Judges

Susie Finkbeiner is the author of The All-American,  All Manner of Things — both of which were selected as Michigan Notable Books —The Nature of Small Birds, and Stories That Bind Us, as well as A Cup of Dust, A Trail of Crumbs, and A Song of Home.

When she isn’t writing, she’s spending time with her husband and three kids or performing at her local community theatre. She lives with her family in West Michigan.

Find her at Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.

Jennifer Furner has been published in HuffPost Personal, The Rumpus, Belt Magazine, and others. She is a past fellow of the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop and currently serves as the Nonfiction Editor for The Dodge, an online magazine of eco-writing. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her husband and daughter. For more of her writing, visit jenniferfurner.com.

A.H. (Ann) Kim is the author of the novels A Good Family and Relative Strangers, both published by Graydon House/HarperCollins. Educated at Harvard College and Berkeley Law School, where she was an editor of the California Law Review, Ann worked as a corporate lawyer for many years in the San Francisco Bay Area before deciding to retire early and move to Ann Arbor. Ann is proof that you don’t need to be an English major or have an MFA to be published and that it’s never too late to start. More information about Ann and her writing may be found at www.ahkim.net.

Sophfronia Scott is a novelist, essayist, and noted contemplative thinker whose work has earned wide recognition, including a 2020 Artist Fellowship Grant from the Connecticut Office of the Arts and the 2021 Thomas Merton “Louie” Award for her book The Seeker and the Monk. A native of Lorain, Ohio, she holds degrees from Harvard University and Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her career began in journalism at Time and People, where she co‑authored the influential “Twentysomething” cover story, the first major study identifying Generation X. Her debut novel, All I Need to Get By, garnered acclaim and a nomination for best new author at the African American Literary Awards, with Henry Louis Gates Jr. calling her “potentially one of the best writers of her generation.”

Scott is the bestselling author of Wild, Beautiful, and Free and has written several other books spanning fiction, essays, and spiritual reflection. Her work has appeared in publications such as Yankee Magazine, The Christian Century, North American Review, and O, The Oprah Magazine, with multiple essays recognized as Notables in Best American Essays. A sought‑after speaker and workshop leader, she has presented for organizations including the Episcopal House of Bishops, the International Thomas Merton Society, and the Glen Workshop. She is the founding director of Alma College’s low‑residency MFA in Creative Writing and lives in East Lansing, Michigan, where she is pursuing a PhD in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University.

Janyre Tromp is a veteran book editor by day and writer of mid-20th century historical novels with a healthy dose of intrigue and myth at night. She’s the award-winning and bestselling author of Darkness Calls the Tiger, Shadows in the Mind’s Eye and co-author of both O Little Town and It’s a Wonderful Christmas. And that all happens from her unfinished basement when she’s not hanging out with her family, two troublesome cats, and slightly eccentric Shetland Sheepdog.

You can find her on social media and her website: www.JanyreTromp.com

Kenneth Kraegel grew up in Mishawaka, Indiana and from there he followed a circuitous path to becoming an author and illustrator of children’s books. This included getting a degree in theology, volunteering at an agriculture school in Honduras, helping refugees find jobs and furniture in Chicago, volunteering with an NGO in Uganda, working on a construction site in Wyoming and on vegetable farms in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio. He now lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his family.

Kenneth’s books include Mermaid Lullaby and Mushroom Lullaby – bedtime books, This Is a Book of Shapes – a board book, Wild Honey from the Moon – a beginning chapter book, and the picture books – Green Pants, King Arthur’s Very Great Grandson and the Song of Delphine. His books have been awarded such distinctions as the New York Times Book Review’s Notable Children’s Book of the Year, the Wall Street Journal‘s Children’s Best Book of the Year, the Parent’s Choice Gold Award, the Chicago Public Library Best of the Best, Amazon‘s Editor’s Pick and Kirkus Reviews’ Best Book.

Kenneth was also a judge for this year’s Short Story Contest.

Follow Kenneth on Instagram (for illustration tidbits).