J.R. Bale is the author of the political thriller, Phoenix in the Middle of the Road, an Amazon five-star bestseller, as well as his science fiction novels, Cognition Chronicles: The Redstone Legacy and Cognition Chronicles: Destiny’s Orphans. When not writing fiction, J.R. is a professor at several New Jersey colleges, a marketing consultant, and a resident of New Providence.
You can visit J.R.’s website at www.jrbale.com.
Dawn M. Barclay is an award-winning author who writes psychological and romantic suspense as D.M. Barr, non-fiction under her own name, and edits crime fiction anthologies. Her eight published books include Expired Listings, Murder Worth the Weight, and Saving Grace: A Psychological Thriller. Her newest thriller, Deadly When Disturbed, was released by Level Best Books in January 2025. LBB also published the first two of her upcoming multi-volume series, Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover’s Travel Guide.
Lear more by visiting www.dmbarr.com.
Michelle Cameron is the author of Jewish historical fiction, her most recent being Napoleon’s Mirage, the sequel to Beyond the Ghetto Gates. Previous work includes Babylon: A Novel of Jewish Captivity, winner of the Gold Medal in the Flaubert Ancient World category in the Historical Fiction Company’s 2024 Book of the Year contest and a finalist in religious fiction in the 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, the award-winning Beyond the Ghetto Gates and The Fruit of Her Hands: the story of Shira of Ashkenaz. Michelle is a director of The Writers Circle, a NJ-based creative writing program serving children, teens, and adults. She lives in Chatham, NJ, with her husband and has two grown sons of whom she is inordinately proud.
Learn more about Michelle at www.michelle-cameron.com.
Michael Stephen Daigle was an award-winning journalist for more than four decades, including 30 years in New Jersey. He is the author of the award-winning Frank Nagler Mystery series: The Swamps of Jersey (2024), A Game Called Dead (2024), The Weight of Living (2025), The Red Hand (2025) and Dragony Rising (2024). Michael lives in New Jersey with his family.
Visit Michael’s website at www.michaelstephendaigle.com.
Ted Delgrosso is a lifelong resident of New Jersey. He has been retired since 2023 from a career at The Home Depot and is now a published author. His experiences from the Boy Scouts, martial arts, a four year Navy tour and extensive travel gives him many sources for his short story collections. Join him in his Ted’s Tales series for stories of imagination, adventure and mystery. Something for everyone.
Learn more about Ted at www.teddelgrossoauthor.com.
Susen Edwards recently published her 1960s coming-of-age novel, What a Trip. She previously published her children’s book, Dr. Whisper and Nurse Willow.
Lear more by visiting www.susenedwardsauthor.com.
Elle Hartford is author of the award-winning Alchemical Tales series, blending cozy mystery with cozy fantasy. She has also published several spin-off series and short stories in numerous anthologies. Check out her podcast, Cozy Alchemy, and find her indie publishing blog at ellehartford.substack.com.
Learn more at www.ellehartford.com.
Kim Sullivan Harwanko’s passion for books and reading has shaped both her professional and personal life. Kim currently serves as Program Coordinator for the Chester Library, where she develops engaging events, author talks, and community programs that inspire readers of all ages.
In addition to her library work, Kim writes for local newspapers and businesses while also pursuing her own fiction projects, including a historical novel in progress. Her love for reading inspired her to start a book club in February 2004, giving members a place to share and discuss the wonderful books they read. Years later, during a meeting, the group noticed a lack of representation of older women in fiction. Instead of simply lamenting it, they decided to take action. Five members joined forces to write Novel Women, a fictional story about acceptance, friendship, and love.
As “women of a certain age,” Kim’s book club members understood the unique challenges and opportunities that come with this stage of life. They meet it with wisdom, resilience, strength, love, and – yes – passion. Learn more at www.kimharwanko.com
Tom Kranz is a Philadelphia native whose 40-year career in journalism includes radio, television, print and online platforms. He holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Temple University. Tom has written eight books including Liveshot, his first-person account of his experience covering the disastrous 1985 MOVE conflict in West Philadelphia. He’s also written seven novels. He resides in New Jersey where he writes, hosts a podcast on creativity and does freelance communications work.
Learn more at www.tomkranzkbooks.com.
Elissa Matthews is the author of Where the River Bends, a historical fiction taking place in 1931, a time of social, financial and racial chaos. She has also written a collection of short stories entitled, Bittersweet and Magic.
Visit Elissa’s website at www.epmatthews.com.
Michael Penncavage’s story, The Cost of Doing Business, originally appeared in Thuglit, won the Derringer Award for best mystery. One of his stories, The Converts was filmed as a short movie, while another, The Landlord was adapted into a play. His debut novel, Person Unknown, adapted from the screenplay, was also recently released from All Due Respect Press.
Fiction of his can be found in over 100 magazines and anthologies from 7 different countries such as Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine (USA), Here and Now (England), Tenebres (France) Crime Factory (Australia), Reaktor (Estonia), Speculative Mystery (South Africa), and Visionarium (Austria). He has been published by IDW and Ahoy Comics.
Sue Steinhardt is the author of the “Imperfect Phil” series. She is veteran English teacher. “Phil” is her lovable dog who will also be attending the festival.
Learn more about Sue and Phil at www.ImperfectPhil.com.
Danielle Willmott published her first book Sampson the Square in September 2024. This book deals with divorce, bullying, social/emotional learning and the true meaning of family while also teaching the beginning foundation of Geometry. She hopes to publish more books that tackle different emotions that children experience as well as include mathematical content. Her call to action is to take away the fear of math. Danielle is focused on making math more approachable and not so much “the bad guy” in a child’s educational career. When she is not teaching, Danielle enjoys walking her dog, Sweet Pea and spending time with her family.
Learn more about Danielle at www.daniellewillmott.com
New Providence Book Festival 