Phillip Margolin’s brilliant writing career spans over thirty years and more than twenty national bestselling books. His landmark novel, Gone, But Not Forgotten, redefined the mystery/thriller genre and was recently named one of the 10 Best Reads of the Century. Other outstanding Margolin novels include Heartstone (nominated for an Edgar), The Last Innocent Man (adapted for film), Wild Justice, The Undertaker’s Wife, and The Burning Man. His short story, “The Jailhouse Lawyer,” originally published in the anthology Legal Briefs (edited by William Bernhardt), was selected for The Best American Mystery Stories anthology in 1999. Recently, Margolin expanded his career with his first novel for young readers, Vanishing Acts, co-written with his daughter. He has been a strong leader and promoter for the Chess for Success educational program. He is also an outstanding writing instructor and is known to be one of the most generous men in the business. We are honored that he has chosen to share his thirty-plus years of knowledge with the Short Course students.

Oklahoma Author of the Year

According to a recent New York Times review, “Reading a Michael Wallis book is like dancing to a romantic ballad. He offers his hand and gently guides you across the floor, swaying to the song of the American West.” A bestselling author and award-winning reporter, Michael is a historian and biographer of the American West who also has gained international acclaim as a public speaker and voice talent. In 2006 Michael’s distinctive voice was heard in Cars, an animated feature film from Pixar/Disney. Michael has published fifteen books, including Route 66: The Mother Road, the book credited with sparking the resurgence of interest in the highway. Michael’s more recent works include Billy the Kid: The Endless Ride, The Lincoln Highway: Coast to Coast from Times Square to the Golden Gate, David Crockett: The Lion of the West and The Wild West: 365 Days.

Melissa Flashman is a literary agent at Trident Media, the largest and perhaps most prestigious literary agency in the world. She represents narrative nonfiction, including memoir, popular science, political, business/economics, technology, pop-culture books, and fiction, including young adult. Recent and upcoming titles include: The White Lie, a novel by bestselling author Pamela Redmond Satran; The Consolations of Judgment (Farrar Strauss) by Megan Hustad; How to Write a Sentence (HarperCollins) by Stanley Fish; and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the Undead (Tor) by Don Borchert. She is also an accomplished writer who has sold essays and fiction to The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s, Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, Paris Review, American Scholar, Chronicle Review, American Prospect, and O Magazine, among others.

Chris Kepner is a native of Buffalo, New York, and a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. Starting as an intern for Zachary Shuster Harmsworth, Kepner joined Victoria Sanders & Associates in May 2008, and has rapidly become one of the most successful agents in the New York publishing scene. According to his mother, Chris has had a book with him ever since he could hold one. From the Hardy Boys mysteries and Goosebumps to Kurt Vonnegut and Ernest Hemingway, Chris’s passion for literature has always been strong and diverse. A man of eclectic interests, he is open to all types of books so long as the writing is exceptional.

David is the editor of science fiction and fantasy at Del Rey/Spectra, a division of Ballantine/Random House. He focuses primarily on traditional fantasy and contemporary science fiction and fantasy. A graduate of Binghamton University, he holds Masters Degrees from Washington University in St. Louis and NYU. He has worked with Alan Cambpell on The God of Clocks, David J. Williams on The Burning Skies and The Machinery of Light, Greg van Eekhout on Norse Code, C.L. Anderson on Bitter Angels, and Felix Gilman on Gears of the City. He also works in the Del Rey Star Wars program. He also compiled the recent anthology, Conan the Barbarian: the Stories that Inspired the Movie.

Audrey Streetman’s poems have appeared in Crosstimbers, Blood & Thunder, Oklahoma Today Magazine, ByLine Magazine, New Plains Review, Pegasus, Potpourri, Voices International and many other publications. She has published three chapbooks, one of which was a finalist in the Oklahoma Book Awards. Audrey retired in 2007 from a thirty-five year banking career as a commercial loan officer. Shortly thereafter, she wrote her memoir The Well which was published in December, 2010.

Friedman is a writer and professional comedian. His first book, Road Comic, was an autobiographical look at his life on the comedy circuit, which he describes as "a raw, funny, pathetic, relentless, and self-glorifying look at how a man shouldn't spend his 30s and 40s." His second book, Funny You Should Mention It, is a collection of essays exploring the cultural zeitgeist of life, love, humor, gun shows, and Winnie Cooper. Barry also provides essays and guest hosts on NPR, and he has written several pieces for Esquire.

Charles Sasser has been a full-time freelance writer/journalist/photographer since 1979. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy (journalist) and U.S. Army (Special Forces, the Green Berets), a combat veteran, and former combat correspondent wounded in action. He also served fourteen years as a police officer (in Miami, Florida, and in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he was a homicide detective). He has taught at universities, lectured nationwide, and traveled extensively throughout the world. He has published over 2,500 articles and short stories in magazines ranging from Guideposts, Parents and Christian Life, Soldier of Fortune, True West, and Writer's Digest. He is author, co-author or contributing author of more than thirty books and novels. His most recent books are A Thousand Years of Darkness and Sanctuary.

Erin York is a writer, editor, and poet with more than forty published poems and several national awards to her credit. She has served on the editorial staff for New Letters and several other literary journals, including Shorelines, The Forum, and Eighteenth Century Theory and Interpretation. She also works as a freelance copyeditor. Erin is an expert on building an author's platform, social media, and publishing short pieces (poetry, short stories, essays). For more information, visit her website: www.wix.com/eywritereditor/erinyork.

