Local Author Fair 2026

Toby is the founder of Toby Amidor Nutrition, PC, where she provides nutrition and food safety consulting services for individuals, restaurants & food brands. She is a Wall Street Journal bestselling cookbook author with 11 published cookbooks. Her 12th cookbook, Healthy Living High-Protein Cookbook is releasing in June 2026. Toby has been the nutrition expert for FoodNetwork.com and is a regular contributor to many national online publications including the “Ask the Expert” column in Today’s Dietitian Magazine. She has been quoted in hundreds of publications and regularly appears on local & national TV. Toby is an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University and has also taught at Columbia, CUNY Hunter School of Public Urban Health, & Lehman College. In 2018, Toby was awarded by the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics the coveted Media Excellence Award.

Dawn is an award-winning author and award-nominated editor who writes psychological/domestic/romantic suspense as D.M. Barr and nonfiction under her own name. She also develops and edits short fiction anthologies and runs an editing business, Suggested Development. She is the past president of Hudson Valley Scribes, has served on the boards of the local chapters of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, and is a member of International Thriller Writers. Her most recent books are Deadly When Disturbed, Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover’s Travel Guide to the Mid-Atlantic States, and Better Off Dead: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

When Rose Mary was a child, her favorite pastime was drawing copies of characters from TV and coloring books. In high school, she met the illustrator James Barkley and worked as his apprentice for a few years. He encouraged her to attend the School of Visual Arts in NYC. After graduating, her first professional illustrated projects were for advertising and editorial magazines, but she had always longed to work in children’s books. Her first break was with Golden Books. She has gone on to illustrate more than 30 books for various publishers . Recently, she’s been developing artwork for licensing. It’s fun to create characters and see them on greeting cards, puzzles, T-shirts, and games! Rose Mary lives in Yorktown Heights, with her husband Rick, two children, a Westie, a hamster, and a whole bunch of tropical fish.

Vanessa is a Relationship Reset Expert and Betrayal Recovery Specialist helping individuals and couples rebuild trust and emotional connection. A Westchester resident for over 25 years, she brings lived experience, trauma-informed guidance, and steady clarity to those navigating relationship challenges.

Kristina was born and raised in Yorktown where she fell in love with books at a young age. While she has tackled countless creative avenues, writing novels was a bucket list item. Now, with 9 published works under her belt, she ambitiously continues writing contemporary fiction pieces that all take place in a town called Nelsonville, RI. When Kristina is forced to live outside of Nelsonville, she enjoys a balance between having fun adventures, snuggling up with her best friends, rewatching her favorite tv shows and embracing her alone time. She finds doodling so fun that she has even drawn all of her book covers!
Kristina is also very active in volunteering with Relay for Life of Yorktown for 8 years and she now sits on the board of the Yorktown Lions Club. Giving back in many ways is something she takes great pride in.
When she’s not writing, crafting or volunteering, Kristina pictures what her life will be like when she marries a kind British man or woman. She sees them taking long walks on the beach outside of London with their adopted senior dogs going back home to a cozy fire! A girl can dream, right?

Tad Crawford recently published the novel A Woman in the Wild. He is the author of the novels A Floating Life and On Wine-Dark Seas as well as The Secret Life of Money and a dozen other nonfiction books. His stories and articles have appeared in American Artist, Art in America, The Café Irreal, Confrontation, Communication Arts, Family Circle, Glamour, Guernica, The Nation, and Writer’s Digest. Crawford is the founder and publisher of Allworth Press. The recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts award, he grew up in the artists’ colony of Woodstock, New York, and now lives in New York City and the Hudson Highlands.

Lou Del Bianco is a nationally recognized storyteller and a 6 time Parents Choice award winner. His CDs for children have received critical praise from the NY and LA Times, TV Guide, Parents Magazine and others. Lou’s 12 educational one man shows have traveled the Northeast for the past 30 years. His Abraham Lincoln show was endorsed by the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. Lou’s latest program about his grandfather Luigi, was performed at Mount Rushmore. After 25 years, the Del Bianco family is pleased to announce that Luigi is finally being recognized for his unique contribution to our nation’s most iconic memorial. And if you like audiobooks, look for Lou! He is now using his storytelling skills as an audiobook narrator.

With over 30 years of international experience in theater, music, comedy, and television, Walt Frasier is the Artistic Director of Improv Theater LLC, a leading edutainment center known for its high-impact comedy shows and workshops. His extensive career includes performing comedy sketches on MTV’s Stankervision, Late Night with David Letterman, TruTV’s Friends of the People, and HBO’s Pause with Sam Jay. As an actor, Walt has appeared on NBC’s Blacklist, Showtimes’s Billions, CBS’s Blue Bloods, USA’s Royal Pains, Netflix’s Lilyhammer, and NICK’s Naked Brothers Band. In the past years, Frasier has also presented three murder mystery shows at the John C. Hart Library.

A lifelong reader, gamer, and dreamer, M. T. Kadasin finally stopped saying he wanted to write a book and just did it. Most of his time is spent sacrificing his imagination to the Kraken Tree. To keep it happy he must conjure new tales set in fantastic lands filled with wonderous and horrible characters. The ultimate character himself, he loves cooking for his family, communing with nature, and painting little army men. He lives in the Hudson Valley, New York, with his wife, his daughter, and his blop-tongued dog.

Robert Markowitz has written personal essays for the New York Times and released three children’s music albums of original songs. Heliotrope Books published his novel, Clown Shoes in 2023. He holds a law degree from Duke University, and has worked as an attorney, a teacher, a clown, and a children’s musician. His New York Times essay about his lawyer-to-clown career change generated 465 reader comments and was the second most emailed column for a span of three days. He is a musician who plays regularly before audiences, and acts in the musical version of his novel. He is an accomplished public speaker.

Paul R. Martin III from Yorktown Heights NY is an author and professional historical artist and retired art teacher. He received his BA in art from Southampton College and his MA in Drawing from Long Island University. A military history buff with a great interest in MF since boyhood when he grew up only about 3 miles away in East Meadow, NY. He serves as display coordinator for the Army Air Forces Historical Association, Chaplain of the Sons of the American Legion Squadron 1009 Yorktown, Chairman of the Yorktown Veteran’s Day Parade, President of the Yorktown Historical Society, Secretary of the Company of Military Historians, West Point Chapter, and board member of the Lincoln Depot Museum and Lincoln Society in Peekskill.

Erica’s family instilled in her a love of animals. She and her husband have rescued many dogs, including 2 blind dogs and a physically disabled dog. She hopes people will recognize that disabled animals have value and can live normal lives.

Joe Rao was a broadcast meteorologist for over 40 years holding the Seals of Approval of the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association. He still serves as an associate and guest lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He also writes about astronomy for the online news service, Space.com, as well as Natural History magazine, Sky & Telescope, and other publications. On July 3rd, 2023, the International Astronomical Union named Asteroid 20009 Joerao in his honor.

Tom Riley teaches Freelancing for Fun & Profit at Westchester Community College and in libraries throughout the Hudson Valley. His book, DNA Detectives came out of his interest in genealogy. Tom is the past President of the Genealogy Society of Rockland County. Tom is an Air Force veteran and served in the Coast Guard Auxiliary for 5 years. He has lectured at over 350 venues on his books.

Gail Schlenger is a children’s picture book author and retired special education teacher. Her stories blend humor and heart, exploring problem-solving and emotional growth—sometimes with surprise endings! Gail has had two stories published in Highlights High Five magazine, and loves reading, travel, musical theater, dancing, and spending time with family and friends.