Utah Chapter Leaders
Bernadette Murphy
Utah Chapter Co-Leader
Bernadette Murphy is the author of soon to be five books of narrative nonfiction, among them the bestselling “Zen and the Art of Knitting.” She is also a collaborative writer who has published seven additional books with public figures, including works that became New YorkTimes and national bestsellers. She has served for 19 years as a professor of creative writing (Antioch University Los Angeles and The Newport MFA at Salve Regina University, Rhode Island), is a former weekly book critic for The Los Angeles Times, and has written essays on life, literature and the arts for publications nationwide.
Cal Crosby
Utah Chapter Co-Leader
Cal Crosby, a proud member of the Cherokee Nation, has dedicated over three decades to fostering community and promoting literacy through his career in bookselling, driven by a lifelong mission to establish equity and access to books and reading for all. As an owner of The King’s English Bookshop and the Executive Director of Brain Food Books, a 501(c)(3) organization committed to providing books to under-recognized communities, he champions the power of reading to uplift and transform. His extensive leadership within the literary world, coupled with his recognition as a recipient of the Duende-Word BIPOC Leadership Award and a juror for the National Book Award Foundation, as well as for the Kirkus Star Award in nonfiction and as He is the current co-chair of the Utah Chapter of PEN America, underscores his profound commitment to the written word and its impact on individuals and communities.