This event will be livestreamed and availa ble for future viewing. Watch it here &rarr\;
\n+ A. J. Eversole \;grew up in rural Oklahoma\, where wide open spa ces fueled her imagination and a lifelong love of stories. An enrolled mem ber of the Cherokee Nation\, she writes across adult and children&rsquo\;s literature\, from stories centering Cherokee identity and cultural reclam ation to fantasy\, speculative fiction\, and narratives of everyday courag e.
\nHer work appears in Legendary Frybread Drive-In (Heartdrum/Harp erCollins)\, a Michael L. Printz Award&ndash\;winning anthology\, Beyond t he Glittering World (Torrey House Press)\, and Never Whistle at Night Part II (Vintage\, 2026). Through her fiction\, Eversole centers Native voices and futures while honoring the living presence of tradition\, community\, and story. In addition to her creative work\, she reports on Native voice s in literature for Cynsations. She lives and writes in Oklahoma. Find her on social media @ajeversole.
\n+ Kate Hart (Moderator) \;is the author of A fter the Fall\, a young adult novel chosen by the Arkansas Center for the Book as a 2017 Arkansas Gem. She has also contributed to many anthologies\ , including Legendary Frybread Drive-In\, winner of the 2026 Michael L. Pr intz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature\, the Odyssey Honor Aw ard for Excellence in Audiobook Production\, &\; the American Indian Yo uth Literature Award for Best Young Adult Book\; Never Whistle At Night\, a national bestseller nominated for the Shirley Jackson award\, the Bram S toker award\, and the Locus award\; and young adult collections Out Now\, Body Talk\, Toil and Trouble\, and Hope Nation.
\nBefore becoming a writer\, Kate earned degrees in Spanish and history at Hendrix College\, t aught preschool and middle school\, and wrote grants for a local nonprofit . She helped run YA Highway\, a three-time pick for Writer's Digest's "101 Best Websites for Writers\,&rdquo\; and has appeared at conferences and f estivals across the country\, including YALLWEST\, Imanoli Writing Confere nce\, North Texas Teen Book Fair\, Arkansas Association of Instructional M edia\, Chicago Young Adult Book Festival\, and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
\nBorn in Oklahoma and raised in Arkansas\, Kate is a ci tizen of the Chickasaw Nation with Choctaw heritage and an alumnus member of the Tulsa chapter of Matriarch. She lives on a mountainside outside of Fayetteville\, where she also creates beadwork as Kate Hart Studio and co- owns Natural State Treehouses with her spouse. Her literary work is repres ented by Alexandra Levick at Writers House. You can find her at katehart.net \;and instagram.com/katehartbooks.
\n+ Stacy Wells \;likes to read. A lot. So much so\, h er husband and children must constantly remind her of their names and posi tions in the family (she has a habit of confusing them with literary chara cters). Anne of Green Gables sparked a love of reading that hasn&rsquo\;t let up since third grade. You see\, she saw pieces of herself reflected in Anne&rsquo\;s often-misunderstood character&mdash\;not to mention her stu bborn\, passionate\, and loyal-to-a-fault nature. Due to her love of readi ng\, Stacy also grew to love writing. A lot. Since she was always lost in a book\, she thought to get lost in her own stories too. Her debut picture book\, STRONGER THAN co-authored with Nikki Grimes and illustrated by E.B . Lewis (Heartdrum\, 2026) is available wherever books are sold.
\nS tacy is a member of the Choctaw Nation\, and a children&rsquo\;s librarian . When not reading or writing (or recommending books)\, she lives life to the fullest in North Texas with her family\, which includes a red dog name d Blu and two very adorable but very mischievous ferrets.
\nFor disability accommodations\, call 479.856.7250 or email \;questions@faylib.org&nbs p\;2-3 weekdays before a program. Plan your visit by viewing our building map&nbs p\;and details on accessibility s ervices.
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