Amy Ettinger writes  for the New York Times, New York Magazine, the Huffington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, Sierra and Backpacker. Her personal essays delve into issues ranging from parenthood, childhood, mortality, creative competition among spouses and growing up on "the other side" of Silicon Valley. She will read a selection from her recent work.

Dan White, a former Steinbeck Fellow, is the author of The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind and Almost Found Myself on the Pacific Crest Trail, published by HarperCollins. The book was an indie bookstore and San Francisco Chronicle bestseller as well as a Los Angeles Times "Discovery" selection. White, who contributes travel stories to the New York Times and other publications, will read from his new, as-yet untitled nonfiction project, which combines family memoir with visual elements, including family artifacts and original artwork.