Author Biographies
Joseph Cillo, Jr. writes edgy fiction in a variety of genres. Whether it’s a supernatural thriller like his graphic novel, ‘Blind Prophet’ or a comedy like the 2019 Illumination Book Award Bronze Medal winner, ‘Merry Friggin’ Christmas: An Edgy Christmas Comedy’, his work features unexpected plot twists, unique characters, and the highest of stakes. The added dimension of the supernatural infuses his work with stakes that go beyond life and death, and into the eternal. A basic, Catholic moral viewpoint underlies his work and gives a solid foundation to what might otherwise be seen as purely fantastical. The eternal consequences of choices made by characters and the spiritual dimensions of actions clearly revealed create a mind-bending and thought-provoking experience that lingers long after reading the last page.
Ken Hayes is an emerging author, New Jersey-based marine biologist, explorer, hopeful author, and founder of Aqua Survey, Inc., an environmental and marine survey firm he established in 1975. Over the past fifty years, he has led environmental, geophysical, archaeological, and underwater exploration projects throughout the United States and around the world. A member of The Explorers Club, Hayes has directed expeditions in Laos, including the current search for a lost Buddhist temple in the Mekong River floodplain. He continues to combine science, exploration, storytelling, and a passion for discovery in both his professional work and writing. Ken has traveled the world and the States for 73 years. His first book, a memoire, will feature interesting people he has met during these years and situations he has survived.
Jay Langley is a longtime journalist, editor, and community leader best known for his years as editor of the Hunterdon County Democrat, one of New Jersey’s most respected weekly newspapers. As editor, he helped guide the paper’s coverage of local government, community affairs, history, and the people of Hunterdon County. Widely respected for his commitment to community journalism, Langley played an important role in preserving the Democrat’s tradition as a trusted local news source. Beyond journalism, he has been active in civic and cultural organizations throughout the region. His career reflects a deep belief in the value of local storytelling and informed communities.
Paul Murphy was born in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City, before Pearl Harbor and raised in a close Irish Catholic family in Bergen County, New Jersey. He left home at age fifteen to pursue the priesthood and a life of service. Ordained a Priest of the Sacred Heart in 1968, he taught, studied, and worked in education, theology, and social service across the United States before ultimately leaving the priesthood in the early 1980s. He then built a nearly forty-year career serving nonprofit organizations while traveling to all fifty states, living in ten, visiting dozens of countries, and occasionally working on projects connected to the Vatican Library. A lifelong lover of music, he sang for twenty-five years with one of New York’s premier choral groups, performing in many of the nation’s great concert halls and churches. His personal journey also included the loss of his first partner and a loving relationship of more than twenty-five years with his current partner. After moving to New Hope, Pennsylvania, he owned and operated an art gallery for fifteen years before retiring in 2020. Following a serious illness and recovery in 2023–2024, he completed his poetry and memoir collection, and his remarkable life story is now the subject of a half-hour documentary being produced by New Hope Celebrates.
Gary Senesoupha is a first-generation Lao-American and photographer from New Jersey. The piece he will be reading tonight comes from a memoir-in-progress called “Through the Eyes of a Refugee Son”, which explores his family’s journey from Laos and the experiences that shaped him growing up as the child of refugee parents. Much of the project centers on the stories that were never fully told, and the sacrifices that were rarely acknowledged.
Eric Wartenweiler Smith is a Key West-based explorer, commercial diver, research vessel captain, and underwater archaeologist whose career has taken him from shipwrecks and sunken cities to remote scientific expeditions around the world. Born in 1962 and raised in North Idaho, he developed a passion for exploration, sailing, and adventure at an early age. After working as a commercial diver, mariner, and paramedic, he became involved in some of the world’s most notable underwater archaeological projects, including the discovery and excavation of the submerged Egyptian cities of Heracleion and Canopus. Over the years, he has led and supported scientific, archaeological, and environmental missions across five continents while operating research vessels from his home port of Key West, Florida. A gifted storyteller and educator, Smith has shared his experiences through documentaries, interviews, public presentations, and educational programs. His life reflects a rare combination of curiosity, seamanship, scientific exploration, and a lifelong commitment to discovering the hidden stories of our planet.
Rev. David D. Snyder was born in Indiana and first felt called to ministry while attending a church youth retreat. After graduating from Indiana State University, he earned his Master of Divinity degree from Andover Newton Theological School and was ordained to Christian ministry in 1981. Over more than four decades of service, he has worked in campus ministry, interfaith outreach, interim ministry, and parish leadership in New Hampshire, Connecticut, and New Jersey. Known for his warm pastoral style, he especially values helping people through life’s most meaningful moments, including baptisms, weddings, funerals, and acts of community service. Rev. Snyder and his wife, Lisa, are the parents of three grown children and grandparents of two. Today he serves as minister of Stockton Presbyterian Church, where he continues to encourage people to grow in faith, compassion, and service to others.
Russel Topping was born, raised and still lives in Lambertville, New Jersey with his comfort buddy, Emerson. He started writing poetry in the late 1960s, but didn’t take it seriously until 1979. Two years ago, he was blessed to have his first book of poems published, titled The Path, available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. He tries to write about what he has learned and experienced. He tries to write things that people can relate to.
