E.J. Lagasse fell in love with food at a very young age. As the son of Chef Emeril Lagasse, he spent most of his early years in kitchens and at home where the family table was a central part of daily life.

Wright Thompson is a senior writer for ESPN and the bestselling author of Pappyland and The Cost of These Dreams. He lives in Oxford, Mississippi with his family. 

Admiral William H. McRaven, is a retired U.S.

Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel The Sympathizer won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and numerous other awards. His most recent publication is A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial. His other books are the sequel to The Sympathizer, The Committed; a short story collection, The Refugees; Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War (a finalist for the National Book Award in nonfiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award in General Nonfiction); and Race and Resistance: Literature and Politics in Asian America.

From Grammy award-winning spoken word artist and poet Tarriona ‘Tank’ Ball comes a powerful second collection of poetry about falling out of love and into a renewed sense of self.
After getting “vulnerable AF” on her 2021 book tour, Tank realized she was truly ready to move on from her first love. In The Thing About Falling, she writes about that experience as well as what followed—a period of shallow comfort, followed by a much deeper transformation.

Stacey Abrams is a New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur and political leader. She served as Minority Leader in the Georgia House of Representatives, and she was the first Black woman to become gubernatorial nominee for a major party in United States history. Abrams has devoted her career to democracy protection, voting rights, and effective public policy. She has also co-founded successful companies, including a financial services firm, an energy and infrastructure consulting firm, and the media company, Sage Works Productions, Inc.

Karisma Price is the author of I'm Always So Serious (Sarabande Books, 2023) which was a New York Times Editors’ Choice Pick. Her work has appeared in publications including Poetry, Indiana Review, Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day Series, and elsewhere.

Eddie S. Glaude Jr. is the author of several books, including We are The Leaders We Have Been Looking for, Democracy in Black and the New York Times bestseller Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own, winner of the Harriet Beecher Stowe Book Prize. He frequently appears in the media as an MSNBC contributor on programs like Morning Joe and Deadline: White House. A native of Moss Point, Mississippi, Glaude is the James S.

Jeff Duncan is a sports columnist for The Times-Picayune, where he has worked for more than two decades. He was a member of the team that won two Pulitzer Prizes for the paper’s coverage of Hurricane Katrina. Duncan is the author of three books on the Saints -- “Payton and Brees”; “Tales from the Saints Sideline”; and “From Bags to Riches” – and is currently collaborating with Steve Gleason on his memoir, which is scheduled for release in April 2024.