, she founded a small, traditional publishing house, Fawkes Press.
In her copious free time, she has led writing workshops for children and teens, served on the organizational committees for several writing conferences, judged national writing contests, and presented at writing/publishing conferences across the United States. Fearful that she was getting too much sleep, she started Terrible Advice: Author Edition as guidance for writers in all stages. Chasing the high of her early success from Skippy the Horse, she also dabbles in cozy mysteries as Moira Bates. She lives in Texas with her husband and more animals than any sane person should have in their home.
Kelley Morris is a pianist, teacher, and award-winning poet. She has three collections: Quiet Embers: A Poetry of Faith, When the Glass Breaks, and The Space Between Clouds. Her poetry has appeared in Emerge Magazine, and she is a 2026 Best of the Net nominee.
Her work offers honest and heartfelt verse that invites readers to reflect and form meaningful connections. Through her blog, Piano Girl Thoughts, she engages a global community of writers and readers. Kelley grew up in Arkansas but now resides in Jenks, Oklahoma, with her husband, Gart. She enjoys time with family and loves being a Gig.
Uncover more about Kelley’s work on her website, Instagram, Facebook, and her Amazon Author Central page.
Sessions:
Poetry Circles: Listening in Community
How does it make you feel when someone truly listens to you? Inspired by Kelley’s personal journey during the pandemic, this session explores intentional listening within the poetry circle. You’ll learn the circle format and its power to unlock creativity and connection. This simple but meaningful tool will help you tap into your voice while building your writing community.
Art and Music: Poetic Inspiration
Explore visual art, instrumental music, and song lyrics as inspiration for poetry. Through intentional observation and guided listening, you’ll use elements in art and music to shape your own voice on the page. Brainstorm personal favorites, study pre-selected works, and come ready to experience art, music, and poetry in new ways!
Killian Davies is an Arizona-based independent writer and publisher of Tabletop RPG booklets. Since 2023, he has developed his own niche of Dungeons & Dragons adventures inspired by the incredibly popular animated series Helluva Boss. His books have found great success on Kickstarter, funding nearly $50,000 over the course of three titles, and he continues to promote his ventures through comic cons and pop culture conventions.
Find Killian on Instagram and support his small business through his Etsy shop, AZ Stolas.
Sessions:
Structuring an Adventure - What Makes a Compelling D&D Story?
Ready to create your own exciting adventures around the table, but overwhelmed by all the NPCs, items, plot threads, and moving pieces that go into telling a D&D story? Join Killian Davies as he breaks down the structure of a D&D adventure to its bare bones.
Learn how the elements of an adventure work together to create a compelling story, how to balance storytelling with fun and fair game mechanics, and how to approach the whole process with more confidence—whether you’re building an adventure for friends around the table or hoping to take your TTRPG work to print someday.
Have an adventure of your own in the works? Bring your questions! Time permitting, Killian will wrap up with a Q&A focused on attendees’ own projects.
How To Gain An Audience For Your Book Through Crowdfunding
Congratulations—you’ve written your next book! Now...how do you get an audience to see it?
Join Killian Davies as he takes you through his process of using crowdfunding to get your book directly into the hands of readers. Having successfully funded three separate books totaling nearly $50,000, Killian will walk you through the building blocks of creating a Kickstarter campaign, from setting up your crowdfunding page to marketing your project and building an audience. Along the way, you’ll learn what goes into launching your first campaign, why persistence and marketing matter, and how to approach the process with more confidence.
Have crowdfunding questions of your own? Bring them along! Time permitting, Killian will wrap up with a Q&A.
Maureen Wise is a Junior Literary Agent at Metamorphosis Literary Agency. She has spent her career working in sustainability and environmental fields, including stream restoration, higher education sustainability, sustainability consulting, and CSA management.
That passion forged Maureen's path into the literary world from both sides of the desk. As Iris March, she pens award-winning cozy mysteries with an eco twist. Agent Maureen also professes a particular fondness for climate fiction and mysteries.
Maureen lives in a Cleveland suburb with her own cozy supporting cast: her husband, son, and three cats (naturally).
Connect with Maureen on LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Session:
You Can Save the Planet AND Write Your Book
Caring about the planet and writing a great book don’t have to be competing priorities. Join Maureen Wise for a discussion on how authors can bring environmental awareness into both their stories and their writing lives.
Explore how to create characters with environmental ethos without turning them into hippy eco-warriors everyone avoids at parties, weave natural elements into settings, and adopt greener habits in your own writing life. Saving the planet is a pretty tall order—but your writing can be a good place to start.
Pitch Sessions:
Maureen is looking for any and all mysteries, climate fiction, and solarpunk. She may consider select works in women’s fiction (particularly if there’s a grandma involved), progressive Christian devotionals, trillers sans serial killers or heavy gore. What’s not a fit? Romance, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror, and Christian Fiction are a miss for Maureen at this time.
More on Samantha Ryan coming soon…
TwylaBeth Lambert is an editor and educator drawn to powerful storytelling—whether reading it, telling it, or helping authors bring it to life. She works with both aspiring and established writers, guiding them through every stage of the editing process, from big-picture developmental work to final polish.
Her editorial experience spans multiple fiction genres and select nonfiction, and she regularly teaches workshops designed to help authors craft compelling stories, memorable characters, and immersive worlds.
Projects she has edited include The Unfavored Children’s Club and the award-winning The Forgotten Son by B.J. Sloan; The Mortician Murders series and An Almost True Crime Story series by USA Today bestselling author Greta Boris; the award-winning Mexicanos Hustle by J. Benjamin Sanders; the Aunt Claire’s Pet Care series by Katie Evans; My Storied Year by Katie Proctor; and the political thrillers and mysteries of Larry Enmon.
To connect with TwylaBeth or learn more about her editing work, visit her on Facebook or reach out directly by email.
More on Williamaye coming soon…
