Balticon, Maryland Regional Science Fiction Convention Web Page

How do I get to be a program participant?

Who's Coming

Notice to prospective Balticon program participants:

In an effort to provide literary and fan program track participants with fuller schedules, we will be extending a reduced number of participant invitations for those tracks in 2012. We will be continuing to send invitations for fan and literary tracks through the end of December. If you feel that we've missed you, please drop a note to the Literary Program coordinator with your full name to remind us that you will be available. No promises, but we'll see what we can do. It's always possible we sent your invite to an incorrect email address.

The following is a PARTIAL list of program participants who, as of 1/28/2012, have accepted our invitation and confirmed their intention to attend Balticon 46.

Click the links in the bios for info about program participants.

Ackley-McPhail, Danielle

Adler-Golden, Lisa

Barrientos, Brick

Chelsea "Puffy" Bromery

Burke, Stephanie

Burns, Laura

Caroti, Simone

Chase, Robert R.

Cipra, Carl

Crist, Vonnie Winslow

D'Ambrosio, Mike

Davis, Becca

de Guardiola, Susan

DeCandido, Keith R. A.

Dee, Sheila

Diaz, Ming "Cookie"

Evans, Chris

Fleischer, Eric "Dr. Gandalf", aka "Dr. G"

Fratz, D. Douglas

Katz, Robert I.

Kim, Comic Book Goddess

Kondo, Dr. Yoji

Larson, Grig "Punkie"

Lurie, Perrianne

Oszko, Lance

Palmer, David R. (tentative)

Pavlina

Reclusado, Larry

Schweitzer, Darrell C.

Smith, Jennifer Zyren

Snyder, Maria V.

Sparhawk, Bud

Spencer, Laura Nicole

Sprunk, Jon

Strock, Ian Randal

Thomas, Patrick

Love, Persis Thorndike

Wooldridge, Trisha J.

Zelkowitz, Marvin

Zendell, Alan

If you would like to become a Balticon program participant, contact the department head in your area of interest or send your inquiry to our Programming mailbox. See the Contact Us page for some email links.

What is expected of program participants?

We ask Balticon program participants to:

If you have already received your Balticon 46 Participant Invitation, you can find information about submitting program suggestions here.

You can look at the official Balticon Participant Membership Policy here if you want to, or the following includes the basic points.

Commit, if possible, to at least 2 program hours (a program hour is 50 minutes) per day of convention attendance. (There are, of course exceptions. If you are preparing an extensive workshop, a one-critter lecture, a dance or other event that requires significant amounts of advance preparation, you may not have time or energy for anything else!);

Let us know — no later than May 1st, please! — if there are technical requirements for your presentation such as a projection screen, DVD player, computer monitor, ELMO, or sound system;

Show up where scheduled to appear a few minutes early and be ready to start on time when the door closes;

End appearances at scheduled times to facilitate getting attendees and other participants into and out of the rooms with a minimum of chaos;

Bear in mind that everyone (including all staff and BSFS officers) who works at Balticon is a volunteer and be kind — they are working hard to make this event a success for everyone!

What's in it for me?

As a Balticon Program participant, you:

Receive a membership to Balticon at no charge in exchange for your program participantion;

Can purchase a membership for one SO, life partner, or traveling companion for one half the lowest published membership rate for the Balticon to be attended.

Can purchase children's memberships for the your eligible minor children at one half the lowest published children's membership membership rate for the Balticon to be attended, and for your children aged 13 to 18 at one half the lowest published adult membership rate;

Are invited to rest, recoup, snack and meet other participants as well as our Guests of Honor in the Balticon Green Room;

Are invited to have us schedule a time for you (or someone you designate) to do a reading of your work;

Are invited to have us schedule a time for your autograph session shared with one or 2 other professionals;

Will have an opportunity to meet and greet other participants, Guests of Honor and Balticon attendees during "Friday Face Time" on Friday evening at "Meet the Artists" in the Art Show, "Meet the Guests" in Frankie and Vinnie's (the Con Suite) and "Meet the Scientists" in Salon A (the Science Program room);

Acquire fame, adoration and undying devotion from Balticon attendees;

And can filch homemade chocolate chip cookies and other home baked goodies from the volunteer desk.

Participant Biographical Information

Index of Participant Biographical Information.
Biographical info is indexed alphabetically by Guest's last name.

XYZ


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Ackley-McPhail, Danielle

Award-winning author Danielle Ackley-McPhail has worked both sides of the publishing industry for over seventeen years. Currently, she is a project editor and promotions director for Dark Quest Books.

Her published works include four urban fantasy novels, "The Eternal Cycle" Series (Yesterday's Dreams, Tomorrow's Memories, and Today's Promise)and the Halfling's Court: A Bad-Ass Faerie Tale. She has also written the non-fiction writers guide, The Literary Handyman. She is the senior editor of the "Bad-Ass Faeries" anthologies, Dragons Lure, and In An Iron Cage: The Magic of Steampunk and has contributed to numerous other anthologies and collections, including Dark Furies, Breach the Hull, So It Begins, By Other Means, No Man�s Land, Space Pirates, Space Horrors, Barbarians at the Jumpgate, and New Blood.

Danielle lives in New Jersey with husband and fellow writer, Mike McPhail, mother-in-law Teresa, and three extremely spoiled cats. She is a member of The Garden State Horror Writers, the New Jersey Authors Network, and Broad Universe, a writers organization focusing on promoting the works of women authors in the speculative genres.

Danielle can be found on LiveJournal (damcphail, lit_handyman), Facebook (Danielle Ackley-McPhail), and Twitter (@McPhail). To learn more, follow any of the links in this bio!

Addams, Jhada Rogue

Jhada writes erotic horror/erotica, sings, eulogizes those who have crossed over, challenges popular notions and is a socially marginal, mildly felonious anarcho-shamanic Santeria Priestess. She is a psychopomp troubadour. Her first novel, It Never Ends, is available on amazon.com in paperback and for the kindle. Check out Jhada's website to learn more!

Adler-Golden, Lisa

Lisa Adler-Golden has been distracted by many things, but is really a scientist at heart. She is a biologist, costumer, and fan of all things fandom.

Alexander, Tristan

I am a profesional freelance artist, I live with my husband Don and our 6 cats. You can see my work here and on my website. I have done cover art for Circlet Press and other small press companies and have done work for the SCA.

Anealio, John

With little more than an alternate-tuned acoustic guitar and a dog-eared copy of The Hobbit, Sci-Fi Songwriter John Anealio composes and performs geeky anthems for writers, librarians, lovers of Science Fiction, Best Buy customers, and robots. His music sounds like John Mayer, Weezer, and James Taylor playing Dungeons and Dragons together on their iPhones.

John is Wired Magazines GeekDad Guitar Teacher and the co-host of The Functional Nerds Podcast, where he interviews lots of cool Science Fiction and Fantasy authors every week.

Johns songs have been published in releases by Pyr/Prometheus Books and Subterranean Press and have been played on a number of shows including Wired Magazines Geek Dad Podcast, Tech News Today, Seattle Geekly, The Sword & Laser, The Force-Cast, I Should Be Writing, & Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing.

Ashton, Lisa

Lisa Ashton is a master-level costumer who calls Balticon home. Recent costumes include "Mistress of All Hallows", and "The Letter", a Civil War era re-creation historical costume at CC29. She has had articles on historical costumes published in "Virtual Costumer", most recently in Feb. 2012. In mundane life, she works as an Emergency Medicine PA. Besides costuming, she loves beads, quilting, gardening, hunting, being out in the woods, and going to flea markets. Her newest obsession is collecting vintage Victorian photographs. Her dearest wish is to last long enough to use up her fabric stash.


