Michael N. McGregor is an award-winning author, essayist, journalist, biographer, and educator. His first book, Pure Act: The Uncommon Life of Robert Lax, received an Excellence in Publishing Award from the Association of Catholic Publishers and was named a top ten book in American Literature for libraries by the Association of University Presses. It also received an Honorable Mention in the Catholic Press Association Book Awards and was a finalist for a Washington State Book Award and the Religion News Association’s Nonfiction Book of the Year. In 2025, he published a memoir, An Island to Myself: The Place of Solitude in an Active Life, and a novel, The Last Grand Tour, which received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews. The New York Times has praised McGregor's writing as "vivid and engaging" and Image magazine has called it "emotionally honest, intellectually engaging, and profound in its search for spiritual truth." His work covers the range from short to long fiction, reported to personal nonfiction, and secular to spiritual contemplation of both inner and outer life. A founding faculty member in the MFA in Creative Writing program at Portland State University, McGregor holds an MFA from Columbia University and has published over 300 shorter works in publications such as Tin House, StoryQuarterly, Poetry, and Orion. He lives in Seattle. michaelnmcgregor.com
In his Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting, Eli Saslow reveals the human stories behind the most divisive issues of our time. From racism and poverty to addiction and school shootings, his work uncovers the manifold impacts of major national issues on individuals and families. Saslow’s 2018 book, Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist, charts the rise of white nationalism through the experiences of one person who abandoned everything he was taught to believe. At once political and intensely personal, the book explains how our nation arrived at this polarizing moment, and suggests that outspoken communication and active listening have the power to change lives. Saslow has twice won the Pulitzer Prize: first in 2014 for Explanatory Reporting for a yearlong series about America’s food stamp program, and in 2023 for his coverage of people struggling with the pandemic, homelessness, addiction and inequality. He co-wrote the script for the Academy Award-nominated film adaptation Four Good Days, starring Glenn Close and Mila Kunis. Saslow speaks on the role of journalism in highlighting social and public health issues, the craft of longform journalism, the human impacts of public policy, and the importance of civility and radical inclusion. A graduate of Syracuse University, Saslow is the winner of two George Polk Awards, a PEN Literary Award, a James Beard Award, and other honors. Saslow was a longtime staff writer for The Washington Post, and in 2023 he joined The New York Times. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife and children. www.eli-saslow.com/
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