We’re teaming up with the Talking Writing Podcast to bring three titanic voices in non-fiction to Big Blue Marble! Joining author Tom McAllister is Athena Dixon and Juliet Diaz, all three vital voices to the creative and unique field of non-fiction, offering various perspectives to learn from. All three authors will be reading and discussing their newest works, as well as singing their respective books. Please join us in welcoming these brilliant minds!
Tom McAllister lives in New Jersey, teaches at Temple, and is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, an editor at Barrelhouse, and the author of How to Be Safe, The Young Widower’s Handbook, Bury Me in My Jersey: A Memoir of My Father, Football, and Philly, and the newest essay collection, It All Felt Impossible.
Athena Dixon is a poet, essayist, and editor. She is the author of The Loneliness Files (Tin House 2023), The Incredible Shrinking Woman (Split/Lip Press 2020) and No God In This Room (Winner of the Intersectional Midwest Chapbook Contest, Argus House Press 2018). Her work also appears in The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2: Black Girl Magic (Haymarket Books) and Getting to the Truth: The Practice and Craft of Creative Nonfiction (Hippocampus Books 2021).
Athena’s work has appeared in various publications both online and in print. She has been nominated for three Pushcart Prizes for both poetry and creative nonfiction as well as a Best of the Net nomination for poetry. She is a fellow of Callaloo and V.O.N.A. as well as a Tin House Winter Workshop attendee. Additionally, she has presented at AWP, HippoCamp, and The Muse and the Marketplace among other panels and conferences across the nation. She has served as a Writer in Residence for the app Dipsea. Athena has been awarded a fellowship from The Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing and a 2nd book residency from Tin House. Athena is the Nonfiction/Hybrid Editor for Split/Lip Press.
Juliet Diaz is a writer, speaker, and literary activist. She is a neurodivergent, Indigenous Taíno, and first-generation Cuban American, as well as an award-winning, internationally bestselling author whose works have inspired thousands of readers worldwide.
Her writing is rooted in liberatory and decolonial themes, guiding others to reclaim their voices, align with their truth, and embrace their innate magic and humanity. She believes in the power of storytelling—in every craft and form—as a force for healing, justice, and transformation.
Juliet co-founded the Literary Craft Society, a revolutionary collective that goes beyond traditional writing communities. Through workshops, events, and networking gatherings, she creates spaces that marginalized writers are too often excluded from. The Society provides access to resources, education, and community support designed to help writers thrive, succeed, and root their creativity in liberation.
Pisces Sun, Cancer Moon, Libra Rising. ᥫ᭡