Devan is a published writer and four-time New York City Moth StorySLAM champion.

His stories have been featured in the Washington Post, The Moth Podcast, Seattle NPR affiliate KNKX, Speak Up Storytelling, and several other outlets.

His story—The Loudest Whisper—was chosen by The Moth to be the companion to a story told by Rev. Al Sharpton’s for Black History Month 2020, and was downloaded over 1 million times and in 49 different countries as of February 2021.

Devan lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and their 7-and 10-year-old sons.

Edwina Perkins is the assistant director of Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. She is also the coordinator for Mentoring Moments and the manager for Sensitivity Between the Lines, both with BRMCWC. She is an acquisitions editor for Iron Stream Media and for the imprint Harambee Press. As a longtime member of Word Weavers International, she now serves as a member of the advisory board. Edwina is an award-winning writer, experienced teacher, speaker, freelance editor, and a sensitivity reader.

Connect with Edwina: email: :[email protected]

Instagram:@edwinaperkins

Sensitivity between the lines: https://www.blueridgeconference.com/sensitivitybtl/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edwina.perkins.3

Acquisitions editor for ion stream media and Harambe press: https://www.ironstreammedia.com/#about-us

As an author, blogger, and speaker Edie has encouraged and challenged audiences across the country and around the world. She’s penned numerous books, including While My Child is Away a book of prayers for when we’re apart.

As a leading professional within the publishing industry, she travels to numerous conferences as a popular keynote, writing instructor and mentor. Her top-ranked blog for writers, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month, and she’s the Director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference.

Taylor Wehri has a deep passion for art and missions. She wants everyone in all creation to know they are deeply loved. Taylor owns and operates a design and ministry studio called @drawingdeeperstudio where she is the lead artist and designer. She also is the founder and executive director of @submersion14 a nonprofit that promotes love and sustainability throughout the world.

Connect with her @tayweh

Alicia is a two time Golden Heart® finalist and Silver Quill Award winner.

Alicia finds her inspiration in exploring the dark, dusty corners of the human experience.

She recently released her book, Fractals, and also has a Blood Secret Series you need to check out!

Connect with this amazing author on Instagram: @aliciaanthonybookd

Astrid V.J. is a USA Today Bestselling and Literary Classics award-winning author, social anthropologist, and transformational life coach. She grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Malmö, Sweden. Elisabeth & Edvard: The Siblings' Tale is her debut fantasy duology. She shares many of her insights and truly hopes it will inspire a generation of indomitable change-makers to work together to correct some of the major social problems this current century brings with it.

Connect: @astrid.v.j_author_official

This episode brings us a true detective Sergeant Alan Jenings🕵️‍♂️

He is a police officer/detective at the Clay County sheriff’s office in Jacksonville, Florida and was a former police officer at Jacksonville Sheriff’s office.

Angie Thomas was born September 28, 1988 in Jackson Mississippi. She is an American young adult author, best known for writing “The Hate U give 2017. Her second Young adult novel, “On the come up,” was released in 2018.

Growing up she was subjected to multiple instances of gun violence at a young age. She grew up near the home of assassinated civil rights activist Medgar Evers, stating her mother heard the gunshot that killed him. When she was six years old she witnessed a shoot out. In an interview with the guardian she recounted her her mother took her to the library the following day to show her that “there was more to the world than what she saw that day.” This inspired her to take up writing.

As a teenager, Thomas shared her skills as a rapper, although her music career was short-lived. She was, however the subject of an article in Right on magazine. She went on to obtain a BA from Belhaven University. She was the first black teenager to graduate from her creative writing course.

Jacobs (1814-1897) was born to two African-American slaves and who grew up in slavery.

She was an African-American writer, who’s autobiography, “Incidents in the life of a slave girl,” was published in 1961 under the pseudonym Linda Brent, is now considered an American Classic,

Born into slavery in Edenton, North Carolina, she was sexually harassed by her enslaver. When he threatened to sell her children if she didn’t submit, she hid in a tiny crawlspace under the roof of her grandmother’s house. After staying there for seven years, she finally managed to escape to the free north, where she was reunited with her children and brother. She found work as a nanny and got into contact contact with abolitionist and feminist reformers. During and immediately after the Civil War she went to the union occupied parts of the south together with her daughter, organizing help in founding two schools for fugitive & freed slaves.

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is an American attorney and author who served as a First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is a wife of former President Barack Obama. She was born January 17, 1964 in Chicago Illinois she was educated at Princeton University and Harvard law school. She has won a Grammy for the best spoken word album, More.