Faculty

Bethany Jett is a literary agent with the MacGregor & Luedeke Collaborative as well as a multi-award-winning author and a marketing strategist who earned top honors in her master’s program, where she earned her MFA in Communications focusing on Marketing and PR. She was proud to be named the 2025 Military Spouse of the Year for the Florida National Guard and is now also a proud military mama. Life with her college sweetheart husband, their teen sons, and a not-spoiled-at-all Pomeranian is delightfully chaotic in the best way possible. Bethany is open to adult fiction as well as nonfiction and select kidlit. For more information on what she’s looking for, check out her submissions guidelines page on her website: bethanyjett.com.

Larry J. Leech II is a coach and editor of award-winning authors. After his 23-year journalism career, that included covering the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers, ended in 2004, Larry has focused on helping writers through editing, coaching, and ghostwriting. He has edited more than 500 manuscripts, ghostwritten 34 books, and his coaching clients have won more than 100 awards in the last 10 years. Larry is Master Book Coach and Acquisitions Editor for Illumify Media, as well as a frequent speaker at conferences all over the U.S. Learn more about Larry on Facebook, Instagram, or his website, larryleech.com.

Bettie Boswell, president of ACFW Kidlit and Children’s Editor of Mt Zion Ridge Press, loves reading and creating stories. That interest helped her compose musicals for church and school. Eventually she began writing and illustrating books to share with the world. Her interests extend from children’s to adult fiction and non-fiction. Bettie is a retired educator for elementary classrooms and general music from Pre-K to College. She volunteers at the Mazza Museum of picture book art and as a church musician. She has two grown sons, one daughter-in-law, three grandchildren, and a busy minister husband. 

Be grateful in everything—even the bumpy rides is Robin Luftig‘s mantra while either writing, speaking, or leading writing classes. Her first book, God’s Best During Your Worst brought her the 2020 Golden Scroll for Nonfiction and the 2021 Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference Director’s Choice award. Her first novel, Ladies of the Fire, was nominated for the 2021 Selah Award in the First Novel category. Her second novel, Ladies Uncover a Secret, released in 2022, and third of the trilogy, Ladies on a Mission, releases in 2026. Luftig’s also a leader and mentor for Word Weavers International.

Professor Emerita of English at Commonwealth University, Presence assistant editor, and WPSU-FM Poetry Moment host, Marjorie Maddox has published 17 collections of poetry—including Begin with a Question; In the Museum of My Daughter’s Mind; Small Earthly Space; Seeing Things; and Hover Here—plusa story collection, 5 children’s/YA books—including Inside Out: Poems on Writing and Reading Poems with Insider Exercises—and the anthologies Common Wealth: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania and Keystone Poetry (w/Jerry Wemple, PSU Press). Her middle-grade biography, A Man Named Branch: The True Story of Baseball’s Great Experiment, is available from Sunbury Press. www.marjoriemaddox.com

If there’s one thing Heather Kreke believes, it’s that hope belongs—even in the most broken worlds. Her stories blend survival and heartache with a sharp wit that keeps readers laughing, even when the world’s on fire. An award-winning author, writing coach, and editor, she helps other writers bring their stories to life while continuing to build her own. When she’s not writing, she’s likely sipping coffee with cream, cheering on her daughters, or pretending her archery gear is just for “research.” Visit www.heatherkreke.com to discover the hope hidden in the ruins.

Tracy Gerhardt-Cooper is a New Jersey native and veteran high school English teacher. She holds a B.A. in English from Temple University, and MEd. in Curriculum and Instruction: Reading from Grand Canyon University. Gerhardt-Cooper writes short-form nonfiction, poetry, and historical fiction. Her hobbies include traveling, hiking, and cozying up with a cup of Earl Grey tea and a good book. She lives just over the Delaware River from Philadelphia with her husband, children, and a black cat named Inky. Visit her publication, The Writer’s Garden, on Substack at https://substack.com/@tracygcooper

Heather Iseminger is an award-winning freelance author, former educator, and seminary graduate. As a consultant with Brookstone Creative Group, she works to equip authors as they pursue God’s call in publishing. Heather’s deepest passion lies in teaching others biblical truths, equipping them to pursue a radical, Jesus-loving life.

Roberta Gore has taught Theatre and Creative Writing to high schoolers for 44 short years, and directed close to 200 shows. Additionally she directs her own improv company, Memory Lane Playback. She has written a few works of fiction and a memoir about teaching and directing high school theatre. Roberta holds an MFA in Directing and Creative Writing, and most importantly has raised–with her husband Jack–three beautiful children, Hannah, Luke, and Sean. 

From webcasts to television and radio, and from conferences and churches to boardrooms, Dr. Craig von Buseck has been in the public eye for 40 years. As a sought-after keynote speaker, he has taken the stage across America and overseas. Craig is an award-winning, multi-published author. His books include Victor! The Final Battle of Ulysses S. Grant, winner of the Nonfiction Book of the Year with the Christian Market Book Awards; I Am Cyrus: Harry S. Truman and the Rebirth of Israel winner of the Selah Award for Nonfiction, nominated for the Truman Award by the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, and Finalist for the Serious Writer Book of the Decade Award; Telling the Truth: How to Write Narrative Nonfiction and Memoir, Educational Book of the Year with the Christian Market Book Awards; Praying the News, co-written with 700 Club Co-Host Wendy Griffith; and Nobody Knows: The Harry T. Burleigh Story. He holds a Doctor of Ministry and an MA in Journalism from Regent University. Craig has extensive speaking experience and travels often to conferences, professional events, churches, and writer seminars. Learn more at vonbuseck.com.