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Ballantine, Philippa

Philippa Ballantine is a writer and podcaster from Wellington, New Zealand. She has had two books published with DragonMoon Press: Chasing the Bard and Digital Magic.Chasing the Bard in its podcast version won a Sir Julius Vogel award. She is also the host of Erotica a la Carte, a speculative fiction erotica podcast that was Short listed for best anthology in the 2009 Parsecs. Pip hasn't actually notified us that she's attending… but Balticon 46 is on the list of upcoming appearances on her website.

Bibeau, J-F

J-F Bibeau is an artist who wears many hats (even if he has to craft them himself and stick a feather in the brim).

He's been an avid costume artist and performer since 2001 and reached the level of Master at CostumeCon 2009. He's been deeply involved in the Baltimore theatre scene both on and off stage. An accomplished actor, both scripted and improvised, he loves to share his passion and get others to participate.

At Balticon 44 in 2010, he published Felsic Current, his first fantasy novel. One year later, Balticon 45 saw the release of the much-anticipated sequel, Felsic Tension. At Balticon 46, J-F will be coordinating Balticon's fledgling Performing Arts program mini-track.

Bilmes, Joshua

Joshua Bilmes is the President of JABberwocky Literary Agency, and has been a prominent agent for sf/fantasy for 25 years. He is honored to have represented many Compton Crook winners and finalists, including Elizabeth Moon and Jon Sprunk, as well as NY Times bestselling authors Charlaine Harris, Brandon Sanderson, Peter V. Brett, John "Jack Campbell" Hemry, Simon R. Green, and other noted authors such as Tanya Huff and Jim C. Hines.

Birt, Danny

Award-winning author Danny Birt was born about three decades ago in Washington State to Irish and Californian parents, and has since lived in 10 more states. He attended high school at New Mexico Military Institute, studied music therapy and psychology at Loyola University New Orleans, and most recently graduated from Shenandoah University with his Master's Degree in Music Therapy.

Danny has been a contributing author to several sci-fi, fantasy, and professional magazines, anthologies, and journals. He is an editor for small-press publisher Cyberwizard Productions. His fantasy series "The Laurian Pentology" is being published through Ancient Tomes Press, starting with "Ending an Ending". His first children's/YA novel "Between a Roc and a Hard Place" has won The National Parenting Center�s 2010 Seal of Approval, Creative Child Magazine's 2010 Seal of Excellence, and was named one of Dr. Toy's Best Picks of 2010.

In addition to literary publication, Danny composes classical and filk music, such as his nonstop hour-long piano solo �Piano Petrissage,� and the ever-peculiar album "Warped Children�s Songs". Danny's humorous music has been featured on radio and internet programs such as The Dr. Demento Show and The Funny Music Project.

Danny has now settled in eastern North Carolina where he is a faculty member at a local college. In his spare time, Danny's hobby is finding new hobbies.

Bromery, Chelsea "Puffy"

Chelsea "PUFFY" Bromery is my name and cosplay is my game. ^_^

Burke, Stephanie "Flash"

Have You Been Flashed?

It�s the question Stephanie Burke is asking.

Stephanie is a multi-published multi-award-winning wife and mother of two whose unparalleled imagination causes her no end of trouble. From sex shifting shape-shifting dragons to under sea worlds, up to sexually confused elemental fey and homo erotic mysteries, all the way to pastel challenged urban sprites, Stephanie has done it all, and hopes to do more.

Known for her love of the outrageous, strong female characters, wild series, believable worlds, and male characters filled with depth, Stephanie is a popuar guest speaker and panelist at many sci-fi and writing conventions, especially on languages and world building, a sometimes teacher when you feed her enough coffee and donuts, an anime nut, and a costumer.

Currently Stephanie writes for Changeling Press, Ellora�s Cave, Loose-Id press, Red Rose, Renaissance E Books, Tease Publishing, Broken Sword Press, and hopes to add more to her resume.

Stephanie and links to her many works in process can be found on her Flamekeeper Yahoo! group, as well as on her website and Facebook page, or email her at Flashycat2004@aol.com.

Burns, Laura

Laura A. Burns has been a space enthusiast her entire life. She has worked as an engineer with various NASA contractors for over a decade. She worked on the James Webb Space Telescope and the Landsat Data Continuity Mission. During the summer of 2007, she spent 9 weeks in Beijing, China at the International Space University. She regularly attends space conferences and enjoys speaking to the public on space related topics. She tweets about space and science. In addition to her interest in space, she is a long time science fiction and fantasy fan, podcast listener, dancer, board game player, knitter, and an avid book collector. Laura has contributed to several podcasts and is currently the head of the Parsec Awards Steering Committee.


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Caroti, Simone

Simone Caroti, Ph.D., is an adjunct university professor at Brevard Community College in Cocoa, Florida. He is the director of Public and Educational Outreach of the Astrosociology Research Institute (ARI), a nonprofit organization devoted to bringing the arts, the humanities, and the social sciences into the debate on the future of humanity in space.

Dr. Caroti received his BA in Anglo-American literature at the University of Trieste, Italy, in February of 2002, and in the summer of the same year moved to Purdue University, Indiana, to conduct his graduate studies in the Comparative Literature program. He received his MA in 2004, and his Ph.D. in 2009 with a dissertation titled "Theater of Memory Against a Background of Stars: The Generation Starship Concept from 1934 to 2002" on the history of the generation starship concept in science fiction. The revised book version entitled The Generation Starship in Science Fiction: A Critical History, 1934-2001 is available from Amazon.

Chase, Robert R.

Robert R Chase is a Government lawyer who has maintained what little sanity he has left by writing novels such as The Game of Fox and Lion and Shapers as well as a score of stories for Analog and Asimov's.

Cipra, Carl

Carl started reading F&SF in his pre-teen years and has been hooked ever since. He became involved with Fandom back in the 1970s (by way of the SCA in Southern California) and is one of the founding members of Lambda Sci-Fi: DC Area Gaylaxians. He really enjoys moderating discussion panels at conventions and is looking forward to all the fascinating discussions at Balticon this year. Mundanely, Carl is the program manager for instructor-training in a much-maligned, three-letter Government agency. (And, yes, he drinks inordinate amounts of Diet Dr. Pepper.)

Cole, Myke

Myke Cole is the author of the military fantasy Shadow Ops series from Ace (Penguin). The first novel, Control Point, was published in February 2012 and will be followed by Fortress Frontier in 2013.

As a secu�rity con�tractor, gov�ern�ment civilian and mil�i�tary officer, Myke Cole�s career has run the gamut from Coun�tert�er�rorism to Cyber War�fare to Fed�eral Law Enforce�ment. He�s done three tours in Iraq and was recalled to serve during the Deep�water Horizon oil spill. All that con�flict can wear a guy out. Thank good�ness for fan�tasy novels, comic books, late night games of Dungeons and Dragons and lots of angst fueled writing&e

Coleman, Doc

Doc Coleman is a blogger, podcaster, voice actor, and writer. Doc started in February of 2010 with The Nifty Tech Blog, a technology review blog focusing on the best of consumer technology.

He is also a regular on the Flying Island Press The Galley Table Podcast, and produces his own weekly podcast, The Shrinking Man Project, a (theoretically) weekly journal documenting his personal weight loss journey.

