Pros and Panelists

A. L. Kaplan’s stories and poems have been included in several anthologies and magazines. Her most recent publication is Mark of the Goddess. She is a member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, is the president of the Maryland Writers’ Association, and holds a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture. When not writing or indulging in her fascination with wolves, this proud mother of two enjoys life in Maryland with her husband and dog. Learn more about A. L. at ALKaplanAuthor.com and follow her @ALKaplanAuthor.
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A. W. McCollough (Andrew) writes, edits, and coaches writing in the Pacific Northwest. The grist for his writing mill comes from experiences as varied as living abroad, obtaining a doctorate in psychology, working in tech startups, social tango, and a long frustration with brushing Japanese calligraphy. He believes that writing that lacks emotion lacks soul; he also believes that story beats style, but enchantment lies in the voice. Contact Andrew for coaching or to read his most recent work at worlds.workingtitle.us.
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ACTin’ Up (she/they) is “Thee Unshod Fae.” They are an international and award-winning performer trained in more than 10 styles of movement. A stan of handstands and force of floor foolness, they can be caught teaching dance and theatre to all ages throughout the Pacific Northwest. They continue to create BIPOC spaces within both the pole and burlesque communities through productions like We Outside and Melanated Pole Fest. They love to travel, bringing their pole, neo-burlesque, and nerdlesque to as many people and places as possible.

Alan has 20 years’ experience in Nordic studies, a master’s degree in English literature and history, and a bachelor’s degree with certification in multiple science disciplines. He has taught veterinary nursing and published papers on animal science research and geriatric rehabilitation. He has participated in a Nordic archeology dig, biomechanics of seating and mobility design, and manufacturing. Alan has a Master of Business Administration in international trade, project management, and business process management.
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Actor, author, soldier, cop—Alan’s adventures and misadventures have included fighting forest fires, exploring pyramids in the Middle East, investigating homicides, parachuting out of perfectly good airplanes, acting in film and television, and a range of other things. An avid horseman, he is currently training with his horse Lady Jane for the upcoming jousting season. Alan’s first novel, Fairchild the Fearless, may be found at Amazon.

Alex Crawley is a freelance developmental editor and writing coach for authors in genre fiction and academia. They own Lodestar Editing & Coaching, where they enjoy working on queer interdisciplinary humanities texts and character-driven stories with heart—whether that heart is mending, breaking, falling in love, or slowly oozing blood onto a demon’s dinner plate. When not working, they are either writing their own heart out as EA Crawley or meandering through the forest, possibly to return.
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Known as The Faerie Tale Minstrel, Alexander James Adams specializes in creating music, writing, and art that inspires empowerment and transformation. He offers that magic to all who wish to change their lives for the better. With over 40 years of practice in these magics, Alec proves that anything is possible if only you can believe. Find his creations at: www.creaturaemagicus.com.
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Alex has been performing with CSz Seattle for more than 10 years. He performs in a variety of shows for the theatre and teaches classes for students of all improv skill levels. Last year, he directed the hit improvised anime Magical Hero High School: Battle Time, to the delight of Seattle’s nerds.

Alexandra Nica is the dramatic only child of dramatic, Romanian-immigrant only children. Saddled with robust familial pressure, an expressive temperament, and a name meaning “defender of men” and “victory,” there was really only one path that made sense for her: becoming a Navy JAG working in criminal justice. Now a veteran living in Seattle, she escapes her litigation day job by engaging with contemporary fantasy/horror and running Content Hospital, a spec-fic writing collective with her forged family.
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Amanda Cherry is a writer and actor from the Seattle suburbs who still can’t believe people pay her to tell stories. Her credits include novels, screenplays, tabletop role-playing games, and a short story collection. Her short fiction credits include Antifa Lit Journal Volume 2, Mad Scientist Journal, and Augment, the Shadowrun magazine. Her nonfiction has appeared in such outlets as Journey Planet, ToscheStation.net, and StarTrek.com. Keep up with Amanda on Bluesky and TikTok @MandaTheGinger.
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Amy Sundberg is the author of the recently released YA science fiction novel Cut Me Out in Little Stars, the third in the Satori Chronicles. She’s also written the Gothic horror novel Gold Diggers and To Travel the Stars, a YA retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in space. Her novels feature intrepid heroines and questions of agency, power, and possibility. At The Urbanist and her Substack newsletter, Notes from the Emerald City, Amy reports on local news with an emphasis on public safety and the criminal legal system.
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Andie Penn Romine is a writer, animator, and educator. Their first novel, The Mosquito Fleet, is available now. Their stories have appeared at Lightspeed Magazine, Paizo.com, and in several collections. When not wrangling words, robots, or dragons, Andie dabbles in craft cocktails and baking. They live in Seattle with a cheesemonger and two cats who have never, ever, EVER been fed. You can find them at andrewpennromine.com and on Bluesky at @inkgorilla.
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As the daughter of aUI’s creator, Andi Weilgart learned The Language of Space as a teenager while attending her father’s college seminars. She has dedicated much of her life to promoting the language on its revised website and has written a novel based on aUI aimed at middle grade and YA audiences.
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Andrew Ross (“Miles Vorkosigan” on Facebook and Bluesky) is an attorney, political activist, and filker from Eugene, Oregon.

Andrew Williams has been a professional and hobbyist photographer for over 10 years, working with cosplayers at conventions and photoshoots. He has photographed events ranging from burlesque shows, to professional conferences, to gaming tournaments. He has also worked on many projects as a body painter and makeup artist. His work can be found on Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms @journeysincolor.
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Andy is a professional structural engineer with 30 years’ experience in building design, with a primary interest in seismic design. In addition to his professional career, Andy is a longtime fan of science fiction, fantasy, and anime. He has been attending Norwescon since the early 1990s. A martial arts enthusiast, Andy has trained in a variety of styles, but has focused on Japanese karate for much of his life.
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andyvanoverberghe (an-dee van o-ver-berg) is a visual creative specializing in illustration arts, animation, and media production applications. He has worked on music videos, film, television, wedding videos, photography, and healthcare technologies. His work provokes imagination by exploring philosophy, psychology, spirituality, geometry, anatomy, the cosmos, and the world observed. Find them at www.veeonethree.com.

Ann Shilling has spent several years riding, jousting, and swinging swords with the Seattle Knights. She has also logged countless hours on horseback compiling a list of King County horse trails, riding in wagon trains, and investigating the countrysides of Europe from the saddle. Ann has ridden in the Tournament of the Phoenix, a historical reenactment tournament in Poway, California, and Hackaland, a tournament in Liege, Belgium. Ann enjoys organizing and squiring for other knights at events around the country. Her historical interests range from medieval Europe, to the American West, to ancient China. Her written work includes several plays performed by the Seattle Knights and a number of short stories.

Love is all around us. For some, it jumps out when you least expect it. For others, it quietly blooms. Ari has loved performing for as long as they can remember. From living room productions for family members to stage and streaming, they thoroughly enjoy bringing new stories to life. In addition to Impossible Loves, some of their favorite shows include: Time’s Arrow, An Improvised Man, and Where No Man Has Gone Before. They have 16 years of improv experience and a bachelor’s in theatre arts.

Anne Stewart is a writer, a costumer, and a real geek of all trades. She has a degree in English literature, a degree in Japanese language and literature with a focus in comic book studies from the University of Oregon, most of a Master in Library and Information Science from the University of Washington, and a lifelong interest in space, poetry, sciences, art, music, horror, and just about anything she can get her hands on. IDIC, LLAP, and MTFBWY.

A volcano of encouragement shaped a lot like a person, Atlin has been commissioning editor at Improbable Press for the last 11 years. She has published two books of fiction and edited hundreds of stories and dozens of books, including Spark: How Fic and Fandom Can Set Your Writing on Fire. Atlin is highly focused on raising the voices of LGBTQIA+, neurodivergent, BIPOC, and disabled persons; women; and other people from whom we do not yet hear enough.

Brian Grinnell has been carving leather under the name Belsac Leather Art for almost 30 years. His primary focus is Viking, Celtic, medieval, and fantasy art. His art can be found in the Norwescon Art Show and on Facebook.
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Ben Honeycutt is a retired Navy chief who spent 20 years watching the oceans of the world, mostly from ashore. He now lives on Whidbey Island fixing broken things in people’s homes and swearing at people who cut corners. In his off time he is a community theater actor, director, and builder. He has worked as the lead cryptid for Haunted Fort Casey for several years, building, recruiting, frightening grown men, and otherwise herding cats. He is an avid reader of science and science fiction.

Ben is a performer and teacher all around Seattle. He has been with CSz Seattle since 2013, performing in their flagship show ComedySportz as well as B-Rated!, Full Disclosure, Dubious Advice, and The Blue Show. He is also a performer and director in your favorite improvised puppet musical No Strings Attached.

Ben Thompson is the bestselling author of 13 books, including three award-winning series, Badass, Guts & Glory, and Epic Fails. As the writer and creator of the popular history blog Badass of the Week, Ben has been fringe internet famous for over 20 years and has appeared on television programs for the History Channel, Discovery, AMC, and the American Heroes Channel. He currently hosts the Badass of the Week podcast and writes role-playing game adventure modules for 99 Cent Adventures.
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Berlynn Wohl is an octopus in a Russian fur hat who sometimes writes science fiction and Sherlock Holmes pastiches. No one knows why this is. Berlynn’s anthologies include Oh, Doctor Watson! and Mad Scientists Need Love Too.
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Bernice Larson started doing stand-up comedy in an attempt to cure her social anxiety. It didn’t work, and she’s been failing upward ever since. When she’s not busy oversharing on stage for free drink tickets, she enjoys concocting cloyingly earnest PowerPoint presentations, posting cries for help on Instagram (@8bitbean), and painting furniture in the middle of the night.

Blanca Dorado is The Sweetest Demon. A mysterious and macabre creature, this international performer is a part of Seattle’s Haus De Corvo. They began burlesque in 2020 and are known for their style that melds sensual and haunting into something that leaves audiences craving more.

Bradley Englert is an executive editor at Orbit Books where he acquires for the Orbit, Redhook, and Run For It lists. He has edited numerous New York Times bestsellers, and has the privilege of working with authors like James S.A. Corey, Brent Weeks, John Gwynne, Joe Abercrombie, Andrzej Sapkowski, Riot Games, and many, many more. He is also working to build Run For It, Orbit’s new horror imprint, into a premiere destination for die-hard horror readers.
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Brenda Cooper writes science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. She lives in the Pacific Northwest in a household with two people, five dogs, more than three computers, and only one TV. See her website at www.brenda-cooper.com.
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Brian Oberquell is a technician/pyrotechnician who works with, and is certified to teach courses for, SPFX Pyrotechnics and Display Fireworks. His pyrotechnic credits include 24 years of experience in setting up world-class pyro-musical displays, as well as working with Rammstein, KISS, Motley Crue, and the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience. He is (as far as he knows) the only person to have trained a blind pyrotechnician.
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Brian Garrison briefly studied computer science and artificial intelligence until neuroscience and human intelligence turned out to be much more interesting. His chapbook Micropoetry for Microplanets (Space Cowboy Books) earned third place in the 2025 Elgin Awards. He is the president of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association. Find him in Portland, Oregon, or online at www.bugthewriter.com.
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Brianna Malotke is a member of Emerald City Romance Writers and the Horror Writers Association. She has two horror poetry collections—Fashion Trends, Deadly Ends and Lost Cherry—as well as multiple romance books. She has contributed to two seasons of the Hallow Ian Horror Hour television show with Tapped House. She has done writing residencies in France and Ireland. This past October, she was a costume judge for MOPOP’s Fashionably Undead Halloween party and had a blast!
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Brigitte Winter is a novelist writing fabulist fiction about your favorite monster ex-girlfriends. Her short fiction has appeared in PodCastle, New Year, New You: A Speculative Anthology of Reinvention, and City of Weird. Her game, Psychic Trash Detectives, won a 2024 CRIT Award for best indie tabletop role-playing game, and her debut novel, The Normal Monster Club, was a 2024 PNWA Literary Award finalist and will be published by Generous Press in 2027. Find her at brigittewinterauthor.com and @bwinterose on Instagram.
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Brittany is a paper artist known for combining layered paper and light into shadow box sculptures that she calls Oneiroframes. Based in Seattle since 2012, she made her first paper sculpture in 2016. Her work is influenced by her love of fantasy and biology and her struggles with mental health. She creates transformative, dreamlike portals that draw the viewer in to expressive worlds that shine brightest when surrounded by darkness.
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Bryana Cross Bean is an attorney whose primary practice areas are estate planning, long-term care planning, elder law, and probate. She has been a practicing attorney in Washington since 2013 and has had her own practice since 2014. She centers her practice around helping clients plan for the future by anticipating problems before they occur. She enjoys hiking and spending time with family, and she loves sci-fi, especially The Expanse and Doctor Who.
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Dr. Caitlin Jacques began designing costumes for stage and cosplay at the ripe age of 13, and hasn’t stopped costuming since. Her costumes have been featured in several stage productions, many conventions, and even onscreen in Lucasfilms’ The High Republic YouTube show. Outside of costuming, Caitlin studied civil engineering with a focus on earthquakes, and she currently works as a business analyst promoting equitable practice in higher education at Shoreline College.

