Our Faculty
We’re thrilled to host leading publishing professionals from the international scene. One thing they have in common: They’re nice, approachable people who believe that what separates an emerging writer from a published author is the right knowledge and community surrounding them.
Jeff W. Bens, Author
Jeff W. Bens is author of the novels The Mighty Oak and Albert, Himself. His short fiction and essays are published widely. Jeff works in film and directed the award-winning documentary, Fatman's. Jeff is Professor of Creative Writing at Manhattanville College in New York teaching undergraduate and graduate workshops.
Linnea Gradin, Blogger
Linnea Gradin is a bookworm at heart and a blog writer for Reedsy.com. She has a Masters in Sociology from Cambridge University, with a focus on representation in media, and studied publishing at Lund University. She advises on writing, publishing, editing, and more, helping authors realize their publishing goals.
Golnaz Hashemzadeh Bonde, Author
Golnaz Hashemzadeh Bonde was born in Iran and fled with her parents to Sweden as a young child. She debuted in 2012 with the novel, She Is Not Me (Hon är inte jag). Her second novel, What We Owe, was published by Wahlström & Widstrand in August, 2017 and has been translated into 25 languages.
April Eberhardt, Literary Consultant
April is passionate about helping authors be published and assists them as they choose the best pathway to publication, be it indie or traditional, digital or print. April serves on the Advisory Council for The American Library in Paris, and is a reader for the Best American Short Stories series.
Natalie Edwards, Editor, Bookouture
Natalie is Commissioning Editor at Boukouture, a dynamic digital publisher of bestselling commercial fiction and a division of Hachette. Natalie is drawn to strong characters, compelling ideas and immersive storytelling across a variety of genres.
Lisa Ferland, Author, Kickstarter Expert
Science brings both an analytical and creative approach to everything she does. Lisa loves helping authors around the world tell their stories. After launching her first campaign to over $10k on Kickstarter and then subsequently, helping over 100 other authors do the same, she discovered that her positive energy and spirit is best served when helping others achieve their dreams.
Hans-Åke Lilja, Author
For more than two decades, Hans-Åke has been a leading voice when it comes to covering and reporting on Stephen King. His website, Lilja’s Library, is the die-hard fan’s source for information about new King projects and breaking news, but Lilja has also featured his own in-depth reviews and interviews with the most important people in King’s world, including Stephen King himself.
Sofia Löfgren and Lukas Adamsson
Sofia and Lukas are Swedish authors-gone-publishers. Their new publishing house, Adamsson Löfgren Bokförlag, operates by the traditional model, but with a modern angle, focusing on transparency and a big digital (and physical) presence.
Liv Maidment, Agent, Madeleine Millburn
Liv is a Literary Agent specialising in literary and upmarket fiction, and select literary narrative non-fiction. She’s currently looking for engrossing contemporary and historical fiction in the literary, upmarket, and book club space. What ties her favourites together: powerful writing and an original insight.
Paul Rapacioli, Moderator
Paul Rapacioli is a journalist, author and founder of the news site The Local, which has five million monthly readers. He’s also author of Good Sweden, Bad Sweden which analyzes the mechanisms that make Sweden a target for international populism and nationalism. He is a member of the board of directors for the Festival and serves as our moderator.
Johnny Shaw, Author
Johnny has six novels including the Jimmy Veeder Fiasco border novels: Dove Season, Plaster City, and Imperial Valley. Johnny has been nominated for the Anthony Award three times, winning for Best Paperback Original in 2013 for BIG MARIA. He won the Spotted Owl Award twice. His short fiction has appeared in Thuglit, Plots with Guns, Crime Factory, and Shotgun Honey.