Featured Speakers and Performers
Rebecca Romney
Rebecca Romney is a rare book dealer and author of three books, Jane Austen’s Bookshelf, Printer’s Error: Irreverent Stories from Book History), and The Romance Novel in English: A Survey in Rare Books. As a generalist rare book dealer, Romney handles work in all fields, from first editions of Jane Austen to science fiction paperbacks to Shakespeare Folios. Since 2011, Romney has appeared on the HISTORY Channel’s television show Pawn Stars as the rare book specialist. Romney was also featured in The Booksellers, a documentary about the rare book trade in New York that premiered at the New York Film Festival. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Forbes, Variety, The Paris Review, and more. With a passion for discussing the enduring power of literature, the relevance of book collecting, and the preservation of history, Romney weaves together her experience and knowledge in captivating talks.
Brenda Withers
Brenda Withers is a playwright, performer, and founding member of the Harbor Stage Company. Her plays include Off Peak, WESTMINSTER, Jordan, Matt & Ben (w/M. Kaling), The Ding Dongs, Northside Hollow (w/J. Fielding), and The Kritik and adaptations of Don Quixote, Ubu Roi, and Cyrano (w/J. O’Connell); they have been developed and presented at places like 59e59, Portland Stage, Urbanite Theatre, Northern Stage, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Amphibian Stage, and Two River. Onstage credits include Berkeley Rep, the Guthrie, Actors Theatre of Louisville, A.R.T., McCarter Theatre, and Hartford Stage. She is a lyricist with the BMI Musical Theatre Advanced Workshop, the recipient of the Clauder Prize and an Edgerton New Play Award, and has enjoyed residencies with New Georges, the Camargo Foundation, and the Huntington. Ms. Withers is a graduate of Dartmouth College, a beach person, and a Leo.
Jonathan Fielding
Jonathan Fielding is a theater artist who lives in Irvington, NY. He has performed on Broadway: The Play That Goes Wrong, Noises Off, The Seagull, Off-Broadway: The Ding Dongs (New Ohio), The Doctor (Park Avenue Armory) and Regionally: The Old Globe, Ford’s Theatre, Urbanite Theatre, Penguin Rep, & Katonah Classic Stage. He co-wrote the play Northside Hollow with Brenda Withers which has received full productions in Massachusetts, Texas, New York, and Florida. Jonathan also co-wrote The Ballad of Bobby Botswain with New Hampshire theater artist Jason Lambert which premiered at the Harbor Stage Company in 2022. Film/Television: Boston Strangler, Dindin, Love Story, Law and Order: SVU, FBI: Most Wanted, Daredevil, and Gotham. He holds a BFA from Texas Christian University and an MFA from Rutgers, Mason Gross School of the Arts.
Melissa J. Homestead
Melissa J. Homestead is Professor of English and Program Faculty in Women’s & Gender Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she directs the Cather Project and serves as co-editor of The Complete Letters of Willa Cather. She is the author of The Only Wonderful Things: The Creative Partnership of Willa Cather and Edith Lewis (Oxford University Press 2021), and her Oxford Word Classics Edition of The Professor’s House was published earlier this year. Her other work on Cather has appeared in Studies in American Fiction, Tulsa Studies, American Literary Realism, Legacy, Scholarly Editing, and Studies in the Novel.
Heather Althoff
Heather Althoff grew up on Long Island, NY riding bikes and playing outdoors with friends until dark. She also spent considerable time reading at the public library, which instilled in her a sense of independence, a curiosity about the world, and a desire to see more of the United States. She graduated from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota with a B.A. in History and a concentration in Political Economy. She began her career in Human Resources, before earning a M.S. in Information and Library Science (from Pratt Institute) and becoming a public and academic librarian in New York City. She eventually moved to New Jersey and began a doctoral program at Drew University where she completed her dissertation on Willa Cather. Additionally, she worked in non-profit publishing for the Eakins Press Foundation where she continues to serve as a board member. In 2023, she sold her consulting firm and currently volunteers with several New Jersey non-profits. Heather lives in Millburn, NJ with her husband, Don.
Susan Hart
Susan Hart grew up in Gibbon, Nebraska, and currently lives in rural Cozad with her husband, Jim. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in art education from Kearney State College in 1981. Susan taught elementary art for seventeen years in Dawson County rural schools and now conducts artist workshops throughout the state. Recently, she has been involved in teaching and making art with her four grandchildren.
Hart is a member of IMPACT, a juried organization of nationally-recognized artists based in Nebraska. She has participated in both solo and group juried exhibitions, including programs organized by the Nebraska Arts Council such as the Governor’s Residence and the Fred Simon Gallery. Her work has also been accepted into exhibitions by the National Collage Society, the International Society of Experimental Artists, and the 1516 Biennial Exhibition. Hart holds signature membership in the International Society of Experimental Artists and the National Collage Society. Her work appears in private collections as well as permanent collections at Nebraska institutions like the Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney, Doane College in Crete, York College in York, and the Kimmel Harding Nelsen Center for the Arts in Nebraska City. Susan is an associate member of the Burkholder Project Gallery in Lincoln, Nebraska.