Camden Rose is a queer author who loves seeking out magic beneath the everyday world. Her works have appeared with Inner Worlds, Flash Fiction Online, and Heartlines Spec. She is a member of Codex. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her spouse, black cats, and collection of books and board games. You can find her online at www.camdenscorner.com.
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A Pacific Northwest artist, Camille Meehan spent much of her life exploring the wooded islands of Puget Sound. That time carried over into her work, which shows a love of nature and rich textured environments full of dynamic magical creatures. Currently deep in her "Unicorn Period," Camille is motivated by her family's love of unicorns, creating unorthodox representations of the much-beloved equine. In addition to being a fantasy painter, Camille is a 3D environment artist for games. In 2025, she worked for Mob Entertainment, best known for its work on the popular Poppy Playtime horror series.
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Caren Gussoff Sumption lives in a nest of books, knitting, and rescue cats south of Seattle. The author of six books (most recently her postcolonial, deep-space, far-future comedy of manners, So Quick Bright Things Come to Confusion) and more than 100 short stories, she is Romani, is autistic, and works as a program manager for a domestic violence hotline. Find her online at www.spitkitten.com.
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Carlos Cabrera is the founder of Something Clever Games in Seattle and an award-winning game designer, developer, and voice actor. Their work can be found in both editions of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, the Essence20 Roleplaying Game, and video games like State of Decay 2. Their latest work is as developer for the Welcome to Night Vale Roleplaying Game and for Coronation, a coin-flipping push-your-luck game their daughter designed at five years old.
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Carmen Beaudry started her costuming career when she was 14. She has costumed for musical theater, opera, television, historical reenactment, and science fiction conventions. Historic clothing is her passion, especially clothing from the early 17th century and the 1880s. Her historical designs come from the study of period source material and of extant garments in museums in North America and Europe.

A former software engineer, Carol Berg majored in math and computer science so she wouldn’t have to write papers. Her 18 fantasy novels have won national and international awards, including multiple Colorado Book Awards and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature. Learn more at carolberg.com. A tabletop role-playing game titled Fools Reborn, based entirely on and in the world of her Collegia Magica series, is being released in 2026!
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Cathy has been playing and writing original music for over 50 years. She is primarily a guitarist and vocalist, but also plays drums, hand percussion, wind instruments, and keyboards. Cathy has three Pegasus Awards for songwriting and performance. She performs solo, with her band Random Fractions, with other musicians, and with Canticles Productions. Her other interests include Doctor Who, Buffy, and runes. Cathy is also Norwescon’s track lead for music and concerts this year.

Cecilia Eng has been a singer/songwriter since 1984 and has performed in England, Canada, and across the U.S. She was inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame in 2013 and won two Pegasus Awards (best classic filk song for “Helva’s Song” and best composer/writer) in 2022, and a third Pegasus (best risqué song) in 2024 for “Passion Flower.” Cecilia is active in both the filk and folk communities and has performed at the Seattle Northwest Folklife Festival and Tumbleweed Music Festival.
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Celeste Wakefield's genre-bending horror appears in Penumbric, Short and Twisted, and Patreon. Her work explores the intersection of Western history, medicine, and the birth world. By day, she works as a freelance editor for imprints including Tor Books and Nightfire.
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Charlotte Lewis Brown is a vertebrate paleontologist, a science writer, and a college professor. She has published numerous science articles for adults and three books that use true stories about dinosaurs and other fossil animals to draw children into the world of reading.
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Christian is the guitarist for the PDX Broadsides, a nerdy acoustic group out of Portland, Oregon. He has also been a comics journalist and a judge for the comics industry’s Eisner Awards. In his spare time, Christian provides vocals and drums for friends’ projects, and he is working with fellow nerd musician Chris Waffle on a musical called Punching Down.
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Christina Boekeloo writes fantasy at the intersection of heartwarming, humor, and horror. Her latest novel is about a pacifist’s struggles to restore balance between her homeland and the Ghibli-esque spirit world it is symbiotically linked to. Her in-progress project centers on a woman who dies on a reality TV dating show and must haunt her way to true love. Christina lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, kids, and great ambitions of teaching cats to use those talking pet buttons.
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Claire E. Jones (she/her) is a queer fantasy romance author who is committed to changing the world for the better through inclusive stories and practices. As an internationally recognized speaker and writer, her novels have sold in six countries, been picked up by bookstores across the U.S., and been ranked in the top 100 of the Ingram fiction fantasy romance category. She shares her works with the world from Seattle, Washington, where she lives with her precious pup, Karma.
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Clay Vermulm is a Montana-born, Washington-based author of horror and dark fiction. Clay has four published books, including his mountain-climbing horror novella, Crevasse (Dark Forest Press, 2025), and three short story collections. His work has been published in multiple anthologies, Sley House, and elsewhere. Additionally, Clay hosts the genre-fiction podcast Fermented Fiction and serves as the program coordinator for the Seattle branch of the Horror Writers Association.
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Clayton Mann served in the U.S. Army for over 31 years. In that time, he was on three deployments and overseas on an additional five missions of various locations and durations. He went to Jordan, Kuwait, Botswana, Central and South America, and South Korea. He was an army instructor and has specialized training in operational security, army combatives, and disaster response.

Cool Nerd Mark is a one-nerd band who writes, records, and produces music inspired by monsters, games, and movies. A middle-aged, young-at-heart teacher, guitarist, and songwriter, he mixes humor, heart, and nostalgia in live shows built around vocals, guitar, and energetic backing tracks. He also creates Cool Nerd Adventures, blending his 35+ years of tabletop role-playing game experience with his music by writing adventures based on his original songs.
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Cordelia Specifically is THE hyper queen of Seattle. She has a variety of events and awards under her belt, including Miss Bacon Strip 2026, a title also held by Jinx Monsoon. Some of her earliest memories are of being terrified by the richly dark sci-fi and fantasy movies of the 1980s that she was way too young to watch. Bilingual in English and Japanese, she often brings that skill into her performance to share her love of city pop and anime she watched in middle school, because she is cringe but she is free.

Corry is an author, Ph.D. physicist, and data geek. Their Russian-inspired epic fantasy trilogy beginning with Weave the Lightning (Solaris) concludes in April 2026. In it, lightning mages navigate romance, torn loyalties, and dangerous magic while fomenting rebellion against the fascist state. During Ph.D. research at Harvard, Corry studied rare subatomic particles. In the tech industry, they connected science and tech. They love cross-country skiing, tai chi, and queer books.
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Cozy Joe began his life focused on becoming an actor, and although he never made it much further than a few bit parts in film and TV, he’s sure you’ve seen him dancing in the background or getting off a school bus. He calls himself a “typical GenX slacker,” having worked in bookstores for 10 years and then at the Happiest Place on Earth for nearly 20. He’s been writing steadily for over five years, telling all the stories that are brimming in his head. Currently, he is working on his second cozy mystery novel.

Crystal Lloyd is a lifelong lover of science fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction. Armed with degrees in literature and sustainability/public policy, she strives to understand our collective history as humans and how we can better ourselves in the near future.

Crystal works in acrylic, colored pencil, and graphite. Her works have been featured in gallery showings throughout the western states and are included in private collections in several countries. Her artistic endeavors continue to expand, the latest branching being fore-edge painting on books. She lives and works on the family property with a menagerie of cats, dogs, and horses.

Crystal has been interested in fashion and clothing since her Barbies needed nicer wardrobes. She paid for her degree in biology with her sewing skills, working at a ballroom dance costume company. She has been the owner, designer, and head manufacturer for Crystal’s Idyll, the place for unique historically inspired fantasy fashions and hats, since 2008. Crystal’s primary form of entertainment is reading, and she credits Madeleine L’Engle and David Eddings for her love of fantasy.
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Once a Silicon Valley software engineer, Curtis C. Chen (陳致宇) now writes stories near Portland, Oregon. He’s the author of the Kangaroo series of funny science fiction spy thrillers, and has written for the Realm-original podcasts Echo Park, Ninth Step Murders, and Machina. Curtis’ shorter works have appeared in Playboy magazine; the ENNIE Award-winning Kobold Guide to Roleplaying; The Year’s Best Fantasy, Volume 2; Aliens vs. Predators: Ultimate Prey; and elsewhere.
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Cyrus Amelia Fisher (they/any) writes queer tales of shipwrecks, mycelium, and horrors of the flesh. Their short fiction has been published by PseudoPod, Apex Magazine, Neon Hemlock, and others. You can find more of their work at cyrusameliafisher.com.
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D. Scott Thayer is a speculative fiction author living and working in Western Washington state. “I strive to create unique characters, intricate worlds, and thought-provoking themes that will inspire a sense of wonder.” In 2025, he published two short stories, both of which can be accessed through his website, https://dscottthayer.com.
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D.L. Solum is a recently published author of the four-volume dark urban fantasy series, Persephone—A Tale of Darker Seattle. He lives in Seattle, Washington, but will always be from Butte, Montana. He’s a collector of odd friends and even odder hobbies, including medieval combat, armor and weapon collection, fishing, hunting, and computer games. His latest obsession of writing speculative fiction is only made possible via the mostly gentle encouragement and tolerance of his wife, Kate.
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Daniel H. Wilson is a Cherokee citizen and the multiple New York Times bestselling author of techno-thrillers such as Robopocalypse, The Clockwork Dynasty, and The Andromeda Evolution (an authorized sequel to the Crichton classic). He earned a Ph.D. in robotics from Carnegie Mellon University, as well as master’s degrees in machine learning and robotics. His latest novel, Hole in the Sky, is a story of Native first contact with an alien entity. Wilson lives in Portland, Oregon.
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Daphne Singingtree writes speculative fiction that bridges past and future through Indigenous knowledge and ecological vision. Her Circle for the Earth series explores survival, time travel, and the reimagining of community after collapse. She believes stories can heal the land and guide us toward balance.
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Born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, Darren McKinty developed an interest in animal health and welfare early in life. He has worked in the veterinary industry since 1988 and been a registered veterinary technician for 35 years. His career has allowed him experiences like raising baby black bears, helping with service dogs for the blind and support dogs for Wounded Warriors, and snuggling countless new puppies. His hobbies include sport fishing, home brewing, woodwork, knife smithing, and 3D printing.

Dr. David Tucker’s life mirrors his novels, a combination of experiences: a homeless construction worker facing injury and death, a research scientist specializing in intelligent systems, and a pilot and world traveler immersed in African cultures and wars, all fused together by a passion for science fiction and fantasy.
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Dawn Shaw is one of the founders of BritCon and so far has been its only chair. Outside of volunteering at fan conventions, she is a professional motivational speaker, has Icelandic horses, and collects and restores model horses.

Dean Wells is an educator, a workshop leader, and a writer of retro-futurist science fantasy, alternatively or laced with existential dread. He doesn’t know why, they just come out that way. His published work has appeared in Queer Sci Fi and Beneath Ceaseless Skies and their respective anthologies, as well as Ideomancer, Quantum Muse, 10Flash Quarterly, The Nocturnal Lyric, and other venues of speculative fiction. Dean is an active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association.
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Diana Fedorak is a speculative fiction writer from Las Vegas, Nevada. Born in Saigon, South Vietnam, she grew up in a Pan Am family who frequently traveled overseas. She served as a colonel in the United States Air Force. She enjoys writing complex characters in high-stakes science fiction and fantasy worlds. Diana’s debut novel, Children of Alpheios, was released in 2023 and won numerous awards. When she’s not writing, she spends time with her husband, two children, and their German shepherd.
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Diana Ma is a Chinese American author of books that range from middle grade and young adult to educational nonfiction. Her debut novel Heiress Apparently was a 2021 Washington State Book Award finalist in young adult literature. Her belief that diverse books help us create a better world is what drives her writing and teaching. More information about Diana can be found on her website: Dianamaauthor.com.

