Carrie has a BA in English from the University of Cincinnati, and an MFA from the Bluegrass Writer’s Studio at Eastern Kentucky University where she was awarded the Emerging Writer’s Award in Fiction in 2021. Carrie is a 2019 recipient of the Writers of the Future Award, and a 2023 finalist for the Baen Adventure Fantasy Award. She is a member of SFWA. You can find her work in Writers of the Future Volume 35, Galaxy’s Edge Magazine, and the anthology, A Bit of Luck.
https://carriecallahan.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/CarrieCallahanAuthor/

Paige L. Christie is originally from Maine and now lives in the NC mountains. Best known for her Legacies of Arnan fantasy series (#1 Draigon Weather), her work can also be found in anthologies, including Galactic Stew, Witches Warriors & Wise Women, and several More Tales of Valdemar books. When she isn’t writing, Paige runs a non-profit soup kitchen and food pantry, walks her dog too early in the morning, and is teaching herself to crochet (badly). She is a proud, founding member of the Blazing Lioness Writers.

https://PaigeLChristie.net

https://www.instagram.com/fantastic_paiges/

USA Today Bestselling author Rachel A. Cooper writes progression fantasy, blending LitRPG and western cultivation to craft tales of power and self-discovery. A Texan juggling family and an assortment of questionable ‘pets,’ she finds inspiration from paranormal legends, travel, and neuropsychology. She thrives on fast-paced adventures that blur reality and fantasy. Co-authoring with Aoife Wai, she brings stories such as A Titan’s Core to life, crafting immersive worlds that challenge and inspire.

https://www.unchartedbloodlines.com

https://www.facebook.com/aoifewaiandrachelacooper

Bill has taught, been a game designer, author, and college dean. His entire life has been spent in the creative fields and managing other creative individuals. He is one of the founders of Mayfair Games, a board and role play gaming company. As an author Bill has written or co-authored over a dozen books and dozens of articles and short stories. As a book packager, a person who prepares series of books from concept to production for major publishers, his company Bill Fawcett & Associates has packaged over 300 titles for virtually every major publisher. He founded, and later sold, what is now the largest hobby shop in Northern Illinois. Bill Fawcett & Associates Inc has packaged over 400 books for major publishers. These include a number of best selling Science Fiction, Mystery, and Action novels.

Bill’s first commercial writing appeared as articles in the early Dragon Magazines. At Mayfair Games he edited the “Role Aides” Role Playing Game modules and supplements released by Mayfair in the 1980s. During this period he also designed almost a dozen board games such as Empire Builder and Sanctuary.

In 1994 Bill joined with a team of programmers to form Catware featuring him as producer and designer. Catware released Swords of Xeen ( New World Computing) as part of the Trilogy game set, Star General, a strategic game based upon the six Fleet books (SSI) that was one of the 20 best selling games in the year of its release, Las Vegas Games (New World) and is now working on a On-line Role Playing Game. Bill produced and designed the computer RPG game Shattered Light for Simon and Schuster. Bill Fawcett continues to develop new internet and app projects.

His novel writing began with the juvenile series, Swordquest for Ace Penguin Putnam Publishing. The Fleet series he created with David Drake has become a classic of military science fiction. Bill has collaborated on several novels including mysteries such as the Authorized Mycroft Holmes novels, the Madame Vernet Investigates series. ] As an anthologist Bill has edited or co-edited almost 50 anthologies. Bill Fawcett & Associates has packaged well over 250 novels and anthologies for every major publisher Bill is the editor of Hunters and Shooters and The Teams, two oral histories of the SEALs in Vietnam. His most recently published works include It Seemed Like a good Idea and You Did What, How To Lose A Battle, How To Lose a War, and It Looked Good on Paper: Engineering disasters through history. He also wrote Oval Office Oddities, containing thousands of fun facts and strangeness about US Presidents,. Recently published 100 Mistakes that Changed History and Trust Me, 100 Leadership Mistakes that Changed History are now available and 101 Stumbles in the March of History will be released in 2016. His recent science fiction novel, released in May 2024, is Never Again from Theogony Press.

