2025 LitFest Schedule

Friday | Sept. 26, 2025

Lori Ostlund Keynote Reading & Address

7:00pm @ the El Capitan Courtyard

LitFest Organizers Samantha Tetangco Ocena & Brigitte Bowers welcome you to the 2nd Annual Merced LitFest with a reading and conversation with award-winning writer and editor, Lori Ostlund. 

Lori's books & writerly merch will be sold in partnership with beloved Modesto Independent Bookstore Bookish. 

About Our Keynote Speaker

Lori Ostlund’s novel After the Parade (Scribner 2015) was a New York Times Editors’ Choice, a Barnes & Noble Discover pick and a finalist for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and the Ferro-Grumley Award. Her story collection, The Bigness of the World, won the 2008 Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, the California Book Award for First Fiction, and the Edmund White Debut Fiction Award, and was a Lambda Finalist. Her third book, entitled Are You Happy?, was published by Astra House in May 2025. The final story in the collection, “Just Another Family,” appeared in the the 2024 Best American Short Stories (Mariner, October 2024) and will appear in The Best Short Stories 2025: The O.Henry Prize Winners (Vintage, September 2025). 

Lori’s work has appeared in the Best American Short Stories and the PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories as well as in ZYZZYVA, The Kenyon Review, New England Review, and other journals. Lori has received a Rona Jaffe Foundation Award and a fellowship to the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and was a finalist for the 2017 Joyce Carol Oates Prize. She has been a teacher for over twenty-five years in New Mexico, Spain, Malaysia, and North Carolina and was on the Mile-High MFA faculty at Regis University in Denver from 2016-2023. She is the series editor of the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction and a board member of the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, which supports feminist women in the arts. She lives in San Francisco with her wife, the writer Anne Raeff, and their cat Oscar. She is currently at work on a novel entitled The Proprietresses, based on the years that she and her wife owned a furniture store in Albuquerque. 

Saturday | September 27, 2025

Local Author Fair

10:00-12:00pm

Merced County Library hosts this year's Local Author's Fair from 10am-12:00pm. 

100 O St, Merced, CA 95340

Merced LitFest Full Description of Events

1:00pm-1:45pm

2:00pm-2:45pm

3:00pm-3:45pm

4:00pm-4:45pm

5:00pm

The LitFest Unofficial Afterparty

Celebrate with fellow LitFest participants at our unofficial afterparty.

Tioga Sequoia Brewing Co | 1707 N Street, Merced, CA 95340 

Author Bios (Alphabetical by first name)

A. A. Jeffery is an attorney and educator who splits time between Northern California and Mason County, Washington. Her background includes teaching students at all levels from Kindergarten to college. She wrote for several years as a columnist in the Sunday Morning News in her hometown. An Oakland, California native, Jeffery began to write illustrated stories while she was a student at U.C. Berkeley. She later authored a story for a class assignment at Vanderbilt University Law School that became known by fellow classmates as ”Tiger Kiss.” Jeffery enjoys learning foreign languages, playing piano and spending time with family and friends.

A.D.Hoyt has been writing poetry since the early 1990’s and has published over 5 chapbooks of free-verse that speak to life in California in the modern age. They see poetry as a tool not only for self-expression and communication but also as a critical means of engaging in social struggle and solidarity.

Analee Munoz Luna: I am a third-year student at UC Merced, majoring in Writing Studies. I have written poetry, non-fiction, and getting into fiction. I am currently working on a poetry collection that is about love and sexuality.

Angela Chaidez Vincent has a background of livelihoods in engineering, mathematics, and programming. Her debut poetry collection ARENA GLOW (Tourane Press) features poems about women with a daredevil oblique. Appearing in Oxford Review of Books, North American Review, and 32 Poems, among others, Angela lives and writes in Fresno, California.

Anne F. Walker completed doctoral work at UC Berkeley in American Urban Poetics after beginning her poetry career in Toronto. She teaches writing at San José State University and her new poetry collection, Ink and Ink and Flesh and Length (https://blackspringpressgroup.com/products/ink-and-ink-and-flesh-and-length) is in hand summer 2025.

Annie Mack is a Native Mercedian, graduate of Merced High School and frequent flier at Merced College. Former teacher of English, history, creative writing, journalism; creativity coach residing in Stockton. Author of Bad*ss Pix with a Cheap-*ss Camera and Whatta You Lookin’ At; award-winning photoartist.

Aurora Maciel is an indigenous woman, who is the mother of four beautiful children, who is the survivor of childhood trauma and domestic violence, and addiction on a path of reclaiming her identity and wholeness.

Benjamin Matthew Sanchez is a half-blind, self-taught artist. A poet and published writer, he is inspired by several Instagram poets who support his journey. He writes and sketches art at the edges of blank space. Selected works are featured with poetry communities, including Glass of Mead, Cosmos Writers, and PoetrySupportbyBT.

