2027 AWC Instructors
Jess Walter is the author of eleven books, most recently the acclaimed, best-selling novel So Far Gone. His other novels include the #1 New York Times bestseller Beautiful Ruins and the NEA Big Read, The Cold Millions; The Zero, finalist for the National Book Award; and Citizen Vince, winner of the Edgar Award. His short fiction, collected in The Angel of Rome and We Live in Water, has won O. Henry and Pushcart prizes and appeared three times in Best American Short Stories. He has taught creative writing at the Iowa Writers Workshop, Pacific University, and elsewhere, and his work has been published in 34 languages.
Isaac Fitzgerald is the author of back-to-back instant New York Times bestsellers Dirtbag, Massachusetts and American Rambler. He is also the author of the best-selling children’s book How to Be a Pirate and the co-author of Pen & Ink: Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them and Knives & Ink: Chefs and the Stories Behind Their Tattoos. Fitzgerald has won a New England Book Award, the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Book of the Year Award, and an IACP Award. He appears frequently on The Today Show, and his writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Esquire, GQ, The Guardian, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, and numerous other publications. He lives with his wife, Kelly Farber, and their two dogs on the North Fork of Long Island.
Jo Piazza is the national and international best-selling author of fourteen books including The Parisian Heist, Everyone Is Lying to You, The Sicilian Inheritance, Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win, The Knockoff, and the memoir How to Be Married; with Christine Pride she co-wrote the Good Morning America Book Club pick We Are Not Like Them and the forthcoming I Never Knew You At All. Her work has been published in ten languages in twelve countries, and four of her books have been optioned for film and television. She hosts the podcast Under the Influence and writes the newsletter Over the Influence. A former editor, columnist, and travel writer, she has reported for the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, New York magazine, and Elle. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, Nick Aster, and three feral children.
Kristin Vuković is the founder of Adriatic Writers Conference, the first literary conference of its kind in Croatia. Her award-winning debut novel, The Cheesemaker’s Daughter, was published in Summer 2024. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, BBC Travel, Travel + Leisure, Virtuoso, AFAR, Public Books, and Electric Literature, among others. She received the 2024 Rising Star Award in Arts and Culture from the Association of Croatian American Professionals, and two Golden Pen awards for her writing about Croatia from the Croatian National Tourist Board, most recently in May 2024. She holds a BA and MFA from Columbia University, and has taught creative writing at Columbia’s summer program and Sackett Street Writers’ Workshop. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.
Abby Walters joined the David Black Literary Agency in 2026 after nearly a decade of experience in book publishing and talent representation at Creative Artists Agency. Since her promotion to literary agent in 2020, her authors have appeared on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller lists and received Read with Jenna, Barnes & Noble Discover, and Indie Next picks, as well as starred reviews in Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. Raised in Cleveland, Abby earned her B.A. in English from Miami University of Ohio where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She is also a graduate of the Columbia Publishing Course. She currently lives in Brooklyn and is a voracious consumer of culture in all its forms.
Lidija Hilje is the author of the USA Today and internationally bestselling novel Slanting Towards the Sea, translated into six languages. A former lawyer, she spent a decade practicing in Croatian courts before becoming a certified book coach and turning to writing. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Literary Hub, Electric Literature, and other publications. She lives in Zadar, Croatia, with her husband and two daughters.
Past Instructors
Andrea Bartz is a journalist and the New York Times bestselling author of five novels, including We Were Never Here, a Reese’s Book Club pick, and Delete Your Account, a speculative AI thriller scheduled for publication in May 2027. Her books have been optioned by Netflix, Hulu, and other production companies, and more than half a million copies have been sold worldwide. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Marie Claire, Vogue, and many other outlets, and she’s held editorial positions at Glamour, Psychology Today, and Self, among other publications. She was also a lead plaintiff in the landmark class-action lawsuit Bartz v. Anthropic, which was the first major win for creatives against an AI company as well as the largest copyright recovery in history. She lives with her girlfriend and pets in Brooklyn and the Hudson Valley.
Sheila Yasmin Marikar is the author of the novels Incidentals, Friends in Napa, and The Goddess Effect. Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Economist, Fortune, Bloomberg Businessweek, Vogue, and many other publications. Her New York Times Magazine profile of the chef Gaggan Anand was selected for the 2021 edition of Best American Food Writing. Sheila began her career at ABC News. A native of New Jersey, she is a graduate of Cornell University, where she studied history. She lives in Los Angeles.