2026 Faculty: A through F
Traci Hunter Abramson
Traci Hunter Abramson worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for six years, eventually resigning in order to raise her family. She credits the CIA with giving her a wealth of ideas as well as the skills needed to survive her children’s teenage years. She prefers it when her research requires a plane ticket and loves to explore new places. She has written more than fifty best-selling titles and is a ten-time Whitney Award winner. You can find out more about Traci at www.traciabramson.com.
Chris Berg
Chris Berg is an award-winning crime thriller author whose fiction draws from the inside—vice, intelligence, undercover narcotics, and as a court-certified expert witness. He co-authors the Night Police series with former detective partner Paul James Smith. Their work has earned a Claymore Award and Pageturner Award finalist recognition.
The Night Police, Beyond the Line of Duty debuted in 2020. One manuscript is currently on submission via their agent, with two more in development. The Judas Game, Berg's first solo novel, is among them. More at nightpolice.com .
J.J. Cagney
J.J. Cagney writes twisty, atmospheric mysteries and thrillers where every clue is a risk and every secret comes at a price. Her award-winning books follow smart, determined protagonists as they face danger, both in the wild landscapes of New Mexico and Yellowstone and in their own lives.
Cagney is best known for the acclaimed Cici Gurule Mysteries. A Pilgrimage to Death was named one of Kirkus Reviews’ 100 Best Books of 2018, won the National Indie Excellence Award, and became a Goodreads Best Mysteries reader favorite. An Artifact of Death was called “an exhilarating entry in a thoroughly enjoyable series” (Kirkus Reviews) and was a BookLife Award quarterfinalist. Her newer books, like Bayou Venom, have also earned her Judge’s Top Pick for both the Claymore and Silver Falchion Awards at Killer Nashville 2025.
Before becoming a full-time storyteller, Cagney worked as a literary agent and as a marketing director for elite athletes. These jobs helped her develop a sharp sense for high-stakes drama and character-driven conflict. She now lives in northern New Mexico with her family, two mischievous dogs, and a small but suspiciously well-organized tank of fish.
Cagney’s next thriller, The Kill Line, is a gripping cat-and-mouse survival story set deep in Yellowstone. It will be released on August 25, 2026, by City Owl Press.
Miranda Darrow / Editor
Miranda Darrow is a freelance fiction editor and #RevPit online revision contest board member and contributing editor. She's a frequent presenter at writing groups, conferences, and online writing events. Miranda’s Concise Fiction Academy series of writing craft books and courses combines her experience as a freelance editor and a corporate attorney into an executive summary of complex writing topics with an overview, key recommendations, and sources for more information, all with a dash of humor. Miranda is doing a slow tour of the upper Midwest: she grew up in Wisconsin in a county with six times as many cows as people, attended college in Iowa surrounded by tall corn, and now lives in the great north woods of Minnesota with her husband, teen sons, and a bossy little dog.
Tommy Dean / Agent
Tommy Dean is an associate literary agent with Rosecliff Literary. He is looking for crime, mysteries, thrillers, and upmarket novels in these genres. He loves stories with clear stakes and surprise endings. Give him your characters with secrets, past loves, past crimes, and past mistakes that lead to unique stories.
John DeDakis / Editor
Award-winning novelist John DeDakis is a former editor on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." DeDakis is the author of six traditionally published mystery-suspense thriller novels. He is a podcaster, one-on-one writing coach, manuscript editor, and regularly teaches novel writing at literary centers and writers’ conferences nationwide.
Website: www.johndedakis.com
Lori B. Duff
Lori B. Duff is an award‑winning author, most recently the Letter Review Prize for Books and on the short list for the Sarton Award. She's also an attorney and municipal court judge whose sharp wit and deep compassion shape everything she writes. As the creator of the Fischer at Law series, she blends real‑world legal insight with page‑turning storytelling. She's known for crafting novels and essays that are as smart as they are laugh‑out‑loud funny. Published by She Writes Press and distributed by Simon & Schuster, Lori transforms life’s chaos into narratives that resonate with readers. When she’s not writing or presiding from the bench, she speaks to audiences about storytelling, law, humor, and the messy, meaningful business of being human.
Lori B. Duff
Christine M. Fairchild writes Suspense and Historical Fiction, so she understands the challenges authors face. Through workshops, conferences and editing guides, Christine helps authors take their work/career to the next level. A former journalist/editor with 35yrs experience, she now operates as a Book Doctor specializing in Suspense Fiction.