Brian Mom lives in Stockton, California with his wife Carol. Between them, they have seven children, and twelve grandchildren. Brian spent over thirty years in the wine and spirits industry. He returned to college near the turn of the century to complete his undergraduate degree and then earned a graduate degree in Business Administration. That led him to his early adulthood passion for teaching.  He taught Business at Sacramento City College since 2005. He was hired as full-time tenure track in 2014, earning tenure in 2018, and finally retiring in December 2021. Outside of work, Brian enjoys being a foodie, writing, pencil drawing, gardening, and the company of his family and friends.

Brigitte Bowers

Cecilia Maduena-Young: As a passionate educator with a deep-rooted love for learning, my journey to becoming an author was inspired by my experience as a STEM teacher. Witnessing the spark of curiosity in my students ignited my desire to create engaging STEM resources that could foster their love for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Christa Fraser is a lecturer with the Merritt Writing Program at UC Merced. She is currently working on a Gold Rush novel and a speculative fiction short story collection. She calls the San Joaquin Valley and adjacent foothills, where she has deep roots and many connections, her home.

D.B. Clifton: I am a Vietnam War veteran and Postal Service retiree with a lifelong love of both reading and writing. A recurring theme in my writing is the importance of choice. Of how a supposedly small decision can make a huge difference in one's life.

Dawn Trook is a storyteller and story guide. As a multidisciplinary artist, her works include performance art, theater, stand up comedy, poetry, and visual art. As a story guide, she helps students collect stories from community, histories, their own bodies and imaginations as sources for creative work.

Derek S Merrill is a Senior Continuing Lecturer in the Merritt Writing Program at UC Merced.

Eli Painted Crow:  Eli The founder of Turtle Women Rising, Co-Founder of Service Women Action Network a national women's military service organization assisting in Military Sexual Trauma for service members and veterans, a ceremonialist and an author. A book created for healing the four aspects of ourselves using indigenous and western healing practices.

Gabriel Reynoso is a Merced College Rising Scholars at Valley State Prison. 

GakMun Cho Jones is a queer disabled trans artist and writer. They write poetry, spoken word, a former SPED teacher, and currently writing a sci-fi titled ‘To Be Human.’ They founded Art is Life, and works with  local non-profits teaching free art sessions. Leads a writing group and art events.

Genesis Iniguez-Espinoza is a third year UC Merced student majoring in Writing Studies. The piece that she will read will be published in the Vernal Pool Journal from UC Merced.

Grace Wiseman is a youth poet based out of Visalia. She is a member of the Loud Mouth Poetry Jam's 2025 Slam Team.

Guy Erb is a Merced College Rising Scholars at Valley State Prison

Helen Sandoval is a Continuing Lecturer in the Merritt Writing Program at the University of California, Merced, a mother, and a Chicana Feminist. She has presented her research at both regional and national conferences, including the UC Writing Conference, Young Rhetorician’s Conference, CCCC, and RSA.

Ileisha Sanders: Hailing from California's Central Valley, Ileisha brings forth stories of the human condition through poignant poetry, captivating short stories, and thought-provoking stage plays. Since she discovered the magic of storytelling, she has not been able to stop and hopes her musings invoke inspiration to make the world a better place.

James McCaw is a high-school student pursuing all aspects of writing, and very passionate about the art. He hopes to both inspire and horrify with his writing, which can often delve into the occult and obscure, but also the inherent light inside of us all.

Jessica Gillis has been writing ever since she could hold a pencil. Writing is a necessity in her life. Writing is where she is truly herself.

Katelynn Bishop (she/her) is a writer, mother, and sociology professor at Merced College. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Streetcake Magazine, Rappahannock Review, Literary Mama, and Allium.

La’Tasha Perez, a Diné (Navajo) author and advocate, explores resilience and healing in her book Morbid Beauty. A domestic abuse survivor Mother/Grandmother and Financial Professional, she empowers communities through storytelling and financial literacy, blending cultural identity with personal experience to inspire, educate, and uplift others.

LadyK is a spoken word artist based out of Fresno. She is the 2025 Loud Mouth Grand Slam Champion and member of the 2025 Slam Team.

Lena Mubsutina is the author of Amreekiya, an Arab American Book Award winner, a finalist for the Louise Meriwether First Book Prize, and one of Foreword’s “Four Phenomenal Debut Novels.” Her work has appeared in Sukoon, A Gathering Together, and The Offing, among others, and received two Pushcart Prize nominations.

Logan Swank is a Merced College Rising Scholars at Valley State Prison 

Lorena Alvarado

Mai-Linh Hong

Mariana Abuan has been teaching writing at UC Merced since 2012.

Matt Abraham: Awarded Pulp Detective's Best Newcomer of 2015, Matt Abraham currently lives in Stockton, California where he splits his time between being a father, husband, and author. Currently he's finishing his series, The Northland Mysteries which is set in Stockton and stars Detective Jake Carter and his partner Dr. Nafissa Rayan.

