SDLA 2026 Pierre

South Dakota native Noel Hamiel is a career journalist who retired in 2007. Afterwards, he spent five years traveling throughout the state to help communities establish their own philanthropic funds through the South Dakota Community Foundation.

His first book, Sketches of South Dakota, was published in 2001. One of his most well-known works is South Dakota's Mathis Murders: Horrors in the Heartland. 

Ann Charles is a USA Today Bestselling author who writes award-winning mysteries that are splashed with humor, romance, paranormal, and whatever else sounds fun. A member of Sisters in Crime and Western Writers of America, she has a B.A. in English with an emphasis on creative writing from the University of Washington.

When Ann is not holed up in her writing lair working on her next book, she is hanging out with her family and basking in the Arizona sunshine. 

Christine Mager Wevik is an award-winning author known for her chilling paranormal mysteries and compelling true crime books. 

Her writing explores the dark, unseen corners of human experience, from a woman who sees memories in old houses to highlighting real-life cold cases. 

For more than twenty years, author Jean L.S. Patrick has been making nonfiction come alive for thousands of students in South Dakota and throughout the United States with her interactive presentations and energetic writing workshops.

Jean is the award-winning author of twelve books, including Long-Armed Ludy and the First Women's Olympics, The Girl Who Struck Out Babe Ruth, and four more books about Mount Rushmore.