dQ Kaufman has been a regular at Norwescon since the 80s. He is an award-winning short film director, and a graphic designer who designed and typeset the very program book this bio appears in. He recently designed Todd Lockwood's Found Worlds and the souvenir program book for Seattle Worldcon 2025. You can usually find him outside with a cigar—come say hello. To follow him online, without the cigar smoke, go to patreon.com/bluepowdermonkeys.
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Dr. Corey Frazier is a former space shuttle and supercomputer engineer, and now a global innovation director in the tech industry in Portland, Oregon. An aspiring author, he’s currently querying his first completed manuscript. As a consultant and community leader, he drives technology equity initiatives across the country. Corey speaks professionally at national conferences on EdTech, AI and its impact, the importance of STEAM, and more to executives, community leaders, and policymakers.
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Dr. Jessica F. Hebert is an assistant professor in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. She is a renal and reproductive scientist specializing in the interactions between kidney and placenta, and she is an international award-winning science communicator. Dr. Hebert also sings and plays keys for nerdy pop powerhouse trio The PDX Broadsides, who sing about fandoms and feelings in a way that only exuberant geeks can.
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Dr. Kaylea Champion does research on how people work together to build information public goods forming digital infrastructure, including knowledge bases like Wikipedia and software like Linux. She uses forensic, datamining, and machine learning techniques to examine what gets built and maintained (and what doesn’t), who takes part (and who is excluded), and how teams form (and fall apart).
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Mark was an Air Force officer flying B-52’s, bouncer in Spokane, consultant in information technology, geek in a cube in .coms, and folk singer, and he is currently faculty at University of Idaho in the management information systems department. He has published in computer security and geographical information systems. Mark has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science, an M.B.A., and a doctorate focusing in cybersecurity. His hobbies include reenacting, playing guitar, and cooking. Mark has recently published his fourth novel, Commonality Games.
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Dr. Ricky is the nom de internet of a working research scientist. He has a passion for science education outreach. He is interested in the science of food and its impact on culture, evolution, digital art, and manufacturing with a focus on pen plotters and lasers.
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Dr. Sean Robinson is a data scientist and astrophysicist by training and a nerd, gamer, and athlete by avocation. He worked 25 years in applied statistics and research, helped pioneer autoencoder-driven generalized anomaly detection, and has been a tech lead and business analyst for pre-seed and early-stage startups across the artificial intelligence/machine learning sector. Sean is a longtime LARPer and role-player.
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Drew started his improv career with CSz San Jose in 2002 and was traded to CSz Seattle in 2017. He directs B-Rated! and has performed in ComedySportz, The Blue Show, Vision Euro Song Contest, Hex and the City, Actually Love, and Magical Hero High School: Battle Time. This fall he will direct the third season of CSz Seattle’s improvised spooky anthology show Tales of the Weird./p>

Dustin Campbell is a lifelong horror devotee and speculative fiction enthusiast who loves examining how genre reflects cultural anxiety and resilience. He’s a tabletop gamer, retrocomputing fan, comic book collector, metal festival veteran, and jazz-trained guitarist who has performed in The Who’s Tommy. By day, he helps design the C# programming language and builds developer tools at Microsoft. He lives in Seattle with his wife and two teenage girls, who treat every day as Halloween.

Dutch began his professional art career as a comic book illustrator. Later, he delved into special and practical effects, 3D ChromaDepth murals, tattooing, and large-scale prop sculpting. Dutch is best known for his appearance on Skin Wars, a competition body painting series, and its spinoff series Fresh Paint. Dutch is requested globally for his painting courses at beauty colleges and special effects schools, including MBS Academies in Korea and Stan Winston School of Character Arts.

E.W. Lloyd is a voice-over artist and audiobook reader. Recent works include Smart Management by Jochem Reb, et al., and Desire in the Damned by Carl Bluesy. He can soon be heard in Murder, Inc., an independent production by Fortress Films. This is his third year as a reader at the Philip K. Dick Awards.
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Edward Martin III is a writer and an award-winning filmmaker from Portland, OR. He’s made four feature films, half a dozen web series totaling over 400 episodes, and dozens of independent short films. He’s published four books and sold two novels (both recently published). An additional book series, Terror Stories from the Territories, is in production, due to start publishing in 2026.
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Eliza Furmansky has been climbing through imaginary worlds, creating fantastic characters, painting and fabricating surreal landscapes, and playing pretend with her friends since childhood. She’s now a grown-up University of Washington drama alum and Unexpected Productions company member, and she can’t wait to find out what sexy and compelling paranormal love story is going to unfold this weekend in Norwescon’s Impossible Loves! You can find Eliza on social media, through her website elizafurmansky.com, or performing improvised mime at the Market Theater on the fourth Saturday of every month.
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Elizabeth Berrien started messing with wire in the 1960s. She never quit. In 1985, exhausted from making a life-size Pegasus for the Louisville International Airport, she went for what sounded like a much-needed rest... three days at something called “Westercon 38.” Well, Westercon was a wonderful, nonstop sensory event. Getting shanghaied into the green room at the insistence of Larry and Fuzzy Niven. Hall costumes. Room parties. World-building panels. Predawn high jinks. Everything but sleep! Even best of show in the art show. Today she lives in Olympia, Washington, has worldwide awards, and still loves the cons. She’s glad to be here!

Elizabeth Guizzetti, an illustrator and author, is best known for her demon-poodle-based comedy, Out for Souls & Cookies, and her historical family dramas in the Vampires of the Paper Flower Consortium series. She enjoys collaborating with other authors, as seen in her work on Dear Penpal Belgium, 1980, written by Jennifer Brozek. She runs the podcast Scary Stories Whispered in the Rain, and she also writes under Elizabeth Greyrose. Elizabeth resides in Seattle with her husband and their dog, Walnut.
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To you, the small handful of people that read this: Hello. My name is ELK. I’m here to talk at you. Prepare to say hi.
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Ellis Bray is a slipstream author, poet, and artist who lives within spitting distance of Seattle. His poetry has been published by F&SF and Eye to the Telescope, while his fiction can be found in The Nonprofit Quarterly, Phano, and various anthologies. He is an illustrator for The Future Fire magazine, and he showcases his art at markets and conventions around the Pacific Northwest. You can find his publications at bio.site/ebhelveg and his art at inklore.art.
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Elsie Raymond writes horror and speculative fiction influenced by her love for pop culture and genre fiction. From a background in politics and economics, she swerved into creating fiction that pairs complex worlds with unhinged ideas. An alumna of Viable Paradise, her work has been published in literary magazines, anthologies, and a podcast. Elsie lives on an island in the Pacific Northwest, hunting wild mushrooms and spending too much time reading about the mysteries of the cosmos.
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Emily C. Skaftun is a speculative fiction writer, editor, graphic designer, and irony enthusiast. Her short story collection, Living Forever & Other Terrible Ideas, was published in November 2020. Emily lives in Seattle with a furry house monster named Basilisk. In her spare time, she plays roller derby as V. Lucy Raptor, dabbles with taxidermy, and writes postcards to the void.
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Emily Smiley is a horror and dark fantasy author who encourages her readers to discover deeper truths within themselves through the exploration of fear, grief, and trauma, with a splash of dark humor and (sometimes) a little spice. She’s the programming coordinator for the Writers’ Studio at the Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network on Bainbridge Island, Washington, and a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association and the Horror Writers Association.
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Eric Distad is a musician, composer, audio engineer, and unashamed nerd. He’s been shaping words and music into song for over 30 years and has been recording them (for fun and profit) for over 20. He is a founding member of FAWM (February Album Writing Month), which challenges you to write 14 songs in 28 days. When he’s not writing music, he’s playing or designing board games, reading and watching SF/F, and playing humble servant to two lovable cats.
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Eric L Vargas is a freelance comic artist and illustrator with nine years’ experience in the industry. Based out of Washington state, he is currently working on a comic called Pirates of the Starry Seas as well as a webcomic called Traveling Echoes.
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Eric Taney is an aerospace engineer with over 20 years of design experience for mechanical and fluid systems, as well as metallic and non-metallic structures. A graduate of Penn State Aerospace, he has designed components and upgrades for rotorcraft and commercial airplanes, and flight control systems for crewed and uncrewed rockets. Outside of his work in rocketry, he is a maker and writes short stories in the science fiction and fantasy genres.
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Erik Grove is a writer, writing teacher, editor, and dog wrangler living and doing things in Portland, Oregon. You can find his short fiction published in places like Nightmare Magazine, Escape Pod, and numerous anthologies, and carved into the bark of gnarled trees in the haunted woods behind your house. He is also the editor of The Muddy Goose Guide to the Weird Northwest: A Playable Adventure, and his debut novel, The Long Red Tomorrow, is forthcoming from Podium Publishing.
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Erik Scott de Bie is a speculative fiction writer who got his start in the Forgotten Realms setting, home of his Shadowbane series. He is known for his World of Ruin apocalyptic fantasy series and his Justice/Vengeance superhero series. He’s also a known quantity in the gaming industry, with contributions to D&D, Pathfinder, Iron Kingdoms, the Cthulhu Mythos, and many others. Erik lives in Seattle with his wife, cats, chickens, and dog.
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Erika Lowe is the owner and artistic director at CSz Seattle—Home of ComedySportz. She has over 20 years of experience teaching, directing, and performing with casts and theaters across the U.S. Erika has also served on the board and performed with Bandit Theater, and she has directed and performed with Jet City Improv. You can follow Erika @erikalowe_ and @cszseattle on Instagram.

Erin M. Evans is best known for her two award-winning fantasy series, the Books of the Usurper and the Brimstone Angels Saga. Her book Relics of Ruin won the 2024 Endeavour Award. She is also a prolific IP writer, contributing to universes like D&D and RuneScape. A founding member of the actual-play channel Dungeon Scrawlers and co-host of the podcast Writing About Dragons & Shit, Erin lives near Seattle with her husband and two sons.
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Ethan Vodde is an intellectual property attorney with the law firm Gray Ice Higdon, PLLC. His practice focuses primarily on trademark and copyright protection, registration, enforcement, licensing, and litigation. While he’s got a lot of clients with SaaS, he really likes working with pizzazz. Specifically, Ethan enjoys working with creatives. An avid gamer, reader, and nerd pop (and should-be-pop) culture fan, Ethan is always happy to talk about the intersection of geek and IP.
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Evan J. Peterson is the author of Posthuman (Choice of Games), Better Living Through Alchemy (Broken Eye Books) and Metaflesh: Poems in the Voices of the Monster (ARUS). As a game writer, he created Drag Star! (Choice of Games), the world’s first drag performer role-playing game, and cowrote The Road to Innsmouth: Arkham Horror. His work has appeared in Weird Tales, PseudoPod, Queers Destroy Horror, and Nightmare Magazine.
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G.R. Theron is a Seattle-based storyteller and member of the Fairwood Writers Group. In addition to writing, he is also an active artist, photographer, podcaster, and wayward spirit. A graduate from the University of Washington, he is formally educated as a classic historian. He currently balances his time between those things that make a living and those that make a life.
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Gabriella Buba is a mixed Filipina-Czech author-illustrator and chemical engineer based in Texas who likes to keep explosive pyrophoric materials safely contained in pressure vessels or between the covers of her books. Her debut Saints of Storm and Sorrow was nominated for the 2025 Aldiss Award for World Building in Speculative Fiction. Daughters of Flood and Fury was a trending Spotify LGBTQ+ audiobook. She will release a gothic novella with Absinthe Books in Fall 2026. Learn more at gabriellabuba.com or @gabriellabuba.
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Gabrielle Harbowy is an associate literary agent at Corvisiero Literary Agency. An award-nominated editor, author, and anthologist, her novels include Pathfinder Tales: Gears of Faith. She is an active member of SFWA, the LGBTQ+ Editors Association, and the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers (IAMTW). She has written game adventures for Pathfinder and D&D. For more information, including her MSWL (manuscript wish list), visit her online at @gabrielle_h or gabrielleharbowy.com.
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Gareth Davis plays guitar and drums. He is currently a solo performing artist, as well as the drummer for the classic rock band Vinyl Rock. Gareth has been performing for over 40 years in various choirs, at Highland Games, at ren faire, at Folklife Festival, and in various theater groups. He has been playing D&D since 1975 and is active in the Society for Creative Anachronism. He spent 20 years in the Navy and retired in 1993.
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Gary Bennett is an award-winning SAG-AFTRA audiobook narrator of over 280 audiobooks (so far!), including books for nearly all major publishers. He has trained with top coaches for narration and accents and records in his professional home studio. He loves thrillers, mysteries, sci-fi, and fantasy. Raised in Montana, Gary now calls the greater Seattle area home. He’s an avid outdoor enthusiast, private pilot, writer, musician, and huge sports fan! He also narrates under the name Liam Sanderson.
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Geneva Bowers is an illustrator originally from Western North Carolina. She is a nerd for both nature and tech. She is equally at home on a nature trail or playing a video game. Being surrounded by the Great Smoky Mountains has been a great inspiration, although the wonders and mysteries of space are also often in her thoughts. Geneva enjoys incorporating themes of nature or space in her work, and she hopes that when people view her art, they feel a sense of wonder and mystery.
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Gina Saucier will talk about empire and science fiction/fantasy even when it is a massive stretch to weave them into conversation. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she works in local government and has a Master of Science degree from the London School of Economics in empires, colonialism, and globalization. Gina grew up doing local theater, which greatly influences her love of stories, costuming, and sewing. When traveling, she will quietly whisper “give it back” in museums of the world. Find her @reginaroams.

