2026 Speakers 

James C. Magruder

James C. Magruder is an award-winning advertising copywriter and executive speechwriter who enjoyed a rewarding marketing career before writing novels and essays full-time. A popular blogger, he has had articles published in Writer's Digest, HomeLife, The Writer, and is published in eleven Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Often referred to as "The Reflective Writer," Magruder strives to write thematic essays and contemporary Christian fiction that will encourage readers to reflect on the most meaningful moments in life, before they slip by. 

He is the author of The Glimpse and the award-winning "love-after-loss, victory-over-grief" novel The Desert Between Us. 

Learn more at www.jamesmagruder.com

Mary Portzen

Mary Portzen graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a BA in Psychology. She is a certified grief counselor trained under world-renown grief expert David Kessler and a Therapeutic Art coach. Mary has had over 700 pieces published under the name Mary Potter Kenyon. This includes hundreds of pieces published in newspapers, magazines, and anthologies, including essays in ten Chicken Soup books. She is the author of seven non-fiction books, including the award-winning "Refined By Fire: A Journey of Grief and Grace," and "Called to Be Creative: A Guide to Reigniting Your Creativity." Her children's book on grief will be published by Familius Publishing in 2026. A member of the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, she has been doing workshops and programs on expressive writing for healing, creativity, and writing for conferences, women's groups, libraries, and community colleges since 2011.  marypotterkenyon.wordpress.com/

Kathleen Bird 

Kathleen Bird is the author of a completed Christian fantasy series (the Adven Trilogy), an ongoing series of steampunk fairytale retellings (the Isles of Miadhra), and a brand-new devotional series (The Things God Does). You can also find her writings included in a variety of anthologies, and as a fantasy reviewer for Clean Fiction Magazine. She loves traveling and seeing new places, which give her inspiration for her writing, but when she and her husband are not traveling the world, they live in Des Moines, IA.  Be sure to check out her website (www.adventrilogy.wordpress.com) and her Instagram (@birdsthewords) for more information about her books and where to find them. 

Robin Grunder

Robin Grunder is an award-winning author, ghostwriter, and executive editor of Legacy Press, an independent publishing company serving authors, speakers, families and churches. With more than two decades of experience, she has ghostwritten and published church histories, memoirs, and life-story projects that preserve faith-filled legacies for future generations. Robin is the author of "Memoir in the Margins of Psalms." Her work has been featured in multiple anthologies, regional and national parenting publications, and newspapers across the Midwest. A trusted voice in legacy writing and self-publishing, Robin regularly teaches at writer's conferences nationwide, equipping both beginning and seasoned writers to steward their stories.  Learn more at: robingrunder.org.

An author and speaker, Mary's poetry and essays have been widely published locally and nationally. She has won numerous poetry awards. She’s had a poem published every year since 2005 in the Iowa Poetry Association’s Lyrical Iowa. Thirty poems were published in past years in the Iowa City Press-Citizen newspaper. Another poem was displayed on the 2014 Krakow Wall of Poetry in conjunction with the Krakow UNESCO City of Literature. She coauthored Mary & Me: A Lasting Link Through Ink with Mary Potter Kenyon. Find her on her Facebook Author Page, www.facebook.com/maryjedlickahumston

Darci Werner is an author and artist, sharing life’s stories of faith, family, and farming and helping people build a closer faith relationship through writing, prayer, and creativity. She shares the duties of their small family construction business in rural Iowa, and writes devotionals, memoirs, and custom specialty pieces.  Her work has appeared in multiple anthologies including Guideposts, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Law Enforcement, and online publications.  In addition, she has had numerous poems published in Lyrical Iowa.