bloodandarmor.com/

Jason Gilbert is an author and film critic best known for his action-packed and often irreverent Coldstone Case Files series and his dark Urban Fantasy/Alternate History Clockworks of War series. Jason streams on Twitch as Failflix with OhHaiMark and TheGreyCat on Terrible Movies with Wonderful People. His influences include horror cinema, bloody video games, dark beer, and heavy metal music.

https://jasonhgilbert.com

@jasongilbertauthor.bsky.social

Rob Gilmore (writing as Rob Grimoire) is a father, husband, nurse, musician and a multi genre published author. He’s a huge fan of comics and consumer of almost all things horror, science fiction and fantasy.

https://linktr.ee/RGrimoire

Isabelle Hardesty writes stories for all readers, and people like her, who didn’t see themselves in their favorite fantasy adventures growing up.

Isabellehardesty.com/

https://www.instagram.com/iamisabellehardesty

https://www.youtube.com/@isabellehardesty

Neil is an actor, narrator, and educator who lives in Brooklyn, NYC. He has narrated over 500 titles, with a focus on GameLit, SciFi/Fantasy, Literary Fiction, and Poetry. He can also be seen playing a variety of bearded professionals on various screens, and has performed and taught the works of Shakespeare internationally. Proud member of SAG-AFTRA.

https://neilhellegers.com/

https://bsky.app/profile/neilhellegers.com

Professional sailor, SFF fan, career biologist, gamer, and author, Chris has a diverse bibliography of science thrillers, nautical fantasy, epic fantasy, science fiction, horror, post-apocalyptic fantasy, and RPG tie-in stories. His game tie-in work includes Pathfinder, Iron Kingdoms, Shadowrun, Arkham Horror, and Traveller RPGs. He has over 30 novels in print and has won numerous awards, including the 2020 Scribe Award for best tie-in short story. His most recent releases are from Falstaff Books and a new Asian-themed high fantasy Seeds of Darkness Trilogy. A new Pathfinder Tales novel, “Operation Hellmouth” is slated to release in November.

http://jaxbooks.com

https://www.facebook.com/chris.a.jackson.967/

Darin Kennedy, doctor-by-day and novelist-by-night, writes and practices medicine in Charlotte, NC. Works include his Fugue & Fable trilogy: The Mussorgsky Riddle, The Stravinsky Intrigue, and The Tchaikovsky Finale; The Pawn Stratagem trilogy: Pawn’s Gambit, Queen’s Peril, and King’s Crisis; the Songs of the Ascendant series: Shadows of the Night, All Fired Up, and You Better Run; his YA novel, Carol; and The April Sullivan Chronicles.

https://darinkennedy.com

https://www.facebook.com/darinkennedy

Sarah Madsen is an Atlanta-based author and game designer. She has contributed to TTRPG projects from Wizards of the Coast, Kobold Press, Draco Studios, Ghostfire Gaming, Cubicle 7, and more. In video games, she wrote for the Necromancer’s Tale, a story-rich gothic RPG. Her cyberpunky urban fantasy novel, Weaver’s Folly, is out now. Find her at unfetteredmuse.com.

https://bsky.app/profile/unfetteredmuse.bsky.social

Elizabeth is a working mom and award-winning cosplayer who uses costume making for dopamining and ADHD hyperfixation! Her focus in panels and the con community is in helping new creators get started, encouraging originality, overcoming gatekeeping, and making cons and fandoms more comfortable for neurodiverse and disabled nerd friends.