Doc started off writing short fiction, but has now moved on to work on his first novel. Doc�s writing has appeared in the "Every Photo Tells…" podcast, and in the Steampunk Special Edition of Flagship magazine. Three of his stories were nominated for the 2011 Parsec Awards. He is currently working on a series of steampunk novels under the title "The Adventures of Crackle and Bang". The first novel, The Perils of Prague, is in editing, and is intended to be released as a podcast novel later this year.

Doc�s voice acting credits include the Pirate�s Cove productions of A Midsummer Night�s Dream, and Treasure Island, the Scrivener�s Circle�s production of Absolution, the young adult novel Ginny Dare, and he was part of the cast for the live production of Metamor City at Balticon 45. For news and information about Doc�s latest projects, check out his blog at Swimming Cat Studios.

When Doc isn�t juggling projects, making his living as a Web Engineer, or mainlining podcasts, he is a gamer, an avid reader, a motorcyclist, a homebrewer and beer aficionado, a fan of renaissance festivals, and frequently a smart-ass. He lives with his lovely wife and two Maine Coon cats in Germantown, MD.

Cooley, Paul Elard

A writer, podcaster, and software architect from Houston, Texas, Paul Elard Cooley has been writing since the age of 12. In 2009, he began producing free psychological thriller and horror podcasts, essays, and reviews available from Shadowpublications.com and iTunes.

His stories have been listened to by thousands and he has been a guest on such notable podcasts as "Podioracket", John Mierau's "Podcast Teardown", "The Dead Robots Society", "Geek Out with Mainframe", "Shadowcast Audio", and "Vertigo Radio Live". In 2010, his short story "Canvas" and novella "Tattoo" were nominated for Parsec Awards. "Tattoo" became a Parsec Award finalist. He has collaborated with New York Times Bestselling author Scott Sigler on the series "The Crypt"as well as contributed his voice talents to a number of podiofiction productions.

Email stories AT shadowpublications DOT com
Twitter paul_e_cooley
Facebook Paul.E.Cooley

Corvidae, Elaine

Elaine Corvidae has been telling stories about faeries, elves, and dragons since she was a small child. Her dark fantasy novels have won numerous awards, including multiple Eppie Awards and Dream Realm Awards for Best Fantasy Novel. When she isn't wandering the worlds of her imagination, she lives in Harrisburg, NC, with her husband and several cats. You can visit her on the web at www.onecrow.net

Crist, Vonnie Winslow

Vonnie Winslow Crist MS Professional Writing, BS Art-Ed, Towson University, is a contributor to "Faerie Magazine," a columnist for "Harford's Heart Magazine", an illustrator for "The Vegetarian Journal", and editor of "The Gunpowder Review". This spring, her new fantasy short story collection, "The Greener Forest", was published by Cold Moon Press. Her fiction has recently appeared in: "Potter's Field 4", "Sideshow 2", "Shelter of Daylight", "Dragons' Lure", "Tales of the Talisman", "Cemetary Moon", "Aoife's Kiss", "Dia de los Muertos", "While the Morning Stars Sing", "Ensorcelled Magazine", spacewesterns.com (item #25), and other periodicals. A former creative writing instructor, Vonnie is author-illustrator of 2 poetry collections, "Essential Fables" and "River of Stars", a children's book, "Leprechaun Cake & Other Tales", and 3 sf/f shorts available at Amazon. Among her editorial projects are the anthologies "Lower Than the Angels" and "Through a Glass Darkly" (Lite Circle Books) and "Late Knocking-The Poe Issue". Follow her online at her blog, "Whimsical Words".


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D'Ambrosio, Michael Andrew

>Michael D'Ambrosio Michael is a lifelong resident of the Philadelphia area and a graduate of Widener University with a B.S. in Technical and Industrial Administration. When he isn't writing novels or screenplays, Michael can be found at one of many conventions around the world. With The Fractured Time Trilogy, Night Creeps and now the conclusion of Space Frontiers, look for Michael to expand his fan base overseas in the coming years, particularly in the U,K. where science fiction is more popular than anywhere else in the world. Visit Michael's site at www.fracturedtime.com to see details on the progress of his screenplays and his next writing project entitled Princess Pain.

Davis, Rebecca K.

A stage combat performer with Guardians Performance Group (a group that does live action stage combat scenes to promote charity events), a prop builder, tech geek and college student who has recently found herself falling into the world of indie film special effects work as well.

Current Projects: Live Action Performances with Guardians Performance Group, Production on "Blood / Clan", writing what she hopes will be able to be a Steampunk Indie Film.

de Guardiola, Susan

Susan de Guardiola is a social dance historian and teacher who may often be found in musty library stacks researching dance from the 16th to the 20th centuries in between teaching workshops across the United States and running dance events. She reviews F&SF, historical and paranormal romance, and historical fiction for Publishers Weekly and is best-known in fandom as a masquerade emcee at the 1997 and 2004 worldcons as well as numerous east coast local and regional conventions. Susan also makes costumes and blogs about both dance history (at Capering and Kickery) and the rest of her life (at Rixosous). In her spare time, she plays high-speed online Scrabble.

DeCandido, Keith

Keith R.A. DeCandido has written a lot of stuff — more than a dozen Star Trek novels, three years' worth of Farscape comic books, the "Serenity" movie novelization, just to name a few. He hopes to write a lot more stuff. His most recent stuff includes a series of high fantasy police procedurals, Dragon Precinct, Unicorn Precinct, and Goblin Precinct, with Tales From Dragon Precinct and Gryphon Precinct in the works; the "SCPD" series of novels about cops in a city filled with superheroes, including The Case Of The Claw and the forthcoming Avenging Amethyst; and several contributions to "Tales from the Scattered Earth", a shared-world science fiction storyline. A longtime editor and anthologist, Keith is also currently providing editorial services through Kraditorial. When he isn't writing or editing, Keith is the percussionist for the parody band Boogie Knights, is a black belt in Kenshikai karate, and follows his beloved New York Yankees. Find out less at his website www.DeCandido.net.

Dee, Sheila

Sheila Dee is an educator, photographer, and podcaster. She has taught for more than a decade, shot photos since the mid 80�s, and podcasted since early 2005.

Sheila strives to learn something new everyday! She teaches technology to up and coming teachers, writes curriculum for a university and ePublish Unum, and has written three teacher guides for various authors. Sheila holds a Masters degree in Curriculum, Instruction, & Design.

Photography has held her interest since she was small (no jokes about her height). She has had several photos published and has held two gallery showings. Sheila tends to see things from different angles.

Podcasting is yet another of her creative outlets. She has been the creator, co-host, and guest on a variety of podcasts since 2005.

Diaz, Ming "Cookie"

Given his druthers, Ming will usually be Storytelling, Clowning, or Facepainting for children. Sometimes when an adult starts to pout he'll make a balloon design to stop them from whining. In the mundane he is actually an electronics tech. He only does free facepainting for Balticon and ARISIA.


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Evans, Chris

Chris Evans was born in Toronto, Canada and now lives in New York City. He's earned degrees in English/History, Political Science, and a Masters in History with Distinction specializing in military history. Before moving to the U.S. he was a military historian and conducted battlefield tours of Europe in addition to being the military historical consultant on a television documentary on the First World War. Chris started his commercial publishing career as an editor with Ballantine/Del Rey of Random House and is currently the editor of history and current affairs/conflicts books at Stackpole Books where he launched the Stackpole Military History Series which now has over 120 titles in print. The "Iron Elves" epic fantasy is Chris�s first series. The trilogy is being translated into French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Czech.