Gloria Jackson-Nefertiti (she/her) is a Seattle-based author, presenter, panelist, and late-diagnosed autistic adult (in May 2019, six months before turning 63). Her upcoming memoir is called A Different Drum: A Black, Autistic, Polyamorous, Mentally Ill, Former Fundamentalist Christian/Cult Member and Breast Cancer Survivor WHO JUST WANTS TO FIT IN.
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Gordon B. White is a Seattle-based author of horror and weird fiction, as well as a finalist for both the Shirley Jackson Award and Bram Stoker Award. His second short story collection, Gordon B. White is creating Haunting Weird Horror(s), was released by Trepidatio Publishing in October 2023. Gordon is a graduate of Clarion West, and his stories, reviews, and interviews have appeared in dozens of venues. You can find him online at gordonbwhite.com or on most social media as @GordonBWhite.
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Gordon Van Gelder became the sixth editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1997. He held the position until 2015, and he was the magazine’s publisher through 2024. Prior to working on F&SF, he worked as an editor for St. Martin’s Press and also for The New York Review of Science Fiction. He has edited several anthologies, including Welcome to the Greenhouse, Fourth Planet from the Sun, Go Forth and Multiply, and Welcome to Dystopia. He lives in New Jersey.
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Grace is a costumer and maker, crafting ensembles with themes from Bronze Age Mesopotamia to the Titanic to space. Her engineering background infuses a mixed-materials flair into designing patterns, molding props, and 3D printing. Specializing in extravagant hair, headdresses, and accessories, Grace also makes her own fabric, from shearing her Angora goats to weaving and dyeing. Grace is currently serving as assistant dean to Costume College in Los Angeles and as a board member for Costumers Guild West.
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Gregory Amato made a career of selling his quill as a mercenary writer for many years. He wrote true and important things for newspapers, magazines, and academia, and, for over a decade, he wrote intelligence analysis for the FBI. Now, he writes fantasy stories based on the myths and sagas of the Vikings. Outside his time spent telling tales about myths, magic, and monsters, Gregory teaches judo, brews his own beer, and plays D&D when he gets the chance. He and his family live in the Pacific Northwest.
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GregRobin teaches Shakespeare and American colonial history through continuing education programs at Western Washington University, Seattle Central College, and the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. A union renaissance faire performer/musician, he directs The Washington Shakespearean Festival and is producing a new renaissance faire in Mount Vernon, Washington, from June 13 to 14, 2026. GregRobin also performs as Benjamin Franklin to raise funds for nonprofits. With his wife, operatic soprano Eleanor Stallcop-Horrox, they prove music truly is the food of love.
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Griff grew up playing piano and singing in various choirs. He took up guitar in his early 50s. Since entering filk, he’s written songs, given concerts, held the Creating While Neurodivergent workshop, been nominated for the best writer/composer Pegasus Award, and released two albums (so far). He and his husband, author Cozy Joe Petty, are published fiction writers (together and separately), and are owned by an obstreperous tortoiseshell cat named Molly. They live in Long Beach, California.
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Gwen Callahan is the co-director of the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and Portland Horror Film Festival. Gwen has degrees in creative writing and studio art, and she worked in community marketing for many years before starting Sigh Co. Graphics and Arkham Bazaar with her husband, Brian. They create Lovecraftian- and horror-themed apparel, film collections, and accessories. She also co-hosts a film podcast, Gwen and Gretchen Watch Movies.
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Hazel has been attending Norwescon for over 25 years, and she states that the amazing con community has been such a positive formative experience in her life. Now she wants to pass that experience on to others. Hazel loves history, natural sciences, fiber arts, costuming, and dancing.

A cancer survivor, Hugh is an avid spaceflight historian from British Columbia, Canada. His research includes the conceptual theory for the ELDSRR space reactor and Project MOSS for the Musk Observatory, and he co-authored a paper in Cartographica about mapping on Mars. Hugh’s slide and video shows have been appearing at conventions for over 35 years, including 11 Worldcons and eight Dragon Cons. This will be Hugh’s fourth appearance at Norwescon.

Ian K. Hagemann, MSW, helped found Potlatch and the Carl Brandon Society. He also ran the largest convention for members of the alt.polyamory newsgroup and DJ-ed at the Seattle Sex Positive Community Center for many years. A trained molecular biologist and former computer professional, he now staffs intense personal growth weekends and works as a counselor in private practice. His articles about emotions and oppression and about polyamorous pioneers can be found at HealingJuniperCounseling.com.

Ian Shaw is a retired electrical engineer and longtime old-school AV nerd. When not paneling (or being paneled) you will find him handling the nuts-and-bolts AV requirements in Norwescon’s panel rooms.

Ivy Gilliam is a Seattle-based illustrator and multimedia artist. Her work is centered around visual storytelling that inspires the viewer to take part in creating a narrative. Her fantasy and sci fi illustrations focus on calm scenes with a touch of humorous whimsy. The detailed backgrounds and candid characters are intended to offer the viewer a sense of tranquility, comfort, and delight. Ivy is committed to portraying realism through diversity. It is her goal to have her art represent the vast and vibrant world she experiences.
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Izzy is more than just an enigma in this universe; he is the result of the collective imaginations of all of humanity. A regular Norwescon-goer for several decades, he has grown from a flash gracing the convention dances to a full-fledged adult with a hacker job. He specialized in neural network design before AI was popular, teaches game design at night, and studied mathematics because it’s fun. Half goth, half jock, half gamer geek, half computer nerd, half leatherboy, he is a true Gemini.

Jim is a full-time SF&F writer, scientist (with a doctorate in electrical engineering, specialty laser physics), and former running-dog lackey for the bourgeois capitalist establishment. With 20 published SF&F books, he’s been successful at self-publishing and traditional publishing with Harper Collins. Jim has an abiding interest in geeky stuff like orbital mechanics, space travel, and laser weapons. He lives in Tucson with his wife Karen, and two extra-terrestrial aliens who claim to be cats, Simone and Paris.
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J.B. Kish is a weird fiction and horror author living in the Pacific Northwest. He is the former co-chair of the Oregon Horror Writer’s Association, and his writing has been published in Nightmare Magazine, The Skull & Laurel, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Metaphorosis: Best of ’22, and others. Additionally, he is a writing milestone book coach that helps authors leverage project management to accomplish their writing goals.
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J.P. Barnett is the author of the award-winning Lorestalker series, a six-book collection of horror adventures examining folklore of mysterious creatures roaming our world, published by Evolved Publishing. As a lifelong consumer of stories, J.P. was more than ready to move from writing software to writing novels when he published his first book in 2019. J.P. currently resides in Redmond with his partner, who looks at him dubiously with some frequency.
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Jack Samm is an entertainment industry veteran and pop culture preservationist.
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Jack Skillingstead’s stories have appeared in Asimov’s, Clarkesworld, F&SF, and Lightspeed, as well as various year’s best volumes and original anthologies. His first published story was a finalist for the Theodore Sturgeon Award. His second novel, Life on the Preservation, was a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award. He lives in West Seattle with his wife, writer Nancy Kress.
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Jae Steinbacher is a queer nonbinary trans writer living on unceded Duwamish lands. They have been published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lightspeed, and Baffling Magazine. Jae is a graduate of the Clarion West Writers Workshop and North Carolina State University’s Master of Fine Arts program. Find them online at JaeSteinbacher.com or @JaeSteinbacher on various social media.
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Jake is a forever game master and the cohost of the podcast Campaign Spotlight, where they lead interviews and research. They care about properly weighted dice, interesting d100 tables, and market competition in tabletop role-playing game publishing.
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Jake McKinzie, a science teacher since 1999, now teaches chemistry and biology. His favorite authors are Moorcock, Feist, Niven, Bova, Howard, and deGrasse Tyson. After beginning in 1980 with Car Wars and red box D&D, he is currently playing various Savage Worlds settings and D&D 5th Edition. His daughter Cait is a former panelist and art show participant, but is currently away attending Colorado State University. Traveling to where his jeep, ShadowWalker, takes him is one of his favorite things.

James Bailey has always loved movies. Early on, he developed a fascination with filmmakers and the productions that created them. This led him to earn a degree in film production from the University of Florida. He now works as a director of photography and camera operator. James is also a course director for the digital cinematography degree at Full Sail University. As a host of the Ink to Film podcast, James hopes to inspire others to dig deeper into the art of storytelling, whatever the medium.
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James L. Sutter is a co-creator of the Pathfinder and Starfinder role-playing games. He’s the author of the queer young adult romance novels Darkhearts and The Ghost of Us and the fantasy novels Death’s Heretic and The Redemption Engine, plus comics and video games. His short stories have appeared in Nightmare Magazine, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and more. He lives in Seattle. Learn more at jameslsutter.com.
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Janine Wardale’s eclectic style of costuming combines sewing, crocheting, embroidery, bead work, dyeing, macrame, and the painting, aging, and distressing of fabric. She loves to reuse, repurpose, and reinvent vintage finds to turn them into unique pieces of wearable art and masquerade attire. Her claim to fame is spending six hours of embellishing for every one hour of sewing. The results speak for themselves, and she is just a fun person to be around, share a laugh with, and simply enjoy life with over a cup of coffee.

Janna Silverstein has worked for more than two decades in publishing and related fields, first as an acquisitions editor for Bantam Spectra, followed by stints at Wizards of the Coast, Microsoft, and others. She has edited books on a freelance basis for Night Shade Books, Pocketbooks, and Kobold Press. Editorial credits include the ENNIE Award-winning books The Complete Kobold Guide to Game Design and The Kobold Guide to Worldbuilding. Her own writing has appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, and in several anthologies. Although she’ll always be a New Yorker, she lives in Seattle with two spoiled cats and many, many books.

Bestselling author Jason Bond has been pursuing excellence in the craft of writing for almost 40 years. From suiting up in Kendogu in Kyoto, Japan, to staring into the eyes of a wolf eel 50 feet below the surface of Puget Sound, there are so many things Jason would never have experienced if he had not followed this path. He currently lives in Washington with his wife and manages the largest library in the Tri-Cities area. Jason holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and Master of Business Administration and Master of Library Science degrees.
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After growing up in the overseas oil industry, Jay has enjoyed a career in recycling and energy conservation. He has experienced a lot of firsts. He drives Ford’s first electric truck (a 1999 Ranger EV as featured in Who Killed the Electric Car), and he built an electric dragster, farm tractors, an RV, a refrigerated van, and a classic VW Bus for pandemic grocery deliveries! Jay lives in Graham, Washington, with his veterinarian wife, two teenagers, too many animals, and too many electric vehicles.
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Jeff Grubb is an award-winning game designer and bestselling author. He has had a long and tawdry career in creating and caring for fantasy worlds, including Al-Qadim and Spelljammer for D&D and the original Marvel Super Heroes game. He is a co-founder of the Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance campaign settings. He has helped create worlds for ArenaNet, Amazon, and ZeniMax Media. His novels include Azure Bonds, The Brothers’ War, and Ghosts of Ascalon. He lives in Seattle with his lovely bride, Kate Novak.
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Jeff Sturgeon is a Northwest artist known for his beautiful, award-winning metal paintings. A long career as an artist, animator, concept artist, lead artist, game designer, and art director followed, most notably for Electronic Arts. Jeff’s work became nationally known with increased appearances as an exhibitor, guest, panelist, and guest of honor at conventions around the country. Jeff’s world-sharing anthology Jeff Sturgeon’s Last Cities of Earth was released in January 2022 by Word Fire Press.
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Jenna Nobs is a Seattle librarian turned stand-up whose act embodies a playful love of language. Wry but inviting, she covers everything from education and relationships to Smash Mouth. Jenna has opened for comedy greats like Punkie Johnson and Ali Kolbert and performed at Bumbershoot and Wet City Comedy Festival.

Jennifer Brozek is an award-winning author, editor, and media tie-in writer. She is the author of Never Let Me Sleep and The Last Days of Salton Academy, both of which were nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. Her YA tie-in novels, BattleTech: The Nellus Academy Incident and Shadowrun: Auditions, have both won Scribe Awards. Her editing work has earned her nominations for the British Fantasy Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and multiple Hugo Awards. Visit Jennifer’s worlds at jenniferbrozek.com.
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Jenny Shafer is a longtime congoer, mom, and Girl Scout leader. She loves books, writing, crafts, and kids.

John spent a decade in the U.S. Coast Guard, conducting ice breaking, law enforcement, and scientific research operations across the globe. Now he’s a university professor teaching entrepreneurship, marketing, and social innovation. In addition, he has been a game master for hundreds of sessions, produced hundreds of episodes for three gaming-related podcasts, and has dozens of publishing credits for fantasy and science fiction role-playing games, including winning a Gold ENNIE for best setting.
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John Jensen was launched into his personal hero’s journey when a traumatic childhood memory of sexual abuse surfaced as a young adult. Throughout, his parents’ divorce, manipulation, gaslighting, and generational patterns were front and center. The combination of these factors made the risk of repeating those patterns sharply real and unacceptable. Defeating these generational patterns became his life’s work. Many successes and years later, he compassionately makes those skills available to others.
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John has over 20 years’ experience as a producer, writer, and military technical adviser for television and film productions. The writer or co-writer of two produced movies as well as over 100 television or motion picture scripts, he teaches screenwriting at Bellevue College and has taught screenwriting and motion picture production at national writers’ conferences.

Johnathan lives in Shoreline, Washington, and has 30 years’ experience in polyamory.