Instagram: ilikebigbustles

Melissa Olthoff is a scifi and fantasy author, a military veteran, and a self-proclaimed mocha addict. In 2023, she took second place in the Baen Fantasy Adventure Award and won the Imadjinn Best Short Story Award. She is published by Baen Books and CKP and is best known for sneaking romance into everything she writes.

www.melissaolthoff.com

Instagram (@Salvagebunny), Twitter (@melissaolthoff), Facebook (Melissa Olthoff)

Author of the Klauden’s Ring Saga as well as the Conjuring Fascination, Rock Star Fairy Tales, and Shawarma Warrior King series, JM Paquette writes fantasy and paranormal romance novels. When she isn’t writing, she can be found teaching English, dissecting grammar, defending fantasy, discussing Tolkien, editing books, and watching Russian dragon shifter movies.

https://linktr.ee/authorjmpaquette

Amelia Sides is the author of fantasy, science fiction, and alternative history novels. Her books are filled with complex heroes, political intrigue, and finding home among the chaos that is life. Amelia lives in the southern US and enjoys long walks with her dog, Reuben, and late nights at her computer, plotting out her next book.

www.ameliasides.com

https://linktr.ee/asides3

Mia Tsai is a Taiwanese American author of speculative fiction. Her debut novel, a xianxia-inspired contemporary fantasy titled Bitter Medicine, was published by Tachyon Publications on March 14, 2023. Her sophomore novel, an adult science fantasy titled The Memory Hunters, will be published on July 29, 2025, by Erewhon Books.

Mia lives in Atlanta with her family and, when not writing, is a hype woman for her orchids and a born-again Knicks fan. Her favorite things include music of all kinds and taking long trips with nothing but the open road and a saucy rhythm section.

In her other lives, Mia is a professional editor, photographer, and musician.

Mia is on BlueSky at @itsamia.bsky.social and Instagram at @mia.tsai.books.

miatsai.com

Tiffany Vega is a multi-genre author and co-owner of Outsider Publishing Company. A passionate storyteller, she dabbles in genres such as horror, fantasy, and contemporary fiction. Beyond her writing, Tiffany is a dedicated advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, using her platform to amplify diverse voices and stories. When she’s not crafting new worlds, she’s spending time with her three beloved fur babies, who keep her company on every creative journey.

https://outsiderpublishingcompany.com

https://www.facebook.com/outsider.publishing.company/

https://www.instagram.com/outsider_publishing_company/

A second-generation sci-fi/fantasy fan, Rosemary Williams has devoured countless books, movies, and television like a deranged, nerdy Pac-Man. Eventually she absorbed enough of their power her brain started spitting out stories of its own. A costumer, crafter, Shardcaster, and defender of the Oxford comma, rumor has it she may also be a My Little Pony in a human suit. She resides in Olathe, KS with her husband, 1.5 dachshunds, and half a chihuahua.

www.rustingunicorn.com

https://www.facebook.com/TheRustingUnicorn

Drew Bailey is the author of the dark fantasy horror series The Giftborn Chronicles, published by Falstaff Books. He has a deep love of the fantasy and horror genres, both in literary and film media. He also maintains a regular schedule on social media and Booktok, providing fellow writers and readers with advice and insights into his writing world experiences.

https://drewbaileyauthor.com/

https://www.tiktok.com/@drewbaileyauthor

https://www.instagram.com/drewbaileyauthor/

I’ve been a Science Fiction fan since I learned to read. I had read everything in the “juvenile” science fiction / fantasy section of our library by the time I was 10 and had to get my mother to check out the “real” books in the adult section for me. Yes, I am old enough to remember watching the original broadcasts of Star Trek, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Land of the Giants. None of my friends were into Sci-Fi and I never got into gaming, so it was after college before I went to my first “con”.
I really got involved in conventions when I owned a video production company, where I taped conventions from Georgia to New York and everywhere in-between. I sold that company years ago, but have become even more involved with cons since then. I’ve worked at multiple conventions throughout the Southeast at everything from Guest Transportation, Guest Operations, Special Events, and Charity Events. I’ve been host for masquerades, a judge at costume contests, moderated panels, etc.. (No I have never been a con chair, never want to, I’m one of the ones smart enough to avoid that headache.)
What I am probably best known for is doing charity auctions. I have run charity auctions at conventions for years, doing everything from just being guest auctioneer, to being Auction Director. These auctions have ranged from conventions with 300 to 40,000 people attending, with auction totals from $400 to $25,000.
I have always been a photography enthusiast and that slowly brought me into the engraving world. I now engrave my photos onto tiles, mirrors, glass, wood, and anything else I can think of.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569848518181&sk=photos