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Flynn, Billy

Billy Flynn, of Geek Radio Daily.com (ding), has been podcasting for over 5 years. His show features funny, geeky news stories, frequent listener participation, and interviews with established and up and coming geeks of film, television, and authors. Billy Flynn also hold a radio day job and is a voice actor for audio dramas, including his most recent contribution as Captain Everett on "Star Trek Miami". When not hosting Geek Radio Daily, you can find him gaming, watching B movies, or reading comics....with his sexy wife.

Fortuner, Kimberly A.

(See Kim the Comic Book Goddess)

Fratz, D. Douglas

Doug Fratz is best known in the science fiction and fantasy field as a book reviewer who currently writes for "SF Site" and New York Review of Science Fiction. He has been reviewing books and writing about science fiction for 35+ years, with work appearing in Science Fiction Age, The Washington Post and other print venues, and on the SciFi Channel�s web site. He founded his own literary magazine, Thrust as the science fiction magazine of the University of Maryland and, after graduation with a B.S. in chemistry in 1974, continued it as semiprofessional magazine Quantum Science Fiction & Fantasy Review. As publisher and editor of Thrust/Quantum (1973-1993), he was nominated for five Hugo Awards. As a science fiction convention-goer since 1968, he has appeared on more than one hundred panels and other program items.

Doug began his in comics fandom in 1966, and published several well-known comics fanzines in the 1960s and 970s, including "Comicology" and "Comicology Fan Review" and was a columnist with quot;The Comics Journal", which became the primary critical journal of the graphic story field. He was an invited guest at the 2011 Comic-Con 50th Anniversary Comics Fandom Reunion.

In real life, Doug is an environmental scientist serving as V.P. of Scientific and Technical Affairs for the Consumer Specialty Products Association in Washington, DC. He received his M.S. degree in Environmental Science from the George Washington University in 1983. He lives in Gaithersburg, MD, with his wife, and has two children.


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Gannon, Charles Edward

Dr. Charles E. Gannon's most recent novel is Extremis (w/S. White). Forthcoming are: 1635: The Papal Stakes (w/Eric Flint,)in fall 2012 and Fire With Fire in early 2013. He has many novellas published in anthologies and in Analog SF Magazine. Along with 50 other SF writers, he is a member of SIGMA, the "SF think-tank" which has advised various intelligence and defense agencies. He also worked as author and editor for GDW, and was a routine contributor to both the scientific/technical content and story-line in the award-winning games "Traveller", and "2300 AD". His most recent non-fiction book Rumors of War and Infernal Machines: Technomilitary Agenda Setting in American and British Speculative Fiction won the 2006 American Library Association Award for Outstanding Book.

A Fulbright Senior Specialist from 2004 to 2009, Dr. Gannons most recent non-fiction book is "Rumors of War and Infernal Machines: Technomilitary Agenda Setting in American and British Speculative Fiction". Now in second edition, it won the 2006 American Library Association Award for Outstanding Book, and was the topic of discussion when he was interviewed by NPR (Morning Edition).

A Distinguished Professor of English (St. Bonaventure U.), and former Fulbright Senior Specialist in American Lit & Culture, Dr. Gannon has been a Fulbright Fellow at Liverpool U., Palacky U. (Czech Republic), and the U. of Dundee, and is a member of the SIGMA SF think-tank. He holds degrees from Brown (BA), Syracuse (MS), and Fordham (MA,PhD) and has published extensively on the interaction of fiction, technology (particularly military and space), and political influence.

Prior to his academic career, Dr. Gannon worked as a scriptwriter and producer in New York City, where his clients included the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and The President's Council on Physical Fitness.

Garthright, Bing

Bing Garthright is a retired biostatistician and former amateur volunteer UFO investigator now inquiring into potentially unsafe uses of dowsing to locate gas lines. He is a long-time member and board member of National Capital Area Skeptics.

Giunta, Philip

Phil Giunta graduated from Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia with a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems. Since then, he has obtained both Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and Cisco Certified Network Associate. After all that trouble and expense, it wasn't long before he realized his desperation to escape from corporate America and do something cool like write novels or open a bait shop.

Phil's first novel, a paranormal mystery called Testing the Prisoner, debuted in March 2010 from Firebringer Press, but his venture into fiction writing truly began in the early '90s when he began writing fan fiction based on characters from Star Trek, Star Wars, Indiana Jones and more.

Phil lives in Pennsylvania where he is nearing completion on his second paranormal novel, By Your Side, which is slated for release in late 2012. The audio version of Testing the Prisoner can be heard at "Podiobooks.com" and "Prometheus Radio Theatre". Visit LiveJournal to read Phil�s blog.

Grant, April

April Grant lives in Western Massachusetts, where she writes poetry and short fiction. Her humorous writing has appeared in The Living Tradition, and her poetry in Strange Horizons, Mythic Delirium, and Rose Lemberg's anthology The Moment of Change. One of her ambitions is to fill the empty pages of her new passport. Her literary influences include Christina Rossetti, Henry Austin Dobson, Freddy the Pig, Edith Nesbit, archy the cockroach and Phyllis McGinley.

Griswold-Ford, Val

I started in non-fiction, with a chapter on mythology in the The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy, Volume 1: Alchemy with Words. I co-edited the second and third "Complete Guides" (The Opus Magnus and The Author�s Grimoire), but as much as I like non-fiction, it�s fiction that holds my heart.

Currently, I have two full novels published, both by Dragon Moon Press, which are the first two parts of "The Apocalypse Cycle". The first is Not Your Father�s Horseman and the second is Dark Moon Seasons. Both follow the continuing adventures of Nikki Jeffries, a young woman with a Destiny. This, as my friend Mac would say, is important. The only thing is, Nikki has no idea that her destiny includes magic, evil Shadow Lords, other realms and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I�m currently working on book three of the trilogy, Last Rites. My short story in the same universe as the "The Apocalypse Cycle" novels was published in Writers for Relief 2. The story, "Blood Sacrifice", concentrates on some of the characters from the Horseman books when they were back in college.


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Hall, Wayne Arthur

Wayne Hall is the host for the weekly "Wayne's Comics" podcast and co-hosts the "SFP-NOW" weekly podcast with Ian Cullen from the UK. He has interviewed comics pros including Scott Snyder, Phil Hester, Arvid Nelson, Bob Schreck, Michael Alan Nelson, Joe Harris, Jeff Cahn, Michael Jan Friedman, Mark Bertolini, David Baxter, Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray, Shawn Aldridge, Brendan Daneen, Sam Johnson, Michael Moreci, David Petersen, Cy Dethan, John Heffernan, and Brian Clevinger & Scott Wegener, to name a few. Each episode includes an interview, a News & Previews section with Ian Cullen and Gianluca Glazer, comics reviews and a peek at what's new in local comics stores.

Wayne also has interviewed pop culture stars including Dave Vesco, Bonita Fredericy, Tahmoh Penikett and Patrick Gilmore for the "SFP-NOW" podcast. When the podcast was on "blogtalkradio.com", Wayne interviewed the cast from the fan film "Star Trek: Phoenix", among others.

Wayne's also the co-editor and a news writer for "SciFiPulse". He writes three weekly columns there — "Tubular Television" (TV reviews), "Comix Portal" (general comics comments as well as previews), and "DC Comics And Beyond" (reviewing the latest comics releases). Wayne also writes recaps of "Fox's Bones" and Syfy's "Warehouse 13" for Monsters & Criticx website.

When not doing the above, Wayne also writes recaps of "Fox's Bones" and Syfy's "Warehouse 13" for the "monstersandcritics.com" website.

Harmon, Kelly A.

