Past Forward

Award-winning journalist Kenji G. Taguma is the founding president of the Nichi Bei Foundation. As the Nichi Bei Times was closing in the summer of 2009, he led the movement to launch the first nonprofit ethnic community newspaper of its kind in the country. Currently, Kenji serves as the President of the Foundation, the Editor-in-Chief of the Nichi Bei Weekly, and Executive Producer of Films of R...

Dr. Cameron McCoy is a native of Washington, D.C. and is currently an assistant professor of U.S. Diplomatic and Military history at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA). His focus of research is 20th and 21st century military and diplomatic history as well as the race relations the American military. Before arriving at USAFA the fall of 2019, Dr. McCoy was an assistant professor of U.S. Hi...

Jimmie C. Gardner was a rising professional baseball player when he was wrongly incarcerated in 1990. While in prison, Gardner continued to pursue his education, earning three Associates Degrees and numerous certificates. He taught himself the law and worked tirelessly to secure his freedom, while serving as a representative for other prisoners during legal proceedings. He spent 27 years in jail b...

Jane P. Perry is a retired Researcher Teacher from UC Berkeley's Child Study Center. Since sheltering in place, Jane has interviewed with Paula Whitacre, appeared in Hidden Timber Books Small Press Author Reading Series, and has published in Persimmon Tree, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Women Writers, Women's Books and The Oaklandside. White Snake Diary: Exploring Self-Inscribers Atmosphere Press...

Heidi Turner is a writer and musician from Maui, Hawaii who writes in the in-between space of grace and disaster. She earned an MA in English from Azusa Pacific University and is now pursuing an MFA in Fiction from the University of New Hampshire. The Sacred Art of Trespassing Barefoot Heritage Future, 2019 A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic....

Larry Oda was born in a Justice Department Internment Camp in Crystal City, Texas during World War II and lives in Monterey, California.  He was educated in Monterey City Schools and earned his Bachelor’s and Master's degrees from California State University, Fresno. Larry is Chair Emeritus of the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation and served two terms as the National President of the...

Stephanie Harper is the author of Wesley Yorstead Goes Outside (Propertius Press, 2020), as well as a poetry collection entitled Sermon Series (Finishing Line Press, 2017). She writes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Wesley Yorstead Goes Outside Propertius Press, 2020 A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a p...

Nick Olson is an author and editor from Chicagoland now living in North Carolina. He was a finalist for Glimmer Train’s Very Short Fiction Award, and he’s been published in SmokeLong Quarterly, Hobart, decomP, and other fine places. His debut novel, Here’s Waldo, is available now. Here's Waldo Atmosphere Press, 2020 A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the...

Ivan Forde works across printmaking, sound, and installation. Ivan's training in English literature and epic poetry guides the themes he explores in his visual art practice such as migration and memory. Awards, and Fellowships include the 2020 Emerging Artist Award Baxter Street Camera Club, Civitella Ranieri Fellowship 2019, The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans class of 2017, ACR...

Philip Brunetti has been writing fiction and poetry since his early 20s. His innovative work has been published in various literary journals including Cobalt, The Boiler, The Wax Paper, and Identity Theory. He lives in Brooklyn and currently works as a librarian. Newer Testaments is his first published novel. Newer Testaments Atmosphere Press, 2020 A World Without Books was created to help writers...

Susannah Rodríguez Drissi is an award-winning writer, poet, playwright, translator, and scholar. Her work has appeared in Publisher’s Weekly, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Miami Herald, Nuevo Herald, Literal Magazine, and elsewhere. She is the author of The Latin Poet’s Guide to the Cosmos (Floricanto Press, 2019) and the award-winning plays Houses Without Walls, Rey y Atenea, and Hola, Soledad...

Eddy Boudel Tan is the author of two novels, After Elias (Fall 2020) and The Rebellious Tide (Summer 2021). His work depicts a world much like our own — the heroes are flawed, truth is distorted, and there is as much hope as there is heartbreak. ​ After Elias Dundurn, 2020 A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides author...

