Listen as local writers Diannely Anitgua (poet), Mark Dagostino (ghostwriter), Abdi Nor Iftin (memoirist), and Lara Prescott (novelist) dish about their writing secrets!
How have secrets shaped you as a writer, as a creator? What is it like to be in the position of living a secret life, filing stories with a major news source while evading conscription and penalty of death? What advice would you give to aspiring creators, writers, artists, about how to harness their unspoken truths? What’s it like to sit down with someone famous and get them to tell stories they’ve never told before? CMPKX Host and Organizer Jen Scumaci moderates a panel that explores these questions and more with a panel of Seacoast writers.
About the speaker
Diannely Antigua is a Dominican American poet and author of the collections Ugly Music (YesYes Books, 2019) and Good Monster (Copper Canyon Press, 2024). From 2022-2024, she was the 13th Poet Laureate of Portsmouth, NH. She currently teaches in the MFA Writing Program at UNH as the Nossrat Yassini Poet in Residence.IG: @nellfell13 | IG: @breadandpoetrypodcast
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Mark Dagostino established a journalistic foundation at The Boston Globe and spent ten years on staff at People Magazine,writing to the tastes and desires of 40-million readers per week. Today, he’s known for penning NYT bestsellers and multiple national bestsellers including The Magnolia Story with Chip & Joanna Gaines, Hulk Hogan’s My Life Outside the Ring, and Elle & Coach with Stefany Shaheen.
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Abdi Nor Iftin is a Somali-American award-winning author and speaker. Born in Mogadishu and survivor of famine and war, Abdi’s story was featured on NPR, This American Life, and the BBC. He is the author of Call Me American. Abdi has worked in Maine media, and he advocates for his community, mentors young writers, and enjoys exploring the Maine wilderness.
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Lara Prescott's debut novel, The Secrets We Kept, was an instant bestseller, a Hello Sunshine x Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, an Edgar Award nominee, a Barnes & Noble Discover Pick, and winner of 2019 Writers’ League of Texas Book Award in Fiction. It’s been translated into 30 languages. Lara currently lives in Portsmouth with her family, and her next novel, Common Women, will be published in Fall 2026.