Kelly A. Harmon used to write truthful, honest stories about authors and thespians, senators and statesmen, movie stars and murderers. Now she writes lies, which is infinitely more satisfying, but lacks the convenience of doorstep delivery, especially on rainy days.

Ms. Harmon is a former magazine and newspaper reporter and editor. She has published articles at "SciFi.com" and "eArticles", and short fiction in several anthologies: Triangulation: Dark Glass, Bad Ass Fairies 3: In All Their Glory, Hellbore and Rue, and the forthcoming Magicking in Traffic. Her award-winning novella, "Blood Soup", is available from Eternal Press and Amazon. Read more about Ms. Harmon at her Web site: http://kellyaharmon.com.

Hartlove, Katie

Katie Hartlove (MS Professional Writing) has been actively involved in many aspects of the writing and publication process. Her poems and short stories have appeared magazines and anthologies; most recently, they've appeared in The Gunpowder Review and Dia de los Muertos. She has been editing for about seven years, including co-editing the 2011 release, Potters Field 4. In 2009, she began Book Mark It Promotions and provides marketing solutions to authors around the country. In 2010, she opened Cold Moon Press, which released Vonnie Winslow Crist's short story collection, The Greener Forest in 2011. Cold Moon Press is still accepting short story submissions, including submissions for their anthology.

Hemry, John G.

John G. Hemry is the author, under the pen name Jack Campbell, of the New York Times national best-selling Lost Fleet series (Dauntless, Fearless, Courageous, Valiant, Relentless, and Victorious). His latest books are Dreadnaught and Invincible, the first two books in The Lost Fleet — Beyond the Frontier series, In October, Tarnished Knight (the first book in the "Lost Stars" series) will be published. Under his own name, John is the author of the the Stark�s War and the Sinclair/JAG in Space sseries. His short fiction has appeared in places as varied as the last "Chicks in Chainmail" anthology (Turn the Other Chick) and Analog magazine. He also has stories in the anthologies Breach the Hull, So It Begins, By Other Means, and Armor, as well as the essay "Liberating the Future" in Teenagers from the Future (about the Legion of Super Heroes).

After attending the US Naval Academy, he served in a variety of jobs during his Naval service. After retiring from the US Navy and settling in Maryland, John began writing. He lives with his indomitable wife (the incomparable S) and three great kids. His oldest son and daughter are diagnosed autistic.

Henderson, C. J.

CJ HendersonCJ Henderson is the creator of both the Piers Knight supernatural investigator series and the Teddy London occult detective series amony many others. Author of some 70 books and/or novels, including such diverse titles as The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Movies, Black Sabbath: the Ozzy Osbourne Years, and Baby's First Mythos, he has also written hundreds and hundreds of short stories and comics and thousands of non-fiction pieces. Known for his hardboiled mysteries, knee-slapping comedies, soul-shattering Lovecraftian horror and wildly delicious bacon-spinach-cheese balls, this aging philosopher once again eagerly awaits his chance to baffle Balticon's crowds once more with the eternal question, how can someone so dumpy as well as irritating have such a dazzling wife?

Herberth, Reesa

Reesa Herberth grew up in Hawaii, tried Arizona for a few years, and eventually settled in the D.C. area, where they have trees and rain.

She's held a variety of crazy writer jobs, including book and video store manager for a defunct chain of music shops, office goddess for an artisan ice cream maker, cheese-cup scrubber at an organic goat dairy, high school secretary, and dye-stained proprietress of a small yarn and fiber business.

Reesa and writing partner Michelle Moore have created theYlendrian Empire series, with novels Balance of Silence and The Slipstream Con published by Samhain Publishing.

When not writing, she can usually be found reading, gardening, cooking, playing miniature golf in Victorian attire, or spinning yarns of another sort entirely. She often resents her need for sleep.

Holtz, Dr. Thomas

Balticon 45's Science Guest of Honor, Dr. Thomas R. Holtz, Jr., is a dinosaur paleontologist specializing in the origin, evolution, adaptations, and paleobiology of carnivorous dinosaurs (especially Tyrannosaurus and its kin). He is a senior lecturer in the Department of Geology at the University of Maryland, College Park. Recent works include several chapters in University of Californi Press' The Dinosauria, Second Edition (the bible of dinosaur research) and Tyrannosaurus rex, The Tyrant King. In addition to his technical publications, Dr. Holtz has written several books for children, most recently Dinosaurs: The Most Up-To-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of all Ages (Random House). He has been a Winner of the National Science Teachers Association Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12: 2008 Award; Winner of the Parent's Choice 2008 Award Recommendation For Non-Fiction; and Finalist in the AAAS/Subaru Science Books and Films Prize for Excellence in Science Books, Young Adult Science Books division.

Dr. Holtz has been a consultant and featured speaking head on numerous TV documentaries including: BBC/Discovery Channel's Walking with Dinosaurs; the History Channel's Jurassic Fight Club; and The Discovery Channel's Clash of the Dinosaurs, Monsters Resurrected, and Prehistoric. Additionally, he has contributed to several museum exhibits: check out the dinosaur hall of at the Maryland Science Center in the Baltimore Inner Harbor.

From 1999 through 2010 Dr. Holtz was the Faculty Director of the College Park Scholars — Earth, Life and Time Program, a two-year residential honors program for students interested in Natural History. Starting in Fall 2009 he started a new College Park Scholars program, Science & Global Change. He lives in southern P.G. County, Maryland, with his wife (fan costumer Sue Shambaugh), a trio of cats, and Emilio Lizardo the bearded dragon.

Huchton, Starla

Starla Huchton is a recent graduate of the Graphic Design program at Monterey Peninsula College, and is a freelance graphic designer, focusing mainly on book cover creation. Her first novel, The Dreamer's Thread, is a full cast podcast audiobook, garnered a double-nomination, and was a finalist for the 2010 Parsec Awards. Her short fiction has appeared in the Erotica a la Carte and Tales from the Archives podcasts, as well as the Farrago Anthology. Her vocal work for DarkFire Productions includes More Than 36 Days;, This Path We Share, and the Emperor's Edge books. Her singing has appeared in several other podcasts including "The Gearheart" and "Erotica a la Carte".


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Ish, Barbara Friend

Writer, publisher, slave of cats: Barbara Friend Ish is Publisher, Editor-in-Chief, and Wild-Eyed Visionary for Mercury Retrograde Press, a small press dedicated to unconventional authors and works that might undeservedly slip through the cracks at bigger houses. Books edited by Barbara have been covered by Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Locus Magazine, and print and electronic outlets worldwide. She has been featured in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Library Journal and has appeared at SF/& conventions across the southeast, mid-Atlantic, and mountain states.

Barbara�s debut novel, The Shadow of the Sun, appeared in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and Locus and has been nominated for the 2012 Compton Crook Award. Information on this and other Mercury Retrograde Press books is available at www.MercuryRetrogradePress.com.

Barbara lives in a place called Lost Forest, in a purple house that is bigger on the inside than on the outside. Current projects include The Heart of the Darkness and The Lord of the Abyss, the next two novels in "The Way of the Gods" series, the electronic version of "Fortunes", a Tarot-based game for "The Way of the Gods" an ongoing competition with her husband to determine who is a bigger geek, and a search for the perfect bottle of champagne.


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Kimmel, Daniel

Daniel M. Kimmel is past president of the Boston Society of Film Critics. His reviews appeared in the Worcester (Mass.) Telegram and Gazette for 25 years and can now be found at Northshoremovies.net. He is Boston correspondent for Variety, the Movie Maven for the Jewish Advocate and teaches film at Suffolk University. He writes on classic science fiction films for Clarkesworld and Space and Time magazine. His book on the history of FOX TV, The Fourth Network, received the Cable Center Book Award. Other books include a history of DreamWorks, The Dream Team, and Ill Have What Shes Having: Behind the Scenes of the Great Romantic Comedies. His latest is Jar Jar Binks Must Die and other observations about science fiction movies.