Janet Stilson lives in 2 worlds. On one hand, she is a journalist. On the other, she writes scripts, novels and short stories that largely fall in the grounded sci-fi and fantasy genres and illuminate the human condition in provocative ways. She lives in New York with her husband and two opinionated cats. The Juice Dragon Moon Press, 2021 A World Without Books was created to help writers connect w...

Angelica J. Allen is an Assistant Professor and Co-director of Africana Studies at Chapman University. She received her Ph. D. in African and African Diaspora Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and holds an MA in Africana Studies from New York University. Her book project is titled, “Afro-Amerasians: Blackness in the Philippine Imaginary,” which explores a community in the Philippines...

Mimi Nicklin is a keynote speaker and empathetic leader. She's the author of a new book about empathetic influence, Softening the Edge: How Humanity's Oldest Leadership Trait Is Changing Our World. She has been featured on NBC, Forbes, and TechRepublic. Softening the Edge The DreamWork Collection, 2020 A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This...

Jacqueline Olive is an independent filmmaker and immersive media producer with more than fifteen years of experience in journalism and film. Her debut feature documentary, Always in Season , premiered in competition at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was awarded the Special Jury Prize for Moral Urgency. Always in Season has received nominations for Best Writing from IDA Documentary Awards 2019...

Lainey Cameron is a recovering tech industry executive. Her award-winning novel, The Exit Strategy, a #1 Amazon Best Seller, was inspired by a decade of being the only woman in the corporate boardroom. It's been called a "rallying call for women to believe in themselves and join together”. The Exit Strategy The Wild Rose Press, 2020 A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with re...

Suman Mallick 's debut novel, The Black-Marketer's Daughter, was shortlisted for the Disquiet Open Borders Book Prize. Mallick serves as Assistant Managing Editor of the literary magazine, Under the Gum Tree. He received his MFA from Portland State University. He lives in Texas with his beloved daughter and dog. The Black-Marketer's Daughter Atmosphere Press, 2020 A World Without Books was created...

Joost Douma studied classical Latin and Greek in high school and history and philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. He is the founder of the Dutch National Science Center, NeMo, in Amsterdam. His extensive research for Betrayal of a Republic was conducted over a nine-year period, at relevant sites including Spain, Italy, and Turkey. Betrayal of a Republic: Memoirs of a Roman Matrona Histria Bo...

Stephanie Nitahara is the Executive Director of Kizuna, a Nikkei youth organization with the mission of building a community for the next generation of leaders through education, empowerment and engagement. She was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs and following her passion for Nikkei community programming moved to Los Angeles in 2012 to work for the Japanese American Citizens League. She wor...

Wisa Uemura is the Executive Director with San Jose Taiko. In her 22 years with San Jose Taiko, Wisa has served as Performer, Artistic Staff, General Manager and in July 2011 Wisa succeeded its founder to lead the organization as Executive Director. Recognized as a leader within her field, Wisa has presented on taiko, succession planning, organizational culture and communications, nonprofit fundra...

David Read is the Executive Director of Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture in Marysville, California. A long-time champion for the arts and well-known community leader, David has brought his experience in marketing, finance and program management to the organization.  He has been actively involved for nine years as a volunteer, board member and President before being hired to serve as Executive Director i...

Thomas Bazar is the author of the novel, An Expectation of Plenty, recently published by Atmosphere Press and the plays Momo & Toto and Maximus O.; recently staged by A Band of Actors (A Band of Actors). His recent poems have been published by Lucky Jefferson. An Expectation of Plenty Atmosphere Press, 2020 A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic....

Kristina Moriconi is a poet, essayist, and visual artist whose work has appeared in Brevity, Cobalt Review, Lumina, Literary Mama, and elsewhere. She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and two dogs. Her book, In the Cloakroom of Proper Musings: A Lyric Narrative, was published in August 2020. In the Cloakroom of Proper Musings: A Lyric Narrative Atmosphere Press, 2020 A World Without Books was c...

Rhiannon Garrard is a criminology and policing student who broke out into literature with a paranormal murder mystery. Her books combine her favourite things in life: martial arts, policing and fantastical horror. Rhiannon is a huge fan of Gothic and sci-fi horror books, with horror classics like Frankenstein and Lovecraft's stories being a large influence on her work. She is currently a student w...