An Evening With Writers From Baltimore’s Apprentice House Press

About the Panelists:

• J.G. Gardner, J.G. Gardner has a PhD in Microbiology and is currently a university professor in Maryland. He also founded a biotechnology start-up company to discover new ways to generate renewable energy using bacteria. While his research career led him to the Mid-Atlantic, he will always consider the Wisconsin Northwoods where he grew up as his home. When he is not working in his laboratory or writing on his laptop you can find him playing the newest board games with his family, training for the American Birkebeiner cross-country ski marathon, or trying to fold the perfect origami crane. The Path From Regret is his first novel.

• Deb­o­rah Kalb, Deb­o­rah Kalb is the author of the nov­el Off to Join the Cir­cus, her debut nov­el for adults. She has writ­ten fic­tion for kids and non­fic­tion for adults, and she’s the host of the blog Book Q&As with Deb­o­rah Kalb, where she inter­views an eclec­tic range of authors. A for­mer long­time D.C.-based jour­nal­ist cov­er­ing Con­gress and pol­i­tics, she lives in the Wash­ing­ton, D.C., area.

• Michelle Paris, Michelle Paris is a Maryland writer who writes about hope with humor. Her debut novel, New Normal, was loosely based on her own experience of being a young widow. Her personal story of overcoming grief was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. And her essays about grief and mid-life dating have appeared in multiple editions of the Chicken Soup for the Soul inspirational book series as well as in other media outlets. Michelle’s second novel, Eat Dessert First,will be published by Apprentice House in the spring of 2024. Currently, Michelle is enjoying chapter two of her life with her new husband, Kevin, who keeps her from being a cat lady but only on a technicality.

• J. P. (Paul) Rieger, J. P. (Paul) Rieger is a semi-retired real estate attorney and amateur musician who grew up in Baltimore and now resides in Towson with his spouse, Kristin. Clonk!, Paul’s darkly comedic, Baltimore-centric second novel, was published by Apprentice House Press in May, 2023. His first novel, The Case Files of Roderick Misely, Consultant was self-published in 2013. His recently completed and as yet unpublished third novel is The Big Comb Over. He greatly enjoys music, books, humor and writing.

• Dian Seidel, Before her unexpected "second act" teaching kindergarten in Thailand, Dian Seidel was a climate scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Her research contributed to the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Originally from Massachusetts, she now lives in the Washington, DC, area, where she teaches English as a second language and Iyengar yoga. Her writing has appeared in Passager, Anak Sastra, Lucky Jefferson, Pen in Hand, The New York Times, and Bethesda Magazine. She loves crossword puzzles, book clubs, open ocean swimming, and the heart of a ripe watermelon on an August afternoon.

• Kevin Atticks, Kevin Atticks has served as director of Apprentice House Press at Loyola University Maryland since 2001. A graduate of Loyola, he joined the Loyola faculty in 1999 as an affiliate assistant professor of communication at Loyola. He holds a masters in mass communication research & environmental journalism from CU-Boulder, and a doctorate in communications design from UB. Atticks is the author of three books about wine regions, and is the founder of Grow & Fortify, a firm built to support agricultural businesses. He was appointed as Secretary of Agriculture by Governor Wes Moore in January.