Retiring Renaissance reprobate JD has been described as the devilish delinquent you’ll never truly know but always be glad you did. His novels stem from a half century of gaming combined with at least half of that time spent fighting. His poetry is all about how he feels as he wanders around. A musician by inclination, combat leader by circumstance, author seeking catharsis, and game designer for escapism, beware the sly smile, and hope for the infectious laugh.
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Josef B. Wilke is an award-winning author and comic book writer. He is a member of the Horror Writers Association, having helped establish the Seattle chapter as co-chair in 2023. A rabid horror fan, Josef collects all things spooky, including books, movies, comics, and retro video games. When not writing, Josef can be found in sneaker shops looking for vintage Air Jordans. Find him online @Hashtagspooky.
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Josh Storey, a writer of science fiction and fantasy, has only ever wanted to be three things: an astronaut, Superman, and a writer. Since he’s no good at math and (as far as his parents will admit) not from Krypton, he’s going with option three.
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Judy’s former career was at the World Health Organization in Geneva, later involving contracts in aerospace, farming, and ranching. Nowadays she usually travels to SF&F cons in her RV and does surveys for the Census Bureau. She has been an avid SF&F reading fan for about 60 years, but not the paranormal subgenres or media. Her work-in-progress novel is now reviving, having (over a couple decades) accreted sufficient oomph to be worth completing. Her L4 space-habitat society startup is ongoing.

Julia Laurel (she/her) is an author and illustrator living in the Inland Northwest. As a freelance visual artist, she is passionate about creative self-expression. She uses speculative fiction to explore the dangers of conformity and to celebrate queer and neurodivergent identities. Her debut adult fantasy novel, An Embodiment of Souls, is about a society of puritanical necromancers and releases November 2026 from Union Square & Co.
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K.G. Anderson’s short fiction appears in magazines, anthologies, and podcasts, including Dragon Gems, Time and Space Magazine, and Literally Dead. She has edited B Cubed Press anthologies (including Southern Truths) and her first short story collection, Patti 209: Fifteen Tales of the Very Near Future, came out in 2025. She’s one of the organizers of the Two Hour Transport reading series, and she’s a former Clarion West board member. Find out more at writerway.com/fiction.
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K.I. Tolles writes paranormal romances where slow-burn tension tangles with dangerous magic, and fate is never as simple as it seems. She believes that every love story should have teeth, every heroine should be impossible to tame, and every hero should make you wonder if you’d follow him into the dark.
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Kaitlin is a queer, neurodivergent author and editor. Her short fiction has appeared in Wyngraf and placed in NYC Midnight twice. She is also the author of The Cartomancer’s Curse, a sapphic romantasy novella. When she’s not writing or falling in love with the latest book she’s editing, she’s swing dancing the night away.

Dr. Kaitlyn Casimo is a neuroscientist, science communicator, and theater nerd. She leads the education and engagement program at the Allen Institute, a biomedical sciences research institute. Her approach to science communication is informed by theater arts. Kaitlyn received her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience with minors in psychology and theater from Pomona College, her doctorate in neuroscience from the University of Washington, and her master’s degree in instructional design from Western Governors University.
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Karen Eisenbrey (she/her) lives in Seattle, where she leads a quiet, orderly life and invents stories to make up for it. Karen writes fantasy and science fiction novels, short fiction, and the occasional poem or song if it insists.
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Freelance writer, editor, and a former journalist, Kat Richardson is a lifelong fan of crime and mystery fiction and noir film. When not writing or researching, she may be found loafing about with dogs, playing video games, shooting, or dabbling with paper automata and tragic sewing projects. When she isn’t doing any of the above, Richardson is an award-winning author of weird SFF detective and crime novels.
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Kate Ristau is the president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association and the executive director of Willamette Writers. She is the author of three middle grade series—Clockbreakers, Mythwakers, and Wylde Wings—and the young adult series Shadow Girl. You can read her essays in The New York Times and The Washington Post. Kate is the chair of the Tigard Public Library board of directors, and she loves libraries! Meet her online at kateristau.com.
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Kathy has been watching Doctor Who since she was in the womb. While technically Colin Baker should be her Doctor, she loves Peter Davison the best. Kathy has never missed an episode, and she enjoys discussing the finer points of wibbley-wobbley timey-wimey stuff with anyone who will sit still long enough. Ask her about Worldcon, the Hugo Awards, karaoke, or obscure trivia.

Kendare Blake is the number one New York Times bestselling author of Three Dark Crowns, Anna Dressed in Blood, and more. She lives and writes in Gig Harbor, Washington, from under a pile of dogs and cats.
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Kit is a neurospicy humorist and advocate. They self-published Escape Velocity as Kate McIlvaine and contributed to the City Works literary magazine. Kit enjoyed presenting on diversity, inclusion, fashion, cosplay, and sex education at Rose City Comic Con, Wizarding World, San Diego WhoCon, Gallifrey One, and SexABA. They participated in the Kiss Your Franchise Goodbye podcast in 2023 to 2025. Kit works as a trauma-informed behavior analyst with a passion for sex education for all. Look for Kit on the Fable social media app as Unapologetic Story Addict.

A born drifter with plenty of dark stories, childbirth is the closest thing to eldritch Koji has experienced. She writes about things mothers see from the corner of their hearts and all varieties of human relationships -- with each other, with technology, and with the greater universe. Her work has appeared in several magazines and anthologies, and she has four books available. Casual, her first full-length novel, has been nominated for this year's Philip K. Dick Award.
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Kris “Pepper” Hambrick (she/they) has been in fandom since she discovered Prodigy in 1994. They used to put on plays for her parents as Sherlock Holmes or Doctor Who. Now she is the co-founder/producer of Hello Earth Productions’ outdoor Star Trek and Star Wars series, so life has not changed much. Last year they launched Re:Adapted, the podcast about why we retell the same stories in film, starting with The Phantom of the Opera. In her “spare time” she writes and obsesses about the Beatles.
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L. J. Melvin is a mom, teacher, and healer who finally figured out that it’s all about stories. She lives in Washington state.
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Wildsun is three trash pandas in a trench coat masquerading as three feral barn cats in an oversized knitted sweater masquerading as a perpetually tired artist in a chef coat.

Larina Warnock is a neurodivergent writer from Southern Oregon whose day job is in the public education system. Her speculative poetry and fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in Strange Horizons, The Janus Gates, foofaraw, Abyss & Apex, and others.
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Larry Lewis is a cartoonist, illustrator, writer, and teacher whose degree is in architecture. He lives with his girlfriend and adoptive family near Tacoma. His son is from Shoreline. Lately he has done over 50 autobiographical minicomics, and is working on much larger projects in fantasy, sci-fi, and urban planning.
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Laura Anne Gilman has established a reputation for herself with darker-edged fantasy, both urban and epic. Her work has been praised for “deft plotting and first-class characters” by Publishers Weekly, hailed as “a true American myth being found” by NPR, and won an Endeavor Award. She has been shortlisted for a Nebula, another Endeavor, and the Washington State Book Award. More information can be found at lauraannegilman.net.
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Laura’s short stories and poems have been published in Strange Horizons, Vastarien: A Literary Journal, ergot, PANK, and others. Her debut novel, Wife Shaped Bodies, a queer mycological horror, comes out April 14, 2026, from Saga Press.
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Lauren C. Johnson attributes her upbringing in Florida, America’s weirdest state, to her interest in the ecological and surreal. She lives in San Francisco, where she co-hosts Babylon Salon, a quarterly Bay Area reading series, and Club Chicxulub, a journal and reading series featuring speculative fiction authors accompanied by synthwave, dark wave, and ambient beats. The West Façade (SFWP, March 2026) is her debut novel. Find out more at laurencjohnson.com.
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Lawrence Watt-Evans is the author of about 50 books and over 150 short stories—fantasy, science fiction, horror, humor, etc.—including the Hugo-winning story “Why I Left Harry’s All-Night Hamburgers” and the Legends of Ethshar fantasy series. He was president of the Horror Writers Association from 1994 to 1996, has scripted comic books for Marvel, Dark Horse, and Tekno*Comix, and has meddled in various other things best left alone.
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Leah R Cutter sold her first short story back in 1997, and continues to write and sell both fiction and nonfiction. She currently runs Knotted Road Press, Inc., a small press in Seattle. She writes literary, fantasy, mystery, science fiction, and horror fiction. Her short fiction has been published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, anthologies like BeWere the Night, and on the web. Her long fiction has been published by New York publishers and small presses.
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Leigh Harlen is a queer, non-binary writer who lives and works in Seattle. Their non-writing hobbies include petting strangers’ dogs and enthusing about how awesome bats are. They are the author of the novella Queens of Noise and their illustrated horror collection, Blood Like Garnets. Their novellas A Feast for Flies and What Time Forgets, the Blood Remembers are forthcoming.
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Leslie Lutz is the author of Sweetest Darkness, a YA horror novel about small towns, cosmic danger, and ravenous spirits, which was named to the Spirit of Texas Reading List, was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award, and was described by R.L. Stein as “so scary, it gives darkness a bad name.” Her first book, Fractured Tide, was a Suspense Magazine Best Book of the Year and a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.
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Li is a disabled, queer, polyamorous, and trans artist who folds life into paper. Chronic Baubles Origami Jewelry is their handmade jewelry business. They have owned this business since 2023. Their favorite book this week is The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty.
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Libby Schultz is a financial technology founder, technologist, educator, writer, and thought leader in the crypto and gaming space. Hailing from Carnegie Mellon, her 2024 award-winning debut novel, Win Condition, is a cypherpunk crypto science fiction novel that explores zero-sum games, financial warfare, and the battle for personal sovereignty. When not living as a digital nomad, she trains as a circus performer and studies everything about Shiba Inus. You can find out more about her at https://lib.life.
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Lily Meade is the speculative fiction author of the Scooby Doo novel The Hex Girls: A Rogue Thorn and The Shadow Sister, a finalist for the Eleanor Taylor Bland Award and a Locus recommended read. Her work has been published in Bustle and Teen Vogue, and she has been featured in Romper, Buzzfeed, and Rolling Stone. She writes about real-world issues through an extraordinary lens.
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Lish McBride is the author of funny and creepy young adult books such as Hold Me Closer, Necromancer; Necromancing the Stone; Firebug; Pyromantic; Curses; and Red in Tooth and Claw. For adults, she has written the Uncanny romance series as well as The Suitcase Swap, a contemporary romcom. Lish is also a former bookseller and event host at Third Place Books, a giant thriving indie bookstore just outside of Seattle. While she has no long-term goals for world domination, she would like her own castle.
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Liz Argall is a cartoonist, mental health advocate, technical writer, and co-founder of Ngombor Community Development Alliance in Uganda. Her work has appeared in multiple outlets, including Uncanny Magazine, Strange Horizons, Meanjin, and Antipodes; A Global Journal of Australian/New Zealand Literature. Her webcomic, Thingswithout.com, regularly appears online, where it has created several ripples of joy. Liz lives in Seattle, but her heart misses the big silly birds of Australia.
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Liz Coleman is a mental health counselor specializing in trauma. Her writing has appeared in Lightspeed and Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and she is a graduate of Viable Paradise. She has previously been on the board of Cascade Writers and enjoys being a part of the SF&F community.

Lizzy D. Hill grew up on a farm in Southern Idaho, where endless freedom to explore sparked her sense of wonder. She loves reading fantasy, researching fashion, wandering through nature, and most of all, losing herself in music. Much of Lizzy’s artwork is inspired by the songs she listens to and the stories she imagines within them. Following these creative passions, Lizzy earned an Associate of Fine Art degree at Brigham Young University-Idaho. She shares her whimsical artwork at science fiction and fantasy conventions and has made illustrations for children’s books and chapter books. Her art has received awards at both Worldcon and Norwescon. Lizzy is happily married to her best friend and lives in Washington state with their son and noisy blue-eyed kitty.
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L.E. Torres is a Peruvian-born writer with a passion for creating thoughtful space adventures grounded in societal realities and infused with South American themes. He has 20 years’ experience freelance-designing commercial tabletop role-playing game adventures. His published hard science fiction TTRPG Seven Worlds was nominated for an ENNIE Award for best role-playing adventure of 2018. By day he works as an engineer for cloud computing technologies at a large software company.
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Luis Loza is a creative director for Pathfinder Roleplaying Game at Paizo, Inc. He has written countless words to develop and build Pathfinder’s Lost Omen setting. His contributions also include a multitude of tabletop games, video games, and fiction. Luis is based in Seattle.
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Luke Elliott’s fiction has appeared in Reckoning, Metaphorosis, and the Even Cozier Cosmic anthology, among other magazines and podcasts. He is the co-host of the Ink to Film podcast, where he discusses books and their film adaptations from a writing craft perspective. He has a Master of Fine Art degree in writing popular fiction from Seton Hill University, and he is a graduate of the Viable Paradise writers workshop. His creative work spans science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
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Lydia is an experienced quest leader and chief bureaucramancer at Majestic Adventures, located in Bellingham, Washington. She has hundreds of hours logged running the Adventure Quest game system and has helped develop exciting new elements in the game world. She brings years of experience in guided play, improvisational games, and storytelling with children of all ages from her work with many arts organizations up and down the I-5 corridor.
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M. Shedric Simpson is a Seattle-based writer of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, with work appearing in Fusion Fragment, Cosmic Horror Monthly, and Shoreline of Infinity. They and their wife live in a little old house between the mountains and the sea, along with an unknowable number of strange black cats. In their spare time they make art, music, and other small things.
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Marcus Van Valen is a stand-up comedian with a measured delivery and a talent for turning everyday frustration into sharp, self-aware jokes. His comedy style is thoughtful, dry, and occasionally more honest than necessary.

