*UPDATE: JEFF WILL BE PRESENTING ON FRIDAY, NOT THURSDAY.

For the past 25 years, Jeff has worked with writers and teachers of grades, K-12, inspiring them about the power and joy of the writing process. He has written four books for Stenhouse Publishers: Mechanically Inclined, Everyday Editing, 10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know and his latest book with Dr. Deborah Dean of BYU Revision Decisions: Talking Through Sentences and Beyond (November 2014). He also has a middle grade novel, Luke Veracruz Stand Up,which debuted in the fall of 2015 (Sterling Publishers).

Ruth is smitten by the way writers work, loves learning alongside teachers, and believes everyone has a story that matters. She is an instructional coach for Wawasee School Corporation and a contributor to Choice Literacy & Lead Literacy. Ruth is the co-author of Day by Day and Celebrating Writers (Stenhouse Publishers). Her newest book, Enticing Writers, is expected in Fall 2016.

Ralph Fletcher is a friend of writing teachers everywhere. A former member of the Teachers College Writing Project, he is currently an author and consultant. He is the author or coauthor with his wife, JoAnnn Portalupi, of numerous professional books and videos.

"It has been said that a writer needs to specialize. Alas, I never did that," says Ralph about his prolific writing career. He has written all kinds of books for kids, including poetry, picture books, and chapter books.

Linda Hoyt has had a rich array of experiences in education ranging from classroom teaching to working as a reading specialist, curriculum developer, Title I teacher, staff developer, and Title I District Coordinator. She is the author of twenty-four powerful professional books, six video programs, and instructional resources published with National Geographic School Publishing and Rigby Education. A special thanks to Scholastic for sponsoring Linda.

Penny Kittle teaches high school English and is a K-12 literacy coach in North Conway, NH. She is the author of Book Love and Write Beside Them, which won the James N. Britton Award from NCTE. She co-edited Children Want to Write: Donald Graves and the Revolution in Children’s Writing with Tom Newkirk and co-authored two books on writing with her mentor Don Graves. Penny teaches in the Summer Literacy Institutes at the University of New Hampshire and works with teachers throughout the United States, Canada, and Asia. Penny has been honored with the 2015 Exemplary Leader Award from the Conference on English Leadership through NCTE. Penny is the founder and President of the Book Love Foundation, dedicated to donating libraries of 500 books to teachers throughout the United States and Canada.

Allison Marchetti teaches high school English in Richmond, Virginia. A graduate of the University of Virginia, she is an experienced teacher in both independent and public schools, from inclusion classrooms to AP and IB. A past presenter at NCTE, Allison is coauthor (with Rebekah O’Dell) of the popular blog movingwriters.org, as well as the professional book Writing With Mentors.

Katie Muhtaris currently works as an Instructional Digital Age Learning Coach collaborating with teachers on best practices for technology and literacy in K-5 classrooms. She believes all things are possible through modeling, practice, and play. She is the coauthor of Amplify: Digital Teaching and Learning in the K-6 classroom and Connecting Comprehension and Technology. Katie blogs at Innovate Ignite Inspire about educational technology, teaching and learning, and bringing the fun back into education.

Rebekah O'Dell teaches high school English in Richmond, Virginia. A graduate of the University of Virginia, she is an experienced teacher in both independent and public schools, from inclusion classrooms to AP and IB. A past presenter at NCTE, Rebekah is coauthor (with Allison Marchetti) of the popular blog movingwriters.org, as well as the professional book Writing With Mentors.

Terry Thompson is an author, teacher, and consultant living in San Antonio, Texas. He provides staff development for teachers of readers and writers in grades K–8. Currently a reading interventionist, Terry has served as a classroom teacher, basic skills teacher, Reading Recovery teacher, and literacy coach. He holds a master’s degree in psychotherapy and cognitive coaching and travels throughout the country consulting with classroom teachers and literacy specialists. Terry is the author of The Construction Zone: Building Scaffolds for Readers and Writers and Adventures in Graphica: Using Comics and Graphic Novels to Teach Comprehension.

