Suzanne Hartman Byerley, former co-director of MCWC, now writes and teaches in Northern Ohio.

Carolyn Cooke co-directs the Writing and Consciousness Program at New College of California in San Francisco. She has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the California Arts Council.

Jody Gehrman teaches at Mendocino College in northern California. She is a novelist, playwright, and writer of fiction for young adults.

Ronnie Gilbert is a folksinger and activist, best known as one of the founding members of the pioneering folk quartet, the Weavers.

Barbara Kingsolver, for whom writing is a form of political engagement, is the author of acclaimed fiction, poetry and essays. She established the Bellwether Prize for "literature of social change."

Dorianne Laux is a professor at the University of Oregon. Recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in poetry along with a Guggenheim Fellowship and many other prizes, her most recent collection of poetry Facts About the Moon was awarded the 2007 Oregon Book Award.

John Lescroart writes bestselling legal thrillers set in San Francisco that have been translated into 16 languages in more than 75 countries.

Gary Snyder, acclaimed poet, essayist, visionary, and environmental activist, is the author of 18 books. He is professor emeritus at the University of California at Davis.