Margaret Owen was born and raised at the end of the Oregon Trail and has worked in everything from thrift stores to presidential campaigns. She is the author of the bestselling Little Thieves trilogy and the critically-acclaimed Merciful Crow duology. In her free time, she enjoys exploring ill-advised travel destinations, raising money for social justice nonprofits through her illustrated work, and negotiating a hostage situation with her monstrous cats. She lives in Seattle.
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Marlow Weaver is attending her 29th Norweson. She has always read science fiction and fantasy, and she became a regular convention-goer while working as a live-in nanny in New York City in the late ’80s. She’s been to numerous local conventions and collects items relating to Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Doctor Who, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and others. She belongs to Emerald City Androgums, the Northwest Science Fiction Society, and the Mos Everett Cantina and Sarlacc Star Wars clubs. She currently works with BritCon as their table promoter at events and on their board, and looks forward to being on panels.

Marnee Chua is a returned Peace Corps volunteer, nonprofit administrator, and reader, and she loves to scuba dive. She has helped to launch three youth-serving organizations and Seattle's oldest coworking space. She's been the executive director for Clarion West for nine years. When not diving, she prefers reading stories with kimchi in space.
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Marta is a teen librarian and writer living in the Pacific Northwest. She grew up watching Star Trek reruns and lunar landings. She loves pulp fiction with gnarly apocalypses and hard-boiled mysteries. Prior to becoming a librarian, she was an award-winning newspaper reporter, and she continues to write for national trade magazines. She will talk anywhere, anytime about books, writing craft, research skills, digital literacy, and digital citizenship. Find her at murvosh.weebly.com.
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Mary has performed improv comedy for more than a decade in Pittsburgh, London, Portland, and now Seattle. She has appeared at comedy festivals in Edinburgh, Pittsburgh, and Richmond, Virginia. She is a cast member at CSz Seattle, and she has taught at various improv theaters and drama conservatories at higher education institutions. Offstage, Mary is a reality-show junkie and mac-and-cheese aficionado who fervently believes that not all mac and cheese is created equal.

Matt Youngmark is the author of the Chooseomatic Books, Arabella Grimsbro, and Spellmonkeys series. His latest is The Pilot Episode, a near-future sci-fi novel about late-stage capitalism and what happens when your hopes and dreams come face-to-face with reality.
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Megan E. O’Keefe was raised amongst journalists, and as soon as she was able joined them by crafting a newsletter that chronicled the daily adventures of the local cat population. She lives in the Puget Sound area of Washington and spends her free time tinkering with anything she can get her hands on. Her fantasy debut, Steal the Sky, won the Gemmell Morningstar Award, and her space opera debut, Velocity Weapon, was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award.
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Megan Lee Bees writes cozy horrors and dark fantasies from her home in Tacoma, Washington, where she lives with her husband, her twins, and a formerly stray cat. She has published short fiction in a variety of markets, including The Iowa Reveiw, Cast of Wonders, and The Cozy Cosmic anthologies. As an illustrator, Megan has worked on monster design for indie games and a short film. Find more at www.meganleebees.com.
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Megan has a bachelor’s in musical theatre and is honored to have the opportunity to make others laugh. Notably, she is a cast member at ComedySportz Seattle, and she has performed at The 5th Avenue Theatre in Spring Awakening. She sends endless love to her friends and family for their support and hopes you enjoy the show!

Meghan is a curious artist who likes to try new things, mainly with textiles/clothing, metal, and clay. She holds two formal art degrees, has taken many other classes ranging from gravity pour bronze casting to embroidery, and has taught art and design at the college level and in community centers.
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Melissa Nichols is a master class costumer who got her start right here at Norwescon more than a decade and a half ago. She has created a wide variety of costumes and cosplay, including for Star Wars, Marvel, fantasy, and historical recreation. Melissa also has a bachelor’s in zoology; she worked in veterinary medicine at a local animal hospital and zoological animal care with Tacoma Metro Parks in her younger years when her knees still worked properly.

Melissa Quinn’s life took a sharp turn when she discovered costuming at her first sci-fi convention. She spent 15 years running Faerie Fingers Custom Costumes & Event Apparel, creating costumes and unique event attire for clients around the country. Her current pursuits include cosplaying with her daughter and finding new opportunities for cosplay competition.

Michael Brugger is a self-taught artist residing in the Oregon. He is a lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy and enjoys every aspect of it. Michael has won several best science fiction and people’s choice awards at conventions around the Upper Left Coast.
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Michael Citrak has been in fandom since the summer of 1975 and is currently Norwescon’s historian/archivist and lead for layouts. He’s the chair of the Northwest Science Fiction Society. He has attended every Norwescon and has volunteered since Norwescon 2, mostly in operations and tech. He was chair for Norwescons 17–20. Michael feels the most fulfilling part of fandom is watching his friends and acquaintances grow as people and achieve their potential as artists, authors, costumers, convention producers, and more. Also, he likes to collect misquotes, so be careful if he’s within earshot.

Michael Hanscom has been attending Norwescon since Norwescon 29 and has volunteered in various roles since Norwescon 33. Currently he acts as web admin and Philip K. Dick Award ceremony coordinator. In the outside world, he is the accessible technology program manager for Highline College, assisting students and staff with digital accessibility. His alter ego, DJ Wüdi, got started in alternative clubs of the ’90s, and is excited to be back for another Thursday night dance. Star Trek is his home fandom (IDIC/LLAP).
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Michelle has held numerous positions at Norwescon, including member services director and secretary. Her special passion project is the Norwescon Little Free Library book exchange, where thousands of books get rehomed each year. A 2025 Hugo finalist for fan artist, she reviews contracts by day, prowls the Seattle goth scene by night, looks for any excuse to wear elf ears, and lives by the creed “I read, therefore I am.”

Mike Brennan fell into science fiction at the age of 12 and hasn’t surfaced yet. Along the way, it helped lead him to becoming a nuclear engineer, a naval officer (submarines), and a radiation health physicist, as well as dabbling in writing. He writes poems when no one is looking.

Seattle comedian Min Lin is all about silliness rooted in her life as a stay-at-home mom who looks like a 13-year-old boy. She is honest, sharp, and deeply absurd. Min is an Emerald City Comic Con award winner, and she won Best of Fest at Colorado Queer Comedy Festival. She performed at the Mountain Fresh Comedy Festival and competed in the Seattle International Comedy Competition. She is very warm and very geeky.

Mir Plemmons’ most recent publications have been in queer, intersex, and Trans theology, and in Trans identity. Mir is an interfaith chaplain who does community and disaster volunteering, a disabled special education teacher and advocate, a religious trauma educator and support group facilitator, and a Franciscan and priest. He does other freelance/contract editing and writing upon agreement, usually in summer.
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Miranda Levi’s writing explores life, love, and loss, seeking insights into the human soul. Formerly president of a Pacific Northwest writer’s group, she has guided aspiring authors, led writing courses, and spent over a decade as a content editor. Levi has also authored the middle-grade Mythiverse series under the pen name Isla Watts. A former middle and high school English teacher, she’s dedicated to inspiring future storytellers and supporting writers with accessible industry guidance.
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While being rained on in Oregon, Monte Lin edits, plays tabletop role-playing games, and writes short stories. His stories have been published at Cossmass Infinities, Translunar Travelers Lounge, Cast of Wonders, Flame Tree Press, and others, and his nonfiction has been published in Strange Horizons. He is managing editor of Uncanny Magazine and is an alum of the Clarion West and Tin House workshops. He can be found posting about his board game losses on Bluesky @montelin.bsky.social.
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Morgan spent six years in the military before finding her calling in the field of health physics. Since then, she has been joyfully nerding out about radiation detection, safely working with radiation, and emergency response.

Purple Pearl started sewing her own costumes at the tender age of 6 and hasn’t stopped creating since. She approaches costume design with a project manager attitude: Defining scope, schedule, and budget is key to success. She can be found gleefully handing out hall costume ribbons with her friends, dubbed “Skittles” for their signature color-centric group costumes. She’s had the honor and joy of judging costume contests for multiple businesses, Emerald City Comicon, Tolcon, and Norwescon.

Nancy Kress is the author of 35 books, most recently Observer, co-written with Dr. Robert Lanza. Her work has won six Nebulas, two Hugos, a Sturgeon, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. She is best known for her stories about the Sleepless, people genetically engineered to not need sleep, as well as other fiction featuring genetic engineering. Nancy frequently teaches writing at various venues, including numerous Clarion West workshops, summer writing workshops, an intensive workshop in Beijing, and the University of Leipzig in Germany for a semester as a visiting professor. She lives in Seattle with her husband, SF writer Jack Skillingstead, and Pippin, a lethally cute Chihuahua.
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What is there to say about the mysterious Leif? A Wisconsin graduate with a bachelor’s in technical writing, Leif is an author, illustrator, and library page. By day, they shelve books and talk to patrons. By night, they write stories about undead kids and draw illustrations about magic.
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Neena Viel is a horror writer who lives in a cabin in the woods. Her debut novel, Listen to Your Sister (St. Martin’s 2025), has been featured by USA Today, People, Screen Rant, Book Riot, Goodreads, Polygon, Locus, and more. Her second novel, I’ll Watch Your Baby, is slated for a May 2026 release. Her essays have appeared in CrimeReads, Yahoo!, and Writer’s Digest.
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Nick is a librarian, traveler, reader, and film buff. He is the co-programmer and co-host for Seattle Movie Geeks.

Oz Norberg is a voice actor, podcaster, and musician from Everett, Washington. She graduated high school last year and dove headfirst into voicing characters in various audio dramas. Her most notable work is the voice of Nat in Store236. Oz’s favorite things are Skyrim, playing the bass, and her orange cat J’zargo/Cheese.

Paul Kwinn was neither raised by wolves nor abducted by aliens, yet somehow he manages to go on living a more-or-less normal life. Professionally, Paul has been a computer game programmer for 40 years. He’s been involved with filk for about 35 years, attending many conventions, entering many songwriting contests, and snagging one Pegasus Award. His group Puzzlebox has produced two CDs, Assembly Required and Tumbleweird. But he cannot account for the alien wolf that followed him to the con.

Peggy Stewart is a longtime costumer and con-runner who lives for Halloween.

A member of the local Seattle Chapter of the Horror Writers Association, Perla started the Seattle Horror Book Club to bring fans of the genre out of the shadows to gather every month. Perla is also the “undertaker” of the West Seattle Chapter of the Morbidly Curious Book Club, a global nonfiction book club. Perla is a frequent public speaker and was nicknamed a “professional podcast guest” by comedian and actor James Adomian. Her neighbor is a Gothic house that casts her shadow on Perla.

Peter Adrian Behravesh is an Iranian American writer, editor, audio producer, and narrator, as well as a story game designer for Magic: The Gathering. His interactive novel Heavens’ Revolution: A Lion Among the Cypress is available from Choice of Games, and his essay “Pearls from a Dark Cloud: Monsters in Persian Myth” appears in the Oxford Handbook of Monsters in Classical Myth. You can read his sporadic ramblings at peteradrianbehravesh.com, or on Bluesky @behravesh.
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Peter Fuller was born in 1960 and hails from Canada. He attended two art colleges and studied many disciplines, including film animation. Peter has always loved the medieval period and worked with the Glenbow Museum arms and armor collection for eight years. He has been making armor since 1980, professionally since 1994. He has been involved in medieval reenactment since 1997. He is also a writer and has completed six novels. Peter has been married for 39 years and has two children and one grandchild.
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Phil Swan has a track record of developing successful innovations while working on advanced multidisciplinary projects, including Xbox, HoloLens, and Starlink. He has been granted 38 U.S. patents and is the recipient of three corporate recognition awards. In his current role, he develops infrastructure for sustainable energy generation and storage, long-haul transportation, and space launch.
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Phoenix Bourgeois writes speculative fiction in Portland, Oregon. She serves on the board of Willamette Writers and co-hosts Northwest Speculative, a Pacific Northwest reading series. She has published several short stories and is working on a gaslamp fantasy/murder mystery.

Pocket Strings is the adorably quirky Seattle duo of Valerie Benti and Jackie Calapristi. They blend ukulele magic with infectious harmonies. This two-piece creates delightful covers and nerdy originals that showcase their natural chemistry and playful energy.

Rachel fell in love with improv the moment she saw her first show in Seattle at age 16, but it took another decade before she realized she could take classes. Now she has learned from some of the world’s best improvisers at CSz, Unexpected Productions, Jet City, Second City, the Annoyance Theatre, and Upright Citizens Brigade. She knows most people don’t read full bios, so, if you’re still here, she’d like to tell you about the time she ate sugar ants in Australia. They tasted like Sour Patch Kids!