Starting in 2002, Paul Bielaczyc joined with his brother Michael and sister Sara to form Aradani Studios. What started as a fun hobby between siblings at the Tennessee Renaissance Festival has grown significantly over the past 2+ decades. Aradani is known for 2 rather unique aspects, special f/x make-up and fantastical artwork. Michael and Paul both have won numerous awards over the years for their costumes, and Aradani’s ever-growing line of elf ear prosthetics and masks has helped other cosplayers win countless awards worldwide.

But it is his artwork that truly provides a glimpse into what defines Paul, and where his passion lies. Paul uses charcoal, chalk, and pastels to create his finished works, media which are usually considered for the sketching and preliminary stages, not the final product. He strives to achieve a level of detail in his works, pushing the boundaries of what is typically seen with charcoal and pastel. Though in recent years, he has experimented with almost every media, except oil painting. Go figure.

Over the past 22 years, Paul has worked for Sagaborn, White Wolf, Dragon Lance, Apex Digest, and many other independent publishers. His art has won many awards at various conventions, including GenCon and Dragon*Con, and his work Nightmare, one of his earliest professional pieces, won the prestigious Chesley Award in 2006 for Best Monochrome Unpublished. Starting in 2012, Paul became a licensed artist for The Wheel of Time, joining a select few artists who have the blessing of Robert Jordan’s wife to illustrate scenes from his epic tomes. Having done many designs for Ta’veren Tees back in the day, two of Paul’s Wheel of Time illustrations were published in 2015’s The Wheel of Time Companion, depicting the entries for Padan Fain as well as Tha’kandar.
https://bielaczyc.com/
https://www.instagram.com/paulbielaczyc

https://www.facebook.com/BrothersBielaczyc

Ariel, a D.C. area native and dyslexic, is a multi-award winning internationally published digital painter. Her dedicated fans love her hyper-realistic style and hidden references beginning with her work as an Official Wheel of Time artist. In 2023 she was Guest Artist of Honor at Balticon 57. Currently she is focused on her Patreon community, creating original fantasy works and continuing to work in book illustration and cover work. (www.artistarielburgess.com)

artistarielburgess.bsky.social

Sarah’s early love of science fiction and fantasy art came even before she could read, from looking at the covers of science fiction magazines. She has been attending science fiction conventions since the late seventies. The artwork she most enjoys creating are those connected with the fantastic and she is gratified at the response of con-goers to her award-winning paintings of Magnus & Loki, the cat and dragon companions, which have been the most fun of all her fantastic creations.

After a twenty year career as a medical illustrator, she feels herself truly lucky to be able to be a full time fantasy artist. “It’s a complete reversal,” she says, “from painting what other people want to creating my own work the way I want.”

Sarah is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University, with a degree in Art History and Fine Arts.

Sarah works in a photo-real style in oils and acrylics. She has exhibited and won national awards at the Seattle Erotic Art Festival and her erotic paintings are published in Volumes 2 and 3 of The World’s Greatest Erotic Art of Today. Growing up in a darkroom contributes to her love of photography.

She has also sold short stories to Ellen Datlow anthologies and Asimov’s Magazine.

