James R. Benn is the author of the popular Billy Boyle WWII mystery series, four stand-alone works, and a short story collection. In Proud Sorrows, the 18th installment in the series, US Army Captain Billy Boyle investigates a murder in a charming English village, where personal vendettas tangle with wartime espionage. Author Louise Penny describes the series as “full of action, humor and heart.”  Benn, a former librarian, lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

Dinner Host:

WESTIN FORT LAUDERDALE

BEACH RESORT

Hosted by MICHAEL BERRY

Dinner Location:

Lona – Westin Fort Lauderdale

Beach Resort

321 North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard

Fort Lauderdale

Writer/director Alex DeMille has followed up his debut novel The Deserter with the latest release, Blood Lines. Both co-written with his father, author Nelson DeMille, the current thriller reunites Army Criminal Investigation agents Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor to determine who killed a U.S. counterterrorism agent stationed in western Germany. Alex DeMille has won multiple awards and fellowships for his screenplays and films, including the 2018 Academy Award-nominated My Nephew Emmett.

Dinner Hosts:

MERRIE MEYERS with MARI ADAM

Dinner Location:

Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant

Galleria Mall

2568 East Sunrise Boulevard

Fort Lauderdale

The Paris Daughter, an instant New York Times bestseller and Kristin Harmel’s latest historical fiction novel, tells the gripping and gut-wrenching story of two mothers who must make unthinkable choices in the face of the Nazi occupation. Harmel is an Orlando-based author of more than a dozen novels including The Forest of Vanishing Stars, and The Book of Lost Names. She is also the co-founder and co-host of the popular web series, Friends & Fiction. 

Dinner Hosts:

GALLERIA MALL

Hosted by MARK TROUBA with MELISSA MILROY 

Dinner Location:

The Capital Grille

Galleria Mall

2430 East Sunrise Boulevard

Fort Lauderdale

When author/librettist Leah Lax was asked by the Houston Grand Opera to write an opera to celebrate local immigrants, she spent a year listening to accounts of upheaval, migration, and arrival told to her by people from around the globe. These became the basis for her book, Not From Here: The Song of America. Her previous book, Uncovered: How I Left Hasidic Life and Finally Came Home, was the first gay memoir to come out of the Hasidic world – and is now a modern opera by composer Lori Laitman.

Dinner Hosts:

SOUTH FLORIDA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Hosted by JACQUELINE LORBER

and SEBRINA ALFONSO

with LENORE NOLAN RYAN

Dinner Location:

Lenore Nolan Ryan Cooking School & Catering

3311 North Ocean Boulevard

Fort Lauderdale

Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, former CEO of Celebrity Cruises and current Vice Chairman of External Affairs at Royal Caribbean Group, reveals how she navigated a four-decade journey to shatter the glass ceiling in her memoir, Making Waves: A Woman’s Rise to the Top Using Smarts, Heart and Courage.  Her passion for building extraordinary ships, creating unique experiences, and opening up the world through travel has brought recognition and countless awards. 

Dinner Hosts:

NORTHERN TRUST

Hosted by ERIC VAINDER, SENIOR MARKET EXECUTIVE BROWARD COUNTY

with TANEKA LAWRENCE

and SUSIE and ALAN LEVAN

Dinner Location:

Northern Trust

1100 East Las Olas Boulevard

Fort Lauderdale 

Part true crime, part show-business history and part love story, Thomas Mallon’s Up With the Sun recounts the fictionalized life of troubled actor Dick Kallman, who was found murdered, with his boyfriend, in their Manhattan apartment in 1980. Mallon, the author of 11 novels, has been the literary editor of GQ, deputy chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and in 2012 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His 2007 novel Fellow Travelers was recently adapted as a limited series on Showtime.

Dinner Hosts:

JUDY JOSEPH and MARK GREENBERG

with BARBARA and GEORGE PETRELLO

Dinner Location:

Coral Ridge Yacht Club

2800 Yacht Club Boulevard

Fort Lauderdale 

Aida Rodriguez, a stand-up comedian, writer and actor, shares her story – which includes being kidnapped as a child and enduring homelessness as an adult – in a powerful and poignant memoir, Legitimate Kid. Esquire magazine said of her, “This is Rodriguez's genius – using comedy to turn pain into progress, to give voice to the voiceless, and to laugh instead of cry.” Her comedy special Fighting Words is streaming on HBO Max and she was a standout on the Tiffany Haddish-produced Netflix series, They Ready. 

Dinner Hosts:

JOEY CRAWFORD

with DIANA VERITY,

JP MORGAN PRIVATE BANK

and the HISPANIC HERITAGE

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Dinner Location:

Tower Club

100 Southeast Third Avenue, 28^th Floor

Fort Lauderdale

Jonathan Santlofer is a celebrated artist and instant USA Today bestselling author of The Lost Van Gogh. In this sequel to The Last Mona Lisa, Santlofer spins a riveting tale of international art world intrigue based on rumors that Van Gogh completed a final self-portrait before his death. Santlofer is the recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts grants, has been a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome, the Vermont Studio Center, and serves on the board of Yaddo, one of the oldest arts communities in the U.S. 

Dinner Hosts:

DEBBIE and JEFFREY HOCHMAN

with JANIE and IRA LIBANOFF

and ELAINE and ALAN SPITZER

Dinner Location:

Serafina

926 Northeast Twentieth Avenue

Fort Lauderdale

Internationally best-selling author of 21 previous thrillers, Lisa Unger continues to leave readers on the edge of their seats with her latest, The New Couple in 5B. The Florida writer’s critically acclaimed novels have been featured on “Best Book” lists from the Today Show, Good Morning America, and People, among many others. In 2019, she received two Edgar Award nominations, an honor held by only a few authors, including Agatha Christie.

Dinner Host:

BAHIA MAR

Hosted by SANDY and KENNY TATE

Dinner Location:

Bahia Mar – Harbor Lights Room

801 Seabreeze Boulevard

Fort Lauderdale 

Michelle Wildgen’s latest novel, Wine People, is described by fellow author Chloe Benjamin as “a clear-eyed love letter to wine and the people who make, import, and drink it.” Wildgen has written for O Magazine and the New York Times Book Review and was the editor of the anthology Food & Booze: A Tin House Literary Feast. A previous novel You’re Not You was adapted into a film starring Hilary Swank and Emmy Rossum.

Dinner Hosts:

THE KIMPTON SHOREBREAK HOTEL

Hosted by NATHAN BERUMEN



Dinner Location:

La Fuga – The Kimpton Shorebreak Hotel

2900 Riomar Street

Fort Lauderdale