Steve Almond is the author of twelve books of fiction and nonfiction, including the New York Times bestsellers Candyfreak and Against Football. Steve’s most recent book, Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow, was lauded as “essential and timeless” by Cheryl Strayed. His short stories have been anthologized in the Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize, Best American Erotica, and Best American Mysteries series.

Jabari Asim is the Distinguished Professor of Multidisciplinary Letters at Emerson College, where he is also the Elma Lewis Distinguished Fellow in Social Justice. His work has been included in Best American Poetry and Best American Essays. A Guggenheim Fellow, he is the author of 14 books for children and 8 books for adults, including Yonder, a novel named a New York Times Notable Book in 2022.

Lorri Berenberg opened the Berenberg Gallery after completing a twenty–five year career in museum education. As associate director of education at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston she developed some of the museum's most popular and innovative programs.

Shot At Love: A Celebrity Photographer's Unfiltered Lens on Dating and Finding Love. Author of Boston, Inspirational Women

Author, Winner of the Annie Dillard Prize for Non-Fiction 2025

Author, St. Martin's Press 

New England-based author of The Last Beekeeper, longlisted for the Massachusetts Book Award, and Waiting for the Night Song.

Author, restaurateur, owner of Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse

Literary Performer, actor & educator, Regie Gibson, has lectured & performed in the U.S., Cuba & Europe. He is the recipient of the Absolute Poetry Award in Monfalcone, the Europa in Versi Award, the Mass Cultural Council Poetry Award, and is a Brother Thomas Fellow. He performs regularly with Atlas Soul: a world music ensemble & Shakespeare to Hip-Hop.

Christine wrote this fictional depiction of her life, Walk Beside Me, in 2016, which became an Amazon bestseller and is now a movie, Hello Beautiful. Christine is an Author, Motivational speaker, Humanitarian, and breast cancer survivor.

Committee Member

Known as “The Queen of Beach Reads,” having written more than 30 novels. Her 2023 bestseller, “The Five-Star Weekend,”is now being adapted into a Peacock series, while she promotes her upcoming novel, “The Academy.”After wrapping up the Netflix miniseries adaptation of her novel, The Perfect Couple.

Gish Jen's work has been included in The Best American Short Stories five times, including in The Best American Short Stories of the Century. A fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, her short work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times, and many anthologies. Bad Bad Girl  is her tenth book.

New York Times bestselling author of The Lion Women of Tehran, an instant national bestseller, The Stationery Shop, a national and international bestseller, and Together Tea, a Massachusetts Book Award finalist.

New York Times bestselling author of the novels Mercury, The Flight of Gemma Hardy, The House on Fortune Street, Banishing Verona, Eva Moves the Furniture, The Missing World, Criminals, and Homework. Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, Vogue, and the Atlantic, and she is the recipient of grants from both the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. 

Terrie Perella is a marketing, business development and communications leader, experienced at delivering brand awareness, marketing innovation, and strategic plans across multiple organizations and industries, from start-ups to global firms. An avid reader and life-long learner, Terrie has been a Grubbie since 2020. She joined GrubStreet’s board of directors in June 2025, and is honored to be a member of the Lit Up Literary Host Committee.

Tom Perrotta is the bestselling author of nine works of fiction, including Election and Little Children, both of which were made into Oscar-nominated films, and The Leftovers, which was adapted into a critically acclaimed, Peabody Award-winning HBO series. His other books include Bad Haircut, The Wishbones, Joe College, The Abstinence Teacher, Nine Inches,and his newest, Mrs. Fletcher. His work has been translated into a multitude of languages.

Deborah L. Plummer, PhD, is the Founder/Executive Director of Getting to We, Inc., a nonprofit that develops and promotes charitable initiatives and educational projects that turn us and them into we, especially in high-conflict, emotionally charged social issues. Her work and writings include Some of My Friends Are…The Daunting Challenges and Untapped Benefits of Cross-Racial Friendships and Advancing Inclusion: A Guide to Effective Diversity Council and Employee Resource Group Membership.

Author, Manuscript Consultant. Katherine Sherbrooke is the author of Leaving Coy's Hill, a New York Times notable book, and the winner of Honors in Fiction from the MA Book Awards, and Fill the Sky, a finalist for the May Sarton Prize for contemporary fiction and the winner of an Indie Book of the Year award. Her first book is a family memoir called Finding Home. She embarked on the writing journey with the help of GrubStreet.

Board Member, GrubStreet. Advanced Leadership Initiative Partner at Harvard. Ms. Taylor is a writer and supporter of youth writing programs, and previously was a banker for Citibank, Bank of Hawaii, CoreStates, and BancOne.

Michelle’s GrubStreet story began in the toilet paper factory with Eve and grew into 14 years on the board, including as co-chair. Now based in the UK, she runs True Story London—live shows, workshops, and a podcast—and comes home to Boston to co-produce Stories & (stories + music, Oct 23) with Eve and the team.

Rob Wilstein is a 2012 graduate of Grub Street’s Novel Incubator program. He is currently working on a third novel, a family saga set on Martha’s Vineyard.

Karen Winn is the author of two novels, The Society (coming 2026) and Our Little World, published by Dutton/Penguin Random House.