Randy has been writing stories, world-building, and designing games since childhood. His publications include the fantasy tabletop role-playing game Lords of Chaos and the nonfiction Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide. Randy has run multiple businesses and does consulting, coaching, and mentoring. When not creating games or writing, he plays in a classic rock and blues band and hangs out with his amazing friends and family.
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Randy Henderson is the author of the quirky Finn Fancy urban fantasy trilogy from Tor. He’s also a Writers of the Future grand prize winner, Clarion West grad, and relapsed sarcasm addict. Don’t hesitate to say hi or ask questions; he’s happy to chat and be of help where he can. You can find him online at randy-henderson.com or on the socials @randyauthor.
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Rashida J. Smith spends her days coordinating online students and instructors for Clarion West. By night (pre-dawn, actually), she writes fantasy and paranormal romance as Jasmine Silvera. A former editor of the Hugo-nominated semiprozine Giganotosaurus, Rashida attended Clarion West’s six-week workshop in 2005.

Rebecca H. Lee has been narrating audiobooks since 2014 and works out of her home studio in Seattle. Her background includes degrees in drama and music from the University of Washington, 15+ years of improv acting, and a lifetime of stage performing. She has lived on three continents and 10 cruise ships, where she picked up multiple languages and accents while working in various forms of entertainment. She loves bunnies, cats, coffee, tea, board games, and other sources of coziness.
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Reilly is an audio nerd and the cohost of Campaign Spotlight, where they record, edit, and create soundscapes for the listener’s enjoyment. They care about balanced signal-to-noise ratios, tidy Ableton templates, and talking their way out of combat encounters.
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Remy is a writer of dark, weird, and hopeful fiction. You can find his stories in Escape Pod, PseudoPod, and a number of anthologies. He has a master’s in genre writing and is a grad of Clarion West, where he currently serves on the board. He is working on a cozy fungal apocalypse novel. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his partner and spends his free time getting cold, wet, and muddy in Pacific Northwest forests.
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Rhiannon Held is the author of the Silver series of urban fantasy novels published by Tor. As R. Z. Held, she wrote the Amsterdam Institute series of space opera novellas. Her award-nominated short fiction, also under R. Z. Held, has appeared in markets such as Beneath Ceaseless Skies. She lives near Portland, where she works as an archaeologist and technical editor for an environmental compliance firm.
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Richard Flores IV is a writer and publisher of speculative fiction. He is the editor in chief for Factor Four Magazine, a monthly publication of speculative flash fiction. He has six novels published in the science fiction and fantasy genres, including The Serenity Saga space opera series and a new fantasy series, Influence of Water and Weather. Richard is a huge hockey fan, loves Tomb Raider, and livestreams on Twitch. Find him at floresfactor.com.
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Richard Stephens works as an actor, director, and costume designer. During his 30+ years in fandom, his costume journey has gone from media recreation to fashion anthropology. At 59, Richard is branching out into burlesque and other camp forms of entertainment because you are never too old to have fun!

Rob has been working as a fantasy artist since 1998, doing illustrations for various card games, book covers and interiors, and visual design work of every variety. He has been invited to be the artist guest of honor at numerous conventions, where he has spoken about being an artist as a career and demonstrated his techniques. Rob stays busy doing both self-directed and commercial projects and murals. He is currently the artist for the Twitch stream Legacy of Fools, a live actual-play D&D game, and the art director and primary illustrator for Beach House RPGs, which released Start Here: The Introductory RPG in 2024. In spring of 2025, Rob worked as the art director of the movie Gamers 4: Dorkness Falls, which was filmed here in the Seattle/Tacoma area.

Rob is a husband, father, gamer, and reader. When not working on Norwescon or his day job, he likes to play games with his sons and, when possible, nap.

Ron Leota is the co-creator of the horror audio drama Dark Northwest. In addition to co-creating the series, Ron is a voice actor, audio engineer, and editor for the show. He is a seasoned podcaster and storyteller who has created several local LARPs, has published tabletop role-playing games with Attention Span Games, and currently releases module adventures under Leota Roleplaying.
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Rosemary Jones is the author of the Arkham Horror novels Mask of Silver, The Deadly Grimoire, The Bootlegger’s Dance, The Nightmare Quest of April May, and The Arcane Gamble of Harvey Walters. Her other works include Wrecker of Engines (Cobalt City 20th anniversary edition), Dungeons & Dragons’ Forgotten Realms novels City of the Dead and Crypt of the Moaning Diamond, novellas, short stories, and guides for book collectors. Find more information on current projects at rosemaryjones.com.
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Rue Dickey (they/he/xe) is a mixed-race, disabled, queer creative living in Oregon state. By day, they work as Paizo’s marketing and media manager, and by all other hours, he can be found doing freelance work in the tabletop role-playing space. Xir work has been featured on Critical Role, the official D&D Beyond channel, and Gen Con TV. Creating space for marginalized voices and using games as a vector for change are core tenets of Rue’s work—with over $1 million raised over four years of tabletop role-playing games for Trans rights.

Russell is an information technology entrepreneur, retired Navy captain, adventurer, and aspiring writer. A nuclear submarine officer by training, Russell spent 18 years as a commanding officer. He was the deputy of submarine rescue during the 2005 rescue of Russian sailors trapped off Petropavlovsk. He has a degree in electrical engineering, speaks at macroeconomic conferences, and is an avid attendee of Clarion West writing workshops. Russell is homegrown. Norwescon has been his home con since 2005.

Ryan James is a native of the Pacific Northwest and lifelong follower of science fiction and fantasy. As an author, he searches for ways to blend the genres together. In his free time, he enjoys a friendly game of darts, online gaming, and spending hours discussing fiction and film.

Ryan K. Johnson is an independent cameraman and video editor living in Seattle who has produced two dozen shorts, ranging from parodies to thrillers. He has shot every year of the Let’s Make a Movie workshop, which started in 2000 at Norwescon, as well as three feature-length films. His work has been shown on BBC, on TLC, and at the Seattle International Film Festival. He’s married to Kate Waterous.
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S.C. Mills writes speculative fiction from Seattle, where they like to hike in the dry season and train martial arts while it rains. Raised in the Carolinas in the Southern Baptist church, they are the apostate eldest daughter of a Panamanian-American mother and a white American father. Their work is published or forthcoming in Escape Pod, Small Wonders, PseudoPod, Cast of Wonders, Heartlines Spec, Flame Tree Press, and elsewhere. They're a Viable Paradise graduate and NYC Midnight winner. Find them at scmillsbooks.com and everywhere online @scmillsbooks.
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Sailor St. Claire is a curvaceous redhead with a learned mind and an A+ anatomy. With her scintillating wit and charm, Sailor channels academic excellence into burlesque bravura as a performer and emcee. Since 2009, The Showgirl Scholar has been putting her knowledge of the literary canon to more-than-scholarly uses, crafting elegant and erudite stripteases that offer audiences an education in the humanitease.

Sam Stark is a nonbinary-transmasc voice actor, audiobook narrator, author, podcaster, and sound designer living in Everett, Washington. They have voiced many characters in animation and podcasts, but are most recognized as the voice of Solomon in BloodyFM’s Shelterwood: A Suburban Gothic, as the voice of Leon in Rusty Quill’s The Gentleman from Hell, and as the voice of The Watchman and lead sound designer for the audio mockumentary drama Store236.
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Sandra Rosner is an author, lore writer, tabletop role-playing game developer, developmental editor, and co-host of the 3RPG Podcast who has produced books for well-known franchises such as World of Warcraft and RuneScape. When not crafting worlds of her own, Sandra enjoys playing tabletop, playing MMORPGs, and streaming her gameplay on Twitch as LadyvonFrost.
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Sar is a Non-Binary Trans Fem therapy professor and a marriage and family therapist/supervisor specializing in identity, systems work, and consent. As a therapist, Sar focuses on identity, nonmonogamy, sex and gender, Trans issues, and BDSM/kink. Sar is the former director of the Consent Academy, author of The Consent Primer, and a consultant, sex-positive educator, and organizer. In what little downtime remains, Sar is an author, gamer, game master, world-builder, and seeker of interesting people.
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Scotty McIntosh is a queer author and actor who is a Pacific Northwest native. He studied acting and creative writing at Arts and Communications Magnet Academy. He has appeared in movies, TV shows, and video games, including Metal Lords and Night Always Comes on Netflix. He is a published author whose writing focuses on character dynamics and development. Scotty has been writing fanfiction since he was 13. He has great appreciation and insight into how the world of fanfiction has developed.
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Sean K. Reynolds was born in a coastal town in Southern California. A professional game designer since 1998, he’s known for his work on Numenera, Forgotten Realms, The Cypher System, Greyhawk, and Pathfinder. He spends his free time reading, fixing up an old house, being a social justice warrior, and writing 2–3 sentence biographies.
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Sebastien de Castell’s acclaimed swashbuckling fantasy series, The Greatcoats, was shortlisted for both the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fantasy and the Gemmell Morningstar Award. His YA fantasy series, Spellslinger, is published in more than a dozen languages. He spends his time writing, traveling, and going on strange adventures.
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Shahid Mahmud runs Arc Manor, one of the most awarded small presses in American speculative fiction. Before founding it in 2006, he worked in finance, managing billions for the city of San Diego, where his contributions were recognized when the acting mayor proclaimed November 7, 2005, as Shahid Mahmud Day. Since then, he has built Arc Manor into a home for legendary authors such as Nancy Kress, Robert A. Heinlein, and George R.R. Martin, as well as for groundbreaking new voices from around the world.
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Shanna Germain is a co-owner of Monte Cook Games and the award-winning author and editor of myriad games and books, including Predation, No Thank You, Evil!, The Devil’s Dandy Dogs, As Kinky as You Wanna Be, The Lure of Dangerous Women, and The Poison Eater. Her short fiction has appeared in places like Apex Magazine, The Best American Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica, The Deadlands, Fantasy Magazine, and Lightspeed. Follow her down the rabbit hole at shannagermain.com.
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Shannon grew up as a theatre kid in Northern California. She began improvising in college in 2010 because all her friends were doing it, and she has never looked back. Shannon has been an ensemble member and teacher at Unexpected Productions since 2021. You can catch her regularly there on literally any night of the week. You can also find her around town performing with her two duos, Fat Cats and Closer To Clarity.

Shannon Page lives on Orcas Island with her husband, author/illustrator Mark Ferrari. She’s published fantasy, cozy mystery, and romance novels. By day, she’s a freelance proofreader and copyeditor. She also edits anthologies. In her spare time (haha), she cooks, gardens, plays pickleball, and takes lots of pictures of frogs. Visit her at shannonpage.net.
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Shanta Frisbee’s work explores the intersection of trauma and transformation, utilizing the canvas and the wall as sites for reclaiming narrative. Translating complex human experiences into a visual language of resilience, she creates to honor the strength found in the aftermath of adversity. Her process—whether in fine art or large-scale murals—is a dialogue between internal reflection and external connection. By blending imagery with structural harmony, Shanta frames creativity as a fundamental necessity for navigating life. Ultimately, her work serves as a window into the resilient spirit, inviting viewers to recognize their own capacity for beauty and renewal.

Shawna Batty is a Norwescon-goer for life. She’s attended for over 20 years and loves her con family. She has been involved in the masquerade, planning, and executive teams during her time with us, and is currently serving as Norwescon’s vice-chair. In real life, she’s the administrative manager of a multi-corporate organization. If you see her in the halls, please say hi—she loves making new friends!

Shiromi Arserio is an award-winning British-American narrator. She has narrated over 300 books, including for World Fantasy winners and Hugo and Locus nominees. She describes her debut novel The Order of Grimm, which came out in January 2025, as Ocean’s Eleven meets Snow White.
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Shiv Ramdas is an Indian writer of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and humor. His short fiction has appeared in publications such as Strange Horizons, Slate, Lightspeed, and others and has been nominated for the Nebula, Hugo, and Ignyte Awards. He currently lives and works in Seattle with his spouse, five cats, and several highly demanding trees. You can find out more about him at shivramdas.net or find him on Bluesky as @nameshiv.
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Sierra Branham originally hails from the mountains of Alaska but now calls the Lower 48 home. Her debut science fiction novel, Love Galaxy, releases with DAW Books in May 2026, and her short fiction has been published in Apex Magazine, Small Wonders, and The Dread Machine. When not spinning words into stories, she’s often hiking with her goats, skiing, or juggling knives. Find her on Instagram @authorsierrabranham or sign up for her newsletter at sierrabranham.com.
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Sonja Thomas writes stories for kids of all ages. Her debut, Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence, is an Oregon Book Award finalist, an Oregon Spirit Book Award Honor recipient, and a Washington State Book Award finalist. She’s a contributing author for Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Real-Life Tales of Black Girl Magic, and her latest book, Olive Blackwood Takes Action!, received “two thumbs up for this necessary novel about anxiety and self-advocacy” from Kirkus Reviews.
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A pocket of myth in the middle of Seattle: That’s Wrought & Bound by Sorrel Fields. Here you’ll find hand-bound journals, artist books, leather pieces, and more —all built to be used, kept, and passed on. Wrought & Bound brings a unique blend of finely crafted book art and prints. Sorrel hand-binds journals and artist books, crafts leather accessories, and creates small-batch prints inspired by fantasy, folklore, and whimsy. Each piece is meant to feel like an artifact from an imagined library. They range from “tiny tome” necklaces and earrings to one-of-a-kind fine bindings and rebindings, with accessible gifts alongside collector pieces.

