Beth Kander is an award-winning author and playwright with tangled roots in the Midwest and the Deep South. The granddaughter of immigrants, she loves exploring how worlds old and new intertwine. Beth earned a master's in social work from the University of Michigan and an MFA in creative writing from Mississippi University for Women. She's the resident playwright and a frequent teacher/guest artist for the Ashland New Plays Festival in Oregon, and a former Mississippi Arts Commission Literary Arts Fellow. When she's not writing or reading, Beth enjoys traveling, Chicago staycations, cooking, yoga, and adventures with her favorite characters: her two brave, hilarious kids.