Knapp, James

New England native James Knapp is the author of the Revivors series which include Philip K Dick Award nominee and Compton Crook Award winner State of Decay, followed by The Silent Army and Element Zero. He currently lives in Massachusetts with his wife Kim where he is hard at work on his next book The Burn Zone, the first in a new series, to be written under the pseudonym James K. Decker.

Knight, Jonah

Jonah Knight plays Paranormal Modern Folk music. His five albums of mostly full studio recordings contain stories of haunted landscapes, Lovcraftian monsters, and clone armies. His recent album, The Age Of Steam: Strange Machines is an exploration of supernatural steampunk. He recently celebrated his first Con as musical Guest of Honor this year at Madicon.

He is currently working on a secret project with author Danielle Ackley-McPhail.


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Lampi, Ruth

Ruth Lampi is the author and illustrator of "The Blackfeather Chronicles", a series of web novellas updating weekly. Books 1 and 2, the Alarna Affair and The Germhacht Episode, are now available in print form. Ruth earned a BFA in Fine Art from Moore College of Art and Design, where she created figurative and architectural sculptures in clay, paper, wax, and welded steel. Her illustration credits include character portraits for White Silver Publishing's Chronicles of Ramlar, interior art for Maschine Zeit, and for the two quot;BadAss Fairiesquot; anthologies. For the RPG publisher Goodman Games, she has written several adventure modules and co-authored quot;Heroes Handbook: Eladrinquot;. Most recently, her writing has appeared in Fquot;oreshadows: The Ghost of Zeroquot;.

Levin, Neal

Neal Levin is a game designer, author, and publisher. His work in game design includes credits with: Ambient Games, Bastion Press, Dark Quest Games, EN Publishing, Mystic Eye Games and Top Fashion Games. He is a member of the Garden State Horror Writers, Fictioneers, HWA, and SFWA. He also is the publisher of Dark Quest Books. As a short story author he has work in anthologies from many publishers.

Lurie, Perrianne

Perrianne Lurie is a physician with the Division of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the Pennsylvania Department of Health. She has been active in fandom for over 30 year in SF clubs, cons, filking, writing con reviews, etc. She was a member of the Baltimore in 1998 bid committee. She served as deputy division director for programming at BucCONeer, assistant to the director of the Millennium Philcon Hugo Awards Ceremony, and director of the Torcon 3 Hugo Awards Ceremony. She is also active in the Central Pennsylvania (European boardgame) Game Club. She has run the Balticon Green Room for WAY too many years and is a life member of BSFS.


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Macumber, Justin

Justin Macumber is a writer and podcaster. Currently he has two novels in print — A Minor Magic from Crescent Moon Press, and Haywire from Gryphonwood Press. He also has a short story in the Dragon Moon Press anthology entitled Podthology, and through his podcast he has released Explorers, an anthology of short stories that go beyond the horizon. He also has several short stories available across a variety of print and electronic publications.

For over four years Justin has been producing and co-hosting the "Dead Robots' Society" podcast, which is made by aspiring writers, for aspiring writers. The podcast has twice been a finalist for a Parsec Award, and along with roundtable discussions, they've interviewed literary luminaries such as Tracy Hickman, Kevin J. Anderson, Patrick Rothfuss, and Alan Dead Foster.

Madden, Helen E. H.

Helen E. H. Madden, also known as Cynical Woman, is a writer and artist who quit her lucrative day job years ago with no idea what she might do next. In the last three years, shes written 165 short stories for the "Heat Flash Erotica Podcast". Recently, she has begun writing in other genres, especially horror and science fiction. She is currently podcasting her second novel, The Little Death, a tale about telepathy, government conspiracies, and the dangers of the human touch.

Helens other works include her webcomics, "The Adventures of Cynical Woman" and "Rats!" She also runs the Very Scary Art online gallery, home to childrens artwork about scary stuff. She is very much in love with zombies right now, but thats probably because she is one, and could someone please explain the concept of sleep to her? Because shes never experienced it herself.

Martin, Gail Z.

Gail Z. Martin is the author of The Summoner, The Blood King, Dark Haven and Dark Ladys Chosen ("The Chronicles of The Necromancer" series). She is also the author of "The Fallen Kings Cycle" from Orbit Books with Book One: The Sworn and Book Two: The Dread. For book updates, tour information and contact details, visit Chronicles of the Necromancer online.

Gail is the host of the "Ghost in the Machine Fantasy Podcast" and you can find her on Facebook, GoodReads, BookTour, BookMarketing.ning, Shelfari and Twitter. She blogs at Disquieting Visions. She is also the author of two non-fiction series: "The Thrifty Authors Guide" series (Comfort Publishing) and "The 30 Day Guide" Series (Career Press). Gail's short fiction has been featured in two anthologies: Rum and Runestones from Dragon Moon Press and The Bitten Word from New Con Press.

Gail discovered her passion for science fiction, fantasy and ghost stories in elementary school. The first story she wrote�at age five�was about a vampire. Her favorite TV show as a preschooler was Dark Shadows. At age 14, she decided to become a writer. She enjoys attending science fiction/fantasy conventions, Renaissance fairs and living history sites. She is married and has three children, a Himalayan cat and a golden retriever. Find Gail at Twitter .

McPhail, Mike

Author and artist Mike McPhail is best known as the editor of the award-winning Defending The Future (DTF) series of military science fiction anthologies. Currently he is the administrator for the Dark Quest Books' Imprint DTF Publications, which includes the DTF series and its related projects.

He is the creator of the science fiction universe the Alliance Archives (All'Arc), which serves as the backdrop to his (and other authors) stories. Its related role-playing game is part of the dC percentile family of game mechanics, as used in the Martial Role-Playing Game (MRPG) system.

As a member of the , he is dedicated to helping his fellow service members (and deserving civilians) in their efforts to become authors, as well as supporting related organization in their efforts to help those "who have given their all for us".

Moore, Michelle

Michelle Moore has a well-documented obsession with travel, television, frappuccinos, and flamingos. These, however, come in a distant second to her love of writing. Most evenings she can be found huddled over her laptop at the local Starbucks, dividing her time between actually writing and pretendng to be a barista. While Michelle would like to claim child prodigy status, the truth is that she�s only been scribbling words on paper since she was six. However, she�s moved beyond those initial Dick and Jane story knock-offs to the "Ylendrian Universe"yhuj/2

, a much more rewarding and enjoyable choice of subject matter.

She can be found online at the Ylendrian Empire websiter, with her partner Reesa at Michelle and Reeesa Write or you can email her at Michelle Moore Writes.

Morris, Tee

Tee Morris began his writing career at Balticon, premiering his historical epic fantasy, MOREVI The Chronicles of Rafe & Askana in 2002. In 2005 Tee took MOREVI into the then-unknown podosphere, making his novel the first book podcast in its entirety. That experience led to the founding of Podiobooks.com and collaborating with Evo Terra and Chuck Tomasi on Podcasting for Dummies and its follow-up, Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies. He also went on to win acclaim and accolades for his cross-genre fantasy-detective Billibub Baddings Mysteries, the podcast of The Case of the Singing Sword winning him the 2008 Parsec Award for Best Audio Drama. Along with those full-length novels, Tee has written articles and short stories for BenBella Bookss Farscape Forever: Sex, Drugs, and Killer Muppets, the podcast anthology VOICES: New Media Fiction, BenBella Books So Say We All: Collected Thoughts and Opinions of Battlestar Galactica, and Dragon Moon Press Podthology: The Pod Complex. At Balticon 44, Tee announced alongside NZ author Philippa Ballantine that the steampunk title he had been working on with Pip, Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel, had just sold to Harper Voyager. He plans to throw a (tea) party at Balticon 45 to celebrate.