J. Madison Davis published his first novel, The Murder of Frau Schütz, in 1988. It was voted one of the five best first mysteries by the Mystery Writers of America and received an Edgar Allan Poe Scroll award. His next book was White Rook, and his third, Bloody Marko, was described as "superb" by the New York Times. He has also published several nonfiction books, including Dick Francis, Conversations with Robertson Davies, Stanislaw Lem: A Reader's Guide, Critical Essays on Edward Albee (with Philip C. Kolin), The Shakespeare Name Dictionary (with A. Daniel Frankforter), and The Novelist’s Essential Guide to Creating Plot.

A veteran novelist, music historian, journalist, scriptwriter, and musician, Wooley’s writing talents have been showcased in virtually every form of entertainment. His distinctive, distinguished literary voice and years of experience have made him not only an outstanding writer but also a insightful writing instructor. His most recent books include the nonfiction history, From Blue Devils to Red Dirt, the beautifully evocative novel Ghost Band, which the Chicago Sun-Times called "a fantastic narrative,” and a biography of Wes Craven.

Zuniga is a nationally touring poet and teaching artist, committed to exciting young people about literature. She performs and teaches in schools throughout the country. She has appeared on the Marianne Williamson show on the Oprah and Friends network (XM radio) and in On the Issues Magazine. She has recently been published in the Lamplighter Review, Pedestal, Muzzle Magazine and the Write Bloody Anthology (“The Good Things About America”). Her first collection of poems, The Nickel Tour, was released in 2009. Her second collection is The Smell of Good Mud.

Odom is the author of over 140 novels. He received the American Library Association's Alex Award in 2002 and was nominated for the Christy in 2005. He also has been inducted into the Professional Writers Hall of Fame. He's written in several genres, including tie-in novels for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Without A Trace, and novelizations of Blade, XXX, and Tomb Raider.

Mason is an editor, writer, and journalist. Mason’s first book, Head Cases: Stories of Brain Injury and Its Aftermath, is an exploration of the harsh realities endured by brain injury survivors. His works have appeared in several newspapers and magazines, including Discover, The New York Times, and The Believer. Mason has also appeared as a guest on several national programs, including the Lehrer Newshour, CBS News, NPR’s Morning Edition and The Diane Rehm Show. In 2010, he founded This Land Press and serves as its editor.

Askew’s essays and short fiction have appeared in a variety of journals, and her story "The Killing Blanket," was selected for Prize Stories 1993: The O. Henry Awards. Askew's first novel, The Mercy Seat, was nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Dublin IMPAC Prize, was a Boston Globe Notable Book, and received the Western Heritage Award in 1998. Fire in Beulah, her novel about the Tulsa Race Riot, received the American Book Award and the Myers Book Award from the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights. She was a 2004 fellow at Civiella Ranieri in Umbertide, Italy, and in 2008 her novel Harpsong received the Western Heritage Award, the Willa Award from Women Writing the West, and the Violet Crown Award from the Writers League of Texas. Askew received the 2011 Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award. Her new novel Kind of Kin will be published by Ecco Press.

Sabrina is the President of Oklahoma City Writers, Inc., one of the leading writing groups in the area. She has also developed an expertise in the use of the Net and social media to create an author platform through blogging, social media, and related activities. She has learned what works and what doesn't the hard way--by trying it all. She also dispenses useful writing advice on her blog, Sabrina's Writing Reflections at www.sabrinafish.blogspot.com.

Savannah Thorne graduated from the University of Iowa where she studied in the Writers' Workshop. She also holds Master's degrees from De Paul University in Chicago and Norwich University in Vermont. Her poetry has appeared in over a dozen literary journals such as Potpourri, The Wisconsin Review, Rhino, Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, The Lyric, Parabola, The Iowa Rag, and The Atlanta Review. She also received a prize for The Missouri Review’s Editor’s Prize contest. Most recently, her poems have appeared in Scholars and Rogues, Handful of Dust, Meadowland, and Extracts. She now serves as managing editor of Conclave: A Journal of Character.

Tharp has been a factory hand, construction laborer, psychiatric aide, long-distance hitchhiker, record store clerk--and has earned an MFA in Writing from Brown University. His first novel, Falling Dark (Milkweed Press), was awarded the Milkweed National Fiction Prize. Knights of the Hill Country (Knopf Books for Young Readers), his first novel for young adults, was on the American Library Association's Best Books of 2007 list. His next YA novel, The Spectacular Now, (Knopf) was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award. His most recent novel, BADD (Knopf, 2011), tells the story of how war affects the family of a returning soldier.

Tom is the author of Veil of the Dragon, a fantasy novel he spent ten years writing and illustrating and the first volume in a planned series, Prophecy of the Evarun. He has also written a prequel novel to the series, Awakening Evarun, published as a six-part illustrated serial for Kindle.

In addition to being the nationally bestselling author of twenty-nine books, Bernhardt founded HAWK Publishing Group in 1999 and began hosting an annual writing workshop in 2005. HAWK, the Workshop, and his nationally renowned small-group writing seminars have educated numerous authors now published by major publishing houses. He holds a Masters Degree in English Literature and is the only writer to have received both the Royden B. Davis Distinguished Author Award (University of Pennsylvania) and the H. Louise Cobb Distinguished Author Award (OSU), which is given "in recognition of an outstanding body of work that has profoundly influenced the way in which we understand ourselves and American society at large." His published books include the acclaimed Ben Kincaid series (from Primary Justice in 1991 to Capitol Betrayal in 2011), Double Jeopardy, The Midnight Before Christmas, Nemesis: The Final Case of Eliot Ness, Dark Eye, two children’s books and two anthologies he edited to raise funds for The Nature Conservancy and The Children’s Legal Defense Fund.