Amanda Stern (founder, curator, host) is the author of three novels, the critically acclaimed novel, The Long Haul, and two young adult novels written under a pseudonym. She founded the "Happy Ending Music and Reading Series," out of the Happy Ending bar in 2003 and has been running, curating and hosting it ever since. She moved the series to Joe's Pub in January 2009. In 2006, Stern hosted The National Book Awards first ever, "5 Under 35" ceremony and the launch of PEN American Center's literary series, PENultimate Lit. She's written for the New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The Believer and Paste among others. Her fiction has been published in many literary journals, among them: Swink, St. Ann's Review, Salt Hill, Fivechapters.com and Joyland.ca. She's held residencies at Yaddo and MacDowell where she was the Philip Morris Company Fellow. She's at work on her next adult novel and a series of three children's books for the Penguin imprint, Grosset & Dunlap.

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