When he is not writing, Tee enjoys life in Virginia alongside Philippa Ballantine, his daughter, and five cats (3 female, 2 males). Considering the male-to-female ratio in his house, Tee understands how General Custer felt near his end.


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Nicole, Laura

Laura Nicole, the Gypsy Pirate of Flying Island Press, edits stories, writes the "Please Spay Your Tribbles" column, and voices several stories for the audio version of "Flagship". She is also the co-author of "Prisoners of the Alliance" and currently working on "Absolution". Both of these stories can be found at www.scrivenerscircle.com. For all things Laura Nicole, visit her Gypey Laura website or follow her on Twitter @LN_Dragonsong.


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Perkins, TJ

TJ Perkins is a gifted and well-respected author in the mystery/suspense genre. A member of the Maryland Writers Association and Sisters In Crime, her short stories for young readers have appeared in the Ohio State 6th Grade Proficiency Test Preparation Book, Kids Highway Magazine, and Webzine New Works Review with illustrations provided by Dennis Anfuso, just to name a few. Shes placed four times in the CNW/FFWA chapter book competition.

Finished works of her young readers chapter books are entitled: The Fire and the Falcon (which won two chapter book awards), Wound Too Tight, Mystery of the Attic, and On Forbidden Ground. Published books in the Kim & Kelly Mystery Series include: Fantasies Are Murder, The Secret in Phantom Forest, Trade Secret, Image in the Tapestry (which won a chapter book award) and In the Grand Scheme of Things (all with GumShoe Press 2006).

Art of the Ninja: Earth is the first installment of a 5 book series, Shadow Legacy, by publisher Silver Leaf Books, May 2011.


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Reclusado, Larry

Larry Reclusado is the host of the Nova Comic Book Show on Fairfax Public Access. He has been a comic collector for over 40 years and has been a manager of the Nova Comics and Games in Springfield Virginia for 5 years.

He also plays the recurring character Cap'n Swag on the Horror show Monster Madhouse and is currently developing the new public access show Cap'n Swags


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Schweitzer, Darrell C.

Darrell Schweitzer is the author of The Mask Of The Sorcerer, The Shattered Goddess, and The White Isle, plus about 300 short stories (some of them are found in his 8 short-story collections). He is also a reviewer and critic, whose credits range from "Publishers Weekly" to "The Washington Post". He is a regular contributor to "The New York Review Of Science Fiction" and is also a noted interviewer, most recently for "Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show". He recently edited three anthologies, The Secret History Of Vampires, Cthulhu's Reign, and Full Moon City (with Martin H. Greenberg). He was co-editor of "Weird Tales" for 19 years. He has written books about H.P. Lovecraft and Lord Dunsany, edited The Robert E. Howard Reader and The Thomas Ligotti Reader, and rhymed "Cthulhu" in a limerick. After that, he condensed "The Lord Of The Rings" into a limerick. Not to be outdone by himself, he did the same to the "Gormenghast Trilogy". He has been coming to Balticons for a very long time. This is his 38th consecutive Balticon.

Snyder, Maria V.

Maria V. Snyder switched careers from meteorologist to fantasy novelist when she began writing the New York Times best-selling Study Series (Poison Study, Magic Study and Fire Study) about a young woman who becomes a poison taster. Born in Philadelphia, Maria dreamed of chasing tornados and even earned a BS degree in Meteorology from Penn State University. Unfortunately, she lacked the necessary forecasting skills. Writing, however, lets Maria control the weather, which she gleefully does in her Glass Series (Storm Glass, Sea Glass, and Spy Glass). Maria returned to school and earned a MA in Writing from Seton Hill University where she is currently one of the teachers and mentors for the MFA program. Her latest novel, Outside In follows her debut young adult novel, Inside Out. Maria is also blogging about her writing adventures.

Sparhawk, Bud

Bud Sparhawk is a short story writer who has sold numerous science fiction stories to "Analog", "Asimovs", several Best of anthologies, and other print, audio, and on-line media both in the United States and overseas. He has also written articles appearing in various books and magazines.

He has two print collections ("Sam Boone": Front to Back and Dancing with Dragons,) a mass market paperback (VIXEN,) and one eNovel (Distant Seas.) He has been a three-time Nebula novella finalist. Some of his works are available at Fictionwise and through Kindle.

Bud is currently the Eastern Regional Director of SFWA, a member of SIGMA, and now a full-time writer.

Sprunk, Jon

Jon Sprunk is the author of the "Shadow Saga" from Pyr Books, including the first book, Shadow's Son, which was a finalist for the 2010 Compton Crook Award and nominee for the David Gemmell Award.

Strock, Ian Randal

Ian Randal Strock is the owner and publisher of Fantastic Books (www.FantasticBooks.biz), a small press publisher of new and reprint speculative fiction and related non-fiction. He also runs the sibling, non-genre imprint Gray Rabbit Publications. Since 2007, Strock has also edited SFScope.com, the online news site about speculative fiction.

He has had a long editorial career, working for "Analog", "Asimov's", "Realms of Fantasy", "Science Fiction Chronicle", and publishing "Artemis Magazine".

When he's not publishing, Strock is an author of sf and non-fiction. As a writer, most of his fiction has appeared in "Analog" (from which he won two AnLab Awards). Random House published his non-fiction book, The Presidential Book of Lists, in 2008.


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Thomas, Patrick

With over a million words in print, Patrick Thomas keeps busy writing the the popular fantasy humor series "Murphy's Lore" (which includes 8 books- Tales From Bulfinche's Pub, Fools' Day, Through The Drinking Glass, Shadow Of The Wolf, Redemption Road, Bartender Of The Gods, Nightcaps and Empty Graves) as well as the "After Hours" spin offs Fairy With A Gun, Dead To Rites and Lore & Dysorder. His "Mystic Investigators" series has grown to include the books Bullets & Brimstone and From The Shadows, both with John L. French, and Once More Upon A Time and the upcoming Partners In Crime, both with Diane Raetz. He has co-edited two anthologies - Hear Them Roar and the vampire themed New Blood. Patrick's syndicated humorous advice column "Dear Cthulhu" has been collected in Have A Dark Day and Good Advice For Bad People. A number of his books are part of the set and props department at the CSI television show. He was voted Preditors & Editors favorite author of 2010. As an artist his work has graced covers for Dark Quest, Padwolf and Marietta, interiors and a cover for "Space & Time" magazine and comic covers for "Ghostman". A mockumentary about him has recently surfaced on Youtube. Laurence Fishburne's production company Cinema Gypsy Productions has taken a film and television option on Patrick Thomas� urban fantasy Fairy With A Gun.

Tucker, S. J. "Sooj"

"Without our songs and stories, we are nothing". This one phrase tells you what you need to know about SJ Tucker. Multi-instrumentalist, road warrior, front woman, songwriter and rallying point; yes, she is all of these things. More than most, though, more than anything, she is a storyteller. She is the voice of lore at the campfire and the sharp laughter of modern myth, a vanguard of the Mythpunk movement with a gypsy Celtic folk rock sound that cannot be ignored. With one hand on her art and the other held out to you, she is songs and stories, community and wit.