Sarah and her husband and cats and terrariums and carnivorous plants live in Mesa, Arizona.

http://www.clemensart.com/prints.htm

https://www.facebook.com/sarah.clemens2

From an early age he has been interested in creating items connected to his love of magic, myth and the unusual.
He feels that an artist is somewhat like a magician or shaman, they communicate and connect with others by what they create.
After graduating with an art degree in the mid 70s, he went into the graphic arts and printing fields for a number of years.
During the 1980s to the1990s he also entered convention art shows, occasionally winning awards.
These days his work consists of small paintings, silver-point drawings and jewelry.
Several of his pieces are in private collections in the United States and overseas as well as two in college collections.
He hopes to share his interests with people for the rest of his life.

Elizabeth is a self-taught colored pencil artist that occasionally dabbles in watercolor mediums. Ever since she can remember, she’s loved expressing herself through crafting and creating. During the 2020 pandemic, she discovered her love of colored pencils and the rest is history! She’s inspired by nature and fandoms and enjoys bringing her favorite subjects to life through photo realism. When she isn’t creating her next piece, she loves crocheting, knitting, or reading and spending time with her husband, two kids, two dogs…and maybe a raccoon one day.

www.elizabetheadeart.com

www.facebook.com/ElizabethEadeArt

https://www.instagram.com/elizabetheadeart/

JD started as a slam poet thirty years ago then front man of a band for a decade in Seattle followed by moving into film where he shot 16 short films, won numerous awards at festivals and wrote several feature film scripts he hopes to some day direct.

He now has shifted to video game design with a visual novel on Steam by the title A Crown of Thorns, a prequel to his multi-award nominated feature script Blade n Blood and writing litrpg novels.

He has written ten in the last two years in four different series and his latest has been a best seller, Nocturne.

He continues to pursue creativity in multiple venues while writing the much anticipated book three to the Nocturne series.

If you would like to support his aspirations and dreams, he has a patreon, stormcrowproductions or go to his website stormcrowproductions dot com

Coins in a sliver of silver

Poem by JD Glasscock

She’s destined for the scream like a horror flick playing in a dream… And his pockets are empty.. Got rolled in a back alley hoping for a taste…a melancholy tune strumming chords on the threaded strings of a beat up violin aged in

kisses..

She said his name once..in a fever… sweat carving pictographs to a black and white noir frame…a dial up of a vision on a phone with no tone…

They say in the soft segues between tomorrow and yesterday… you can hear their whispers.. you can hear their goodbyes… It all happened on a Tuesday… that forgotten slip between a touch and a punch.. on the cusp of a promise .

What are words but breaths held against the memory of today and the spot between her neck and lips.. between her breasts and her womb…

That man is still there.. in the midnight.. knuckle crawling silver holding a last wish between teeth

www.stormcrowproductions.com

instagram.com/jdglasscock

Hidden deep among the corn fields, between the Garfield monuments and Pokagon State Park, resides Indiana artist Kelly Keuneke. Working as a mechanical engineer and exhibits/facilities manager for the local science museum, Kelly strives to do more in the arts and aid in the nature and nurture aspect of the environment around her. A lover of nature, of learning, of giving, Kelly continues to work on art as to where her life’s calling truly lays. Studying under artists such as Donato Giancola, Jeff Watts, and Marshall Vandruff, Kelly continues to pursue her artistic endeavors by continuing education. Her focus in art is high fantasy and sci-fi and trains to invoke energy, skill, and inspiration into her works.

www.instagram.com/kellykeuneke/

An award-winning artist, Madolyn works primarily in fantasy fine art photography and digital art, including book covers and graphic design. She has been selected for several exhibitions and art shows in Atlanta and across the country, including becoming a fixture at the Dragon*Con Art Show where she won ‘Best Photography’ in 2018 and ‘Best Photography/Digital Art’ in 2019, 2021, & 2023. She has shown in New York City’s Chelsea district and has been invited to display in galleries in both the US and Canada. Madolyn has also been featured in numerous publications and was nominated for an ASFA Chesley Award for ‘Best Paperback or eBook Cover’ in 2021.

https://linktr.ee/sylverlight

Amanda Makepeace was born near Washington D.C. in 1976. She is an award winning fantasy and science fiction illustrator. Her career in art began more than a decade ago while living abroad in the UK. In recent years, Amanda has worked with independent authors, small publishers, and game companies. She has illustrated the covers for Hugo nominated fiction anthologies, genre magazines, and her art has appeared in ENnie Award winning rpg games. Through her art, she explores the themes of nature, magic, fantasy, dark corners and even distant worlds. Her illustrations have won two Chesley Awards in 2019 and 2020 for Best Cover of a Paperback/eBook.