Steven Barnes has published over 3 million words of fiction and nonfiction, as well as almost two dozen produced hours of television, including Stargate, Andromeda, Outer Limits, and Twilight Zone. He was a staff writer on the Crystal Lake series for Peacock network and on a24 studios. Norwescon is his favorite convention of the year.

Summer Ash has been both a rocket scientist and an astrophysicist, and she is now harnessing her powers for science communication to help bring the universe down to earth for those who want to reach for the stars. She studied mechanical engineering at Stanford, space studies at the International Space University (ISU), and astrophysics at the University of Cambridge. She enjoys Jupiter, Orion, supermassive black holes, and advocating for accessibility, diversity, and inclusion across all STEM fields.
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Sunnie first picked up a violin at age 3 and firmly believes that music is her first language. With her five-string electric violin, she weaves harmonies into songs—from classical to folk, rock to hot club jazz. Sunnie performs with local groups Vixy & Tony, Ménage à Trio, and Bone Poets Orchestra. She records for a wide variety of projects, and her first solo album was released in 2019. She lives in Seattle and especially likes songs about space, science, video games, sci-fi/fantasy worlds, and cats.
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SunnyJim is a bespoke shoemaker and local artist working primarily in textiles. An avid collector of skills and a deep fan of The Lord of the Rings, SunnyJim has recently joined the community of creators in the Society for Creative Anachronism, and has been described as the love child of Martha Stewart and MacGyver.
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Susan is most associated with her eight Jurisdiction novels (print, e-book, and audio book formats). She’s using her pseudonym, Zarabeth Abbey, for her current project—an epic historical fantasy starting with The Wild High Places—to avoid any potential confusion between a professional torturer and the foster son of a Rajput prince sustaining a lifelong love affair with Sri Krsna. Her next project is Ghost Flotilla: U-Boats. (Duel at sea between U-boats and the Flying Dutchman? Yes, please.)
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Susie Fox grew up legally blonde and very nearsighted in Los Angeles. When her hair finally dimmed down to a respectable shade of brown, she headed to Stanford. A late bloomer, she spent her undergrad year bemusedly watching housemates fall into and out of love, and hunting for glasses she couldn’t see. While Susie wasn’t that popular in college, her Rabbit convertible was VERY popular. In 2007 she moved to the Northwest, where she moved into Songaia Co-Housing, the grown-up version of the Stanford co-ops.

T. Kingfisher, aka Ursula Vernon, is the award-winning author of more than 50 books, including Nettle & Bone, Snake-Eater, What Moves the Dead, and A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking. She has won enough awards that listing them in a bio feels like bragging. When not writing, she is usually gardening, playing video games, or building Commander decks. She lives in New Mexico with her husband, her garden, and his chickens.
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Talulah J. Sullivan has been a pro equestrian, a dancer, an actor, and a teacher... yet she’s never managed to NOT be a storyteller. Ever. Her newest works, Blood Indigo and Raven Mocker, draw inspiration from her Choctaw and Chickasaw grandmothers. As J Tullos Hennig, she was awarded the SLF Older Writers Grant and wrote the historical fantasy series The Books of the Wode, reimagining Robin Hood as a queer, chaotic-neutral druid. Her books offer up an immersive, subversive experience.
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Tara Campbell is a writer, teacher, Kimbilio Fellow, and fiction co-editor at Barrelhouse. She teaches flash and speculative fiction and is the author of two novels, two hybrid collections, two short story collections, and a chapbook of sestinas. Additional publication credits include Electric Literature, CRAFT literary magazine, Uncharted magazine, Daily Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, and Escape Pod/Artemis Rising. Her novel City of Dancing Gargoyles was a finalist for the 2025 Philip K. Dick Award.
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Taylor Tomblin is a historical costumer and cosplayer from Spanaway, Washington. They’ve played Society for Creative Anachronism for more than a quarter century, and this is what began their costuming journey. They’re also a member of the Washington Regency Society and a founding member of South Sound English Country Dance. As a cosplayer, they focus on animated characters, giving them an authentic-to-real-life makeover. They’re honored to be a pro at this convention!
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Tegan is an aspirational farmer living on 20 muddy acres about an hour outside of Seattle, Washington. She’s been published in magazines including Asimov’s Science Fiction, Reactor, Clarkesworld, and others. She is a dog-agility instructor, can’t not look at crustaceans, and has a biologically improbable entirely separate second stomach for containing dumplings.
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T Drag grew up in Maine, then attended college and worked in Washington, D.C., before going into the U.S. Marine Corps. She retired after 20 full years, having served all around the globe. She found time to get her pilot’s license, SCUBA certification, and participate in ren fests as a squire to several jousting knights. T Drag keeps busy after retiring from the military. Some of her pursuits include editing books, studying martial arts, and quilting.

Terra Caldwell is a developmental editor and book coach. She lives in the Pacific Northwest.
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Theresa Barker is a lifelong Seattle resident, science fiction writer, and longtime Regency-era dance enthusiast. Theresa has been dancing Regency for more than 20 years, and she enjoys teaching folks to dance these lovely, graceful, and engaging dances. In her other life she is a mathematician, writer, and poet.

Theresa Flores is a formally trained science educator and an informally untrained stand-up comedian. She has presented at cons for math teachers, science communicators, and geeks and nerds in general. If you ask her about either the fantasy series she loved where three sisters are brought together to vie for a crown, or the queer romance graphic novel she loved where the characters bond over food and magic, you will have to be more specific.

Thomas Ha is a Nebula, Ignyte, Hugo, Locus, and Shirley Jackson Award-nominated writer of speculative short fiction. You can find his work in Clarkesworld, Lightspeed Magazine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and Weird Horror Magazine, among other publications. His work has also appeared in The Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy and The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror. Thomas grew up in Honolulu and, after a decade plus of living in the northeast, now resides in Los Angeles with his family.
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R. Thursday (they/them) is a writer, educator, historian, and all-around nerd. When not subverting middle school language arts and social studies curricula, they can be found watching cartoons, playing video games, reading, or writing about vampires, mutants, queerness, space wizards, and sometimes all of the above. Their poetry and short fiction have featured in numerous journals, and they’ve been wandering the halls of Norwescon since they could toddle.

Tim built a couple horror shows that looked at living with the paranormal, then thought, what if living with the paranormal was good? Thus, Impossible Loves was born. Tim’s been performing in Seattle since 2010, starting with Jet City Improv’s Twisted Flicks. Highlights include Show Your Game, UPTV, and playing a 6-foot-4 Tiny Tim in An Improvised Christmas Carol. These days, when not hiking with googly eyes or goofing with nephews, he’s performing, teaching, and directing at Unexpected Productions.

Tim Sorensen has lived in Western Washington his entire life, which might explain his tolerance for rain and his love of all things sci-fi. As BritCon’s treasurer, he ensures the con doesn’t accidentally spend its entire budget on jelly babies and sonic screwdrivers. A fan of Doctor Who since childhood, Tim is thrilled to be on a panel where he can finally put his encyclopedic Time Lord knowledge to good use.

When not sitting around watching Rick and Morty reruns in a bathrobe, Timothy W. Long writes stuff. He has a predilection for weird literature and sometimes drinks Coke for breakfast. Don’t tell his mom. Tim is the author of over 30 novels in genres ranging from cozy/isekai to all manner of post-apocalyptic, because no one has managed to take away his word processor. Tim is a member of SFWA and recently signed a three-book deal with Aethon Books for his Dark Lord Reborn series.
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Tom D Wright lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, a small pack of dogs, and a cat. He also writes paranormal romance under a pseudonym (Mika Kosey) and is open about his neurodivergence: ADD, ASD, and childhood PTSD—a potent combination. When not writing, he likes camping and stargazing with his 12-3 telescope. He graduated with a master’s in psychology from Bowie State University in Bowie, Maryland, served on the board for Cascade Writers, and is a full member of SFWA.
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Tom Whitmore was one of the founders of The Other Change of Hobbit bookstore in Berkeley in 1977, was a Locus reviewer for decades, and co-chaired Worldcon in 2002. He lives in Seattle with his partner K.G. Anderson, several cats, many thousands of books, and a wealth of stories. Ask him about data analysis, The Book of the Law, his collection of etchings, or odd books. He is currently a licensed massage therapist as well.
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Tori Sharp is the bestselling author-illustrator of the middle-grade graphic novels Just Pretend, Stand Up! and Wing It (Little, Brown Ink 2027). She is also a literary agent with a focus on children’s fantasy and comics and hosts The Page Turn Podcast, in which she interviews fellow graphic novelists.
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Torrey Stenmark is an award-winning costumer and a college chemistry instructor. The same skillset that earned her a master’s degree in organic chemistry (attention to detail, record keeping, delicate physical coordination, refusal to be intimidated by new problems) enabled her to compete and win in the masters division of several costume contests on the local and national scale. She now teaches at Shoreline Community College.
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After some college, Travis Partington joined the Marine Corps and served as a radar operator for HAWK Missile System. Travis is the host of the military and veterans podcast Oscar Mike Radio, which has over 380 shows and is in its seventh year of production. In addition to using his voice for veterans, Travis has done voice-over work and writing. Being a father is the most rewarding aspect of Travis’ life. You can go to oscarmikeradio.com to learn more.
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Tyler Clark is an illustrator from Seattle. He’s done a lot of science fiction and fantasy illustration in digital and acrylic mediums, with a focus on movement and momentum. He also draws a ton of dogs.

Victoria Whitlock has spoken around the world on topics of privacy, computer security, and women’s history. She has written and contributed to over 13 books on highly technical topics involving Oracle. Victoria loves learning and sharing and is now working on a pairing blog for food and wine.

Valerie takes her day job as a scientist very seriously, except when she’s doing science comedy, which is most of the time. She’s the founder and producer of Geeky Comedy Seattle, making stages a little more nerdy and a little more queer all around the city. You’ve seen her quirky songs on the nerdiest stages, including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, GeekGirlCon, Emerald City Comic Con, Norwescon, Moisture Fest, and the Seattle Erotic Art Festival.

VA7LON is an experienced electrical engineer with 30 years’ experience in RF/microwave, consumer electronics, electro-optics, and computer engineering. He’s a professional engineer (P.Eng) in British Columbia, Canada. He started his professional career in Israel; moved to Hong Kong; moved to Canada and worked for international, U.S., and startup companies; and finally moved to Seattle to work for Microsoft, Pivotal Commware, and Ossia. He volunteered with Scouts movement, Israeli Alpine Club, and the IEEE. He likes climbing, caving, hiking, skiing, and diving.

Virginia Black (she/her) is the author of No Shelter But The Stars (sci-fi romance, 2024), Consecrated Ground (paranormal romance, 2023), and its sequel, Incendiant (2025), all from Bywater Books. When not penning speculative sapphic fiction, she is almost always reading or lurking on role-playing game or skirmish gaming sites. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her wife of 23 years (and counting) and their savagely witty teenage daughter. Find her on the web at virginiablackwrites.com.
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Vixy & Tony’s lighthearted folk/rock musical style combines with science fiction and fantasy lyrics to tell engaging and beautiful stories. Their energetic performances can be enjoyed by both sci-fi fans and mainstream music fans alike and earned them the best performer Pegasus Award in 2008. Michelle “Vixy” Dockrey and Tony Fabris have joined forces with cellist Betsy Tinney and violinist Sunnie Larsen to form a “four-person duo” with a lush, amazing sound. Their music can be found at vixyandtony.com.
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William Alexander writes unrealisms for readers of all ages. His work has won the National Book Award, the Eleanor Cameron Award, the Librarian Favorites Award, the Teacher Favorites Award, two CBC Best Children's Book of the Year Awards, and two Junior Library Guild Selections. As a small child he honestly believed that his Cuban-American family came from the lost island of Atlantis.
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William Boulanger, nom de plume, is a fanboy for all things science fiction, fantasy, and horror. He has authored two short story collections and the novel The Odds Job. He holds a master’s degree in English and creative writing. He is a disabled veteran. When not writing, he is playing tabletop role-playing games, brewing mead, participating in Whidbey Island’s large pagan community, and spending time with his wife S.A.M.M. He is a proud part and supporter of the LGBTQ+ community.
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Salt is a Seattle local involved with a wide variety of free/libre/open (FLO) communities. He attended graduate school at the University of Washington, studying the intersection of communication, computer science, and law. Salt participates, organizes, and speaks worldwide at various conferences, conventions, events, festivals, and faires. He tries to be very approachable and will always be found wearing a kilt.
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Wolfcat is an eclectic fan of books (with hundreds of authors on her bookshelves), art, music, role-playing games, figurines, and costumes. She enjoys “my fandom is Random” and “FIAWOL” as mottos—liking a little bit of everything. Whether it’s quilting, vintage or historical clothing, science fiction/fantasy/comic book costumes, dance or masquerade performances, ball-joint dolls, children, gardening, cooking, medieval combat, archery, or equestrianism, she enjoys creating and being involved, or sharing techniques and learning.