Dr. Brené Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston and visiting professor at The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business, has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. She is the author of five #1 New York Times bestsellers, most recently Dare to Lead, and the host of the Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead podcasts.

Business owner at Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia, as well as a patient advocate/content creator under the moniker “The Migraine Girl." Janet is a public speaker, writer, and frequent podcast/radio show contributor for numerous outlets, including iHeartMedia and NPR.

A two-time National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author of The Monsters of Templeton, Arcadia, and Fates and Furies, as well as the short story collections Florida and Delicate Edible Birds.

The author of Pulitzer Prize-winner The Sympathizer, the short story collection The Refugees, the National Book Award finalist nonfiction book Nothing Ever Dies, and editor of an anthology of refugee writing, The Displaced.

A buyer at Changing Hands Bookstore after 10 years at Penguin Random House, and now a member of ABA’s Board, ABA’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee and the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association board.