A fascinating hybrid of geography and experience, SJ Tucker is a constant musical journeywoman born to the sticky, mean delta humidity of Dumas, Arkansas. In that same swirling, sweltering air, Tucker�s musical education began at the age of 3 when her grandfather brought home an LP of The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour and dropped the needle on her Fisher-Price toy record player. These days she spends 90% of her year on the road, performing at festivals and house concerts with cellist Betsy Tinney, or with The Traveling Fates, or with Tricky Pixie, and has not stopped touring since 2004. A dynamic live performer known for her willingness to follow an evocative ballad with a tune about ninjas or pirates, Tucker is never in danger of taking herself too seriously. Serious talent, however, is a mainstay, with guitar, bodhran (Irish frame drum), and djembe (African drum) regularly in her hands during live shows. She is silly on stage, but not manic; calm, human, and gracious, with her genuine love of music courting and cajoling the audience from song to song.

No matter the form it takes, music is communication for SJ Tucker. It is how she tells stories, how she shares lore and myth, how she interacts with the world. Her sincerity and biting, rare talent are couched in her desire to connect and communicate with those who are listening.


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Van Name, Mark

Mark L. Van Name is a writer, technologist, and spoken word performer. As a science fiction author, he has published four novels (One Jump Ahead, Slanted Jack, Overthrowing Heaven, and Children No More) as well as an omnibus collection of his first two books (Jump Gate Twist); edited or co-edited three anthologies (Intersections: The Sycamore Hill Anthology, Transhuman, and The Wild Side). His fifth novel, No Going Back, appears in February. He has also written many short stories that have appeared in a wide variety of books and magazines, including "Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine", many original anthologies, and The Year's Best Science Fiction.

As a technologist, he is the CEO of a fact-based marketing and technology assessment firm, Principled Technologies, Inc., that is based in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. He has worked with computer technology for his entire professional career and has published over a thousand articles in the computer trade press, as well as a broad assortment of essays and reviews.

As a spoken word artist, he has created and performed two shows: "Science Magic Sex", and "Wake Up Horny, Wake Up Angry". He also frequently leads humor panels at SF conventions.


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Ward, Jean Marie

Jean Marie Ward writes fiction, nonfiction and everything in between. Her first novel, With Nine You Get Vanyr (written with the late Teri Smith) finaled in both the science fiction/fantasy and humor categories of the 2008 Indie Awards. Her stories appear in many anthologies, including Here Be Dragons: Tales Of Dragon*Con, The Modern Fae�s Guide To Surviving Humanity, and the multi-award nominated Hellebore And Rue and Dragon�s Lure.

Her first art book, Illumina: The Art Of J.P. Targete, provided an in-depth look at award-winning artist J.P. Targete�s covers and conceptual art. Her most recent nonfiction title, Fantasy Art TemplateS, marries the superb illustrations of artist Rafi Adrian Zulkarnain with pithy descriptions of over one hundred fifty creatures and characters from science fiction, fantasy folklore and myth.

A former assistant producer of the local access cable TV program "Mystery Readers Corner", Ms. Ward edited the respected electronic magazine quot;Crescent Blues" for eight years. She has also contributed interviews and articles for publications as diverse as the then SciFi Channel�s "Science Fiction Weekly", Romance Writers of America�s "Romance Writers Report" and Buzzy Multimedia.

Waters, Robert E.

Robert E. Waters is a science fiction and fantasy writer. Since 1994, he has worked in the computer and board gaming industry as technical writer, editor, designer, and producer. His first professional fiction publication came in 2003 with the story "The Assassins Retirement Party", Weird Tales, Issue #332. Since then he has sold stories to "Nth Degree", "Nth Zine", Black Library Publishing (Games Workshop), Dark Quest Books, Padwolf Publishing, Mundania Press, Dragon Moon Press, and Rogue Blades Entertainment. Between the years of 1998 2006, he also served as an assistant editor to "Weird Tales", and is still a frequent contributor to "Tangent Online", a short fiction review site. Robert currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland, with his wife Beth, their son Jason, and their cat Buzz.

Wiley, Kevin K.

Recognized as the incendiary mercenary genius behind SJ Tucker's musical talent, K Wiley revels in his Strowler life. Living on the road, traveling from concert to convention to festival in a different city every week for more than five years, he has produced, recorded, and teched hundreds of concerts and small events, contributed to a dozen music and video productions, and participated in the production, design, re-design, marketing, and distribution of every one of SJ Tucker's albums since 2004. As a fire juggler, a dancer, and a choreographer, he has worked with dozens of performance troupes from all over the world, was featured in a PBS special, and helped break a world record for fire breathing. His most recent projects have centered around the emerging alternative sub-culture identifying themselves as Strowlers, connected by a national network of events and an upcoming web mini-series.

Wooldridge, Trisha J.

Trisha J. Wooldridge is a freelance writer, editor and educator from Auburn, MA and the current president of Broad Universe, where she also created and produced two podcasts: "The Broad Pod" and "Broadly Speaking". Her experience ranges from "Dungeons & Dragons Online" to animal rescue public relations. She writes about food, wine, horses, haunted locations, education, and she interviews bands like Voltaire, Within Temptation and Nightwish. Her short story, "Party Crashers", co-authored with Christy Tohara, was in the EPIC-Award-winning Bad-Ass Faeries: Just Plain Bad (Marietta 2008, Mundania 2009), with a second co-authored short story in the EPIC-Award-winning Bad-Ass Faeries: In All Their Glory (Mundania 2010). She has poetry published in "Eye On Life" poetry ezine and Epitaphs, an anthology published by the New England Horror Writers. She also co-edited Unconventional (Spencer Hill Press January 2012) with Kate Kaynak.


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Zelkowitz, Marvin

Marvin Zelkowitz is a Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at the University of Maryland in College Park. His research interests are in experimental software engineering and technology transfer where he has studied the introduction of new computer technology into organizations such as NASA and the Department of Defense. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers (IEEE), a Golden Core member of the Computer Society, and has published over 160 conference and journal papers on aspects of computer technology (none intentionally science fiction).

His interests include skepticism where he is president of the National Capital Area Skeptics, bible studies (who wrote those books and why?), and reading science fiction, which he has been doing since he was 12 — several centuries ago. As an aging Geek, he used to totally understand how gadgets like the original IBM PC worked, can still set the clock on his home DVD player, but doesn't understand who or why anyone wants an iPhone.

Alan Zendell

Alan Zendell spent more than forty years as a scientist, aerospace engineer, software consultant, database developer, and government analyst. He spent two years working on the first manned lunar mission, then moved on to a variety of near-Earth satellite projects, Pentagon support for anti-ballistic missile systems. As the aerospace industry became more oriented toward the military, he applied his skill set to health care and social service systems, and ultimately branched out into software and database consulting.

But trapped inside him all that time were stories he wanted to tell and ideas he wanted to share, so with encouragement and cajoling from a loving baby sister he plunged into fiction.

He has written several short pieces in a variety of genres and completed five novel manuscripts, three of which have three of which have found their way into print and e-books. Wednesday's Child is hard science fiction with a different twist on time travel; The Portal is a science-fiction love story set in a dystopian twenty-second America; and Critical Focus is a contemporary political novel. Regardless of the story lines and subject matter, he creates strong, three-dimensional characters a reader can care about, because it's people and the way they live and feel that are important — the things they believe in and how much they�re willing to invest to preserve them that make a story worth telling and reading.

You can read or download the Balticon