Michael Jasso: Poet, Coordinator, Coach, Emcee, and Central Valley Grand Slam Champion; Michael Jasso has worn many hats within his 15+ years in the spoken word community. He is the founder of Visalia's Monthly Loud Mouth Poetry Jam

Michelle Morgante Del Rio is a writer whose works explore her upbringing in the San Joaquin Valley. A recovering journalist, Michelle is pursuing her Master of Fine Arts in bilingual creative writing at the University of Texas, El Paso. She was selected for the 2025 PEN America Emerging Voices cohort in Los Angeles. Her short stories have appeared in Kelp Journal, The Catalyst of UC Santa Barbara and the Merced River Literary Review.

Mireya Contreras Torres

Patricia Zamora:  PAZ is the Founder of 7GEN ArtHouse in Livingston, CA and a visual artist and Circle Keeper. 7GEN is dedicated to creating thriving, accessible, inclusive, artistic, cultural, and creative spaces, programs, and practices with family and community that inspire and grow self-empowerment toward individual and collective liberation. 7GEN is a cohort member of Community Vision’s 2025 CalCORE Statewide Initiative.

Paul Gibbons: A poet and musician, Paul Gibbons has taught a broad range of courses, from introductory to advanced seminars. A member of a working band (G Street Revolution), he has maintained an interest in developing curriculum that uses metaphor and synthesis in cross-disciplinary ways.

Paula Treick DeBoard is an educator, novelist and bookstore owner living in Modesto, CA with her husband and two unruly pups. www.bookishmodesto.com

The Protected Poet, aka Julian Blackmon, is based out of Atwater. He is a member of the 2025 Loud Mouth Slam Team.

Rachel Wohlander is an interdisciplinary artist, writer, and educator. Her poetry has been published in The Post Grad Journal and Entropy Magazine, and she was a writer in residence at Art Farm Nebraska. Her work explores contradictions and connections.

Randi Beck Ocena is an artist and writer living in Central California. She has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and philosophy from the University of New Mexico, and her professional background includes everything from teaching college English and training horses to painting murals and brewing herbal remedies for a local apothecary. She has been a tarot reader for nearly twenty years and a writer for slightly longer. Her work has been published in The Kenyon Review, Michigan Quarterly, The Threepenny Review, Ploughshares, and other journals.

Rebecca Antoine is a New Englander who currently calls Central California home. Her fiction has appeared in a number of anthologies and journals including Upstreet and Gulf Stream. She teaches in the Merritt Writing Program at UC Merced.

Ruben Dozal is a farmworker from Merced.

Samantha Tetangco Ocena is author of the poetry collection Hope You Blend In: Studies in Color & Light (Broadstone Books, 2025). She has an MFA from the University of New Mexico and is an Associate Teaching Professor at UC Merced.

Shabnam Piryaei is an award-winning poet, playwright, artist, and filmmaker. She’s written four books: all children. (Diode Editions, 2024), Nothing is Wasted (The Operating System, 2017), Forward (Museum Books, 2014) and Ode to Fragile (Plain View Press, 2010). Her films have screened at film festivals, art galleries, and public installations around the world. She holds a PhD in Comparative Literature and teaches at San Francisco State University. She is the founder and curator of the online art and interview journal MUSEUM. Her art has been exhibited at the Unlike Art Gallery, Elysium Art Gallery, New Gallery London, Youyou Gallery, Jotta, Galleria Perelà, Kala Art Institute, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. She wants everyone to be, and to feel, free. See more of her work at https://shabnampiryaei.com.

Sherre Vernon (she/her/hers) is the award-winning author of Green Ink Wings, The Name is Perilous, and Flame Nebula, Bright Nova. Sherre has been published in journals such as Tahoma Literary Review and The Chestnut Review, nominated for Best of the Net and Pushcart prizes, and anthologized in several collections including Fat & Queer and Best Small Fictions.

Steve Gomes: I am a retired educator serving as a teacher, vice Principal, Principal, district superintendent, and the Merced County Superintendent of Schools. I retired in 2017. I currently serve as an advisor to Congressman Gray and involved with many community activities. I have been married to Victoria for fifty three years and a lifetime resident of Merced County.

Susan Varnot’s poems have appeared in numerous publications, including Arts & Letters, Spoon River Poetry Review, and the anthology, A Face to Meet the Faces: An Anthology of Contemporary Persona Poetry. She teaches writing and publishing for the Writing Studies degree programs at University of California, Merced.

Talen Barton is a Merced College Rising Scholars at Valley State Prison.

Tea Lempiälä is an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Mgmt of Complex Systems at UC Merced. Originally from Finland, Tea is a social scientist who studies processes and practices of creativity and innovation, particularly from the perspective of collaboration. She sings in the faculty band G Street Revolution, continuing her long history with and love for music of all kinds. 

Tom Myers is a retired elementary teacher and founding board member of Modesto-Stanislaus Poetry Center. He enjoys the wilds of nature and a sense of place frames much of his poetry. He has published four chapbooks and one full length book.