Linda Urban's debut novel, A Crooked Kind of Perfect, was selected for many best books lists and was nominated for twenty state awards. She is also the author of Hound Dog True, a Kirkus Best Book of 2011, the acclaimed The Center of Everything, picture books Mouse was Mad and Little Red Henry, and the fantasy-adventure Milo Speck, Accidental Agent. A former bookseller, she lives in Vermont.

Patrick Allen is the author of Conferring: The Keystone of Readers' Workshop and the co-author of Put Thinking to the Test. He is intrigued by the process learners go through as they become thinkers. "I love helping children develop their passions while finding their voice as readers and writers through the lens of thinking."

He teaches fourth grade in Parker, Colorado where he opens his classroom for observation as a Lab Classroom Host for the Denver-based Public Education and Business Coalition. "I am always trying to hone my craft and welcome the challenges that professional inquiry brings to my learning and the classroom." Patrick received his bachelor's degree in communication disorders and his graduate certification in elementary education from the University of Northern Colorado. He received his master's degre in curriculum, instruction, and pedagogy with a mathematics and science emphasis from the University of Colorado at Denver.

Jim Burke teaches English at Burlingame High School where he has worked since 1992. He is the author of more than 20 books, including The Common Core Companion series (Corwin) and The English Teacher’s Companion. He is currently working with Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein on a high school edition of They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing for W. W. Norton. He has received numerous awards, including the Distinguished Service Award from CATE, Exemplary Leader Award from the Conference on English Leadership, Best Social Network for Educators as moderator of the English Companion Ning, and the Intellectual Freedom Award from NCTE. He currently serves on various committees at PARCC, the Advanced Placement program, and the College Board 6-12 English Language Arts Advisory Committee. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, three children, dog and two tortoises.

Steve Leinwand is a Principal Research Analyst at AIR and has over 35 years of leadership positions in mathematics education. Before joining AIR in 2002, Leinwand spent 22 years as Mathematics Consultant with the Connecticut Department of Education. Steve is also an author of several mathematics textbooks and has written numerous articles. His books, Sensible Mathematics: A Guide for School Leaders and Accessible Mathematics: 10 Instructional Shifts That Raise Student Achievement were published by Heinemann.

Marjorie Martinelli is coauthor—with Kristine Mraz—of Smarter Charts and the new Smarter Charts for Math, Science, and Social Studies. She is a staff developer at the Reading and Writing Project where for the past ten years she has lead numerous leadership groups and presented at many national and international educational conferences. Prior to joining the Reading and Writing Project, Marjorie was a New York City public school teacher, a teacher-researcher, and an adjunct teacher at Bank Street College of Education. She has an MA in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from New York University and is a contributing author to Lucy Calkins’ Units of Study for Teaching Writing. She is also the author of two Brain Quest Math decks for first and second grade. Marjorie lives in Greenwich Village with her husband Tom, where they raised two daughters, Katherine and Christina.

JoEllen McCarthy is a lifelong learner, passionate about teaching and learning. As a staff developer, she spends her days collaborating with students, teachers and administrators to facilitate Common *Care* Standards. A Book Ambassador and consultant with the Educator Collaborative, she is a proud nerd, obsessed with finding and sharing mentor texts.

Kristine Mraz is coauthor—with Alison Porceli and Cheryl Tyler—of the new Purposeful Play, the book that helps you make play an powerful part of your teaching. Her previous title is the bestselling A Mindset for Learning (coauthored with Christine Hertz), which provides practical and powerful strategies for cultivating optimism, flexibility, and empathy alongside traditional academic skills. She is also coauthor—with Marjorie Martinelli—of Smarter Charts and Smarter Charts for Math, Science, and Social Studies. Kristi teaches Kindergarten in the New York City Public schools. In addition to writing and teaching, she consults in schools across the country and as far away as Taiwan. She primarily supports teachers in early literacy, play, and inquiry based learning. On the off chance she has free time, you'll find Kristi reading on a couch in Brooklyn with her dog and her husband.

Mark has worked for more than 20 years in Cherry Creek Schools near Denver, Colorado as a classroom teacher in grades 2-6, a special education and Title I teacher, and a coordinator for gifted programming. Currently, Mark works full time supporting reading and writing workshops in schools around the US and internationally. Mark is the author of When Writing Workshop Isn't Working and What Student Writing Teaches Us.