In 2016, Amanda co-founded the Bird Whisperer Project with Melissa Gay, a monthly art challenge devoted to encouraging artists of all skill levels to have fun creating a piece of art based on a single reference photo of a bird. The project has attracted industry professionals, hobbyists, and children from around the world. In 2020, the Bird Whisperer Project was featured by the National Audubon Society for celebrating birds through art.

Amanda is an active participant in Fantasy and SciFi conventions in the southeast. When she’s not in the studio, she can be found reconnecting with nature and the woods that inspired her as a child.

https://amandamakepeace.com

Patreon: https://patreon.com/makepeaceart

Rick produces fan art of fantasy novels using lego and lego-compatible bricks, as well as 3D renders of lego scenes. He specializes in custom printed minifigures, immersive scenes, building instructions, and animations. Some of his favorite authors to build to include Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, Cat Valente, and Travis Baldree, though he has a long list of other projects he’d love to get to if he had time. His style is whatever works, insofar as he will drill, sand, paint, or print on bricks as needed to achieve the desired effect. When he is not building, he is a professor of electrical engineering in Dayton, Ohio.

https://www.secondbrickfast.com

https://www.tiktok.com/@fastlindyrick, https://www.facebook.com/fastlindyrick,https://bsky.app/profile/fastlindyrick.bsky.social

Kalyani Poluri is an East Indian. She loves the fusion of different techniques to make unique and brightly colored art on watercolor paper, jewelry that has origins from Hindu mythology and Indian Culture. She calls her art business Art InFusions.

You can see and purchase her latest art and prints at her Facebook page below.

www.facebook.com/artinfusions.kalyani

Edward Peña became enamoured with stained glass when he took a class at his local shop in Colorado Springs, CO at Carol’s Creative Glass. Over the next year, he took multiple classes to soak up as much knowledge from Carol and Art as he could. He started a home workshop in his garage in late 2022 and began created one project after the next. He focused on creating projects for family and friends. While practising his skill set, he began… well, let’s call it what it is: he began hoarding glass. He started Sassy Glass in Dec 2023, and now sells items throughout Colorado Springs at shops at pop-up markets. He also teaches introductory classes so new students can begin delving into the timeless art of stained glass.
https://sassyglassy.com/

https://tiktok.com/@sassyglassyco, https://instagram.com/sassyglassyco, https://www.facebook.com/sassyglassyco

A L Raden is a Minnesota-based multidisciplinary storyteller who loves exploring layered, character-driven storytelling, especially with an emphasis on magic, myth, and nature. Her art features original whimsical fantasy and science fiction in multiple mediums, including traditional charcoal drawings, pointillism-style acrylic paintings, and digital inking. Her writing credits include stories in multiple comic, essay, and prose anthologies, including the 2024 JordanCon anthology.

www.radenstudios.com

https://bsky.app/profile/radenstudios.bsky.social

Saron is a mental health therapist and self-taught artist out of Athens, Georgia. They began creating art as a way to “stim,” or focus, during the height of the pandemic when all of their clients could only be seen virtually. They found that they enjoyed creating art very much, and eventually became inspired by botanical and scientific illustration. They also became interested in digital art, and take a lot of inspiration from Greek mythology, particularly from the art of Rachel Smythe (Lore Olympus) and Jen Zee (Hades I & II).

sketchesbysaron.com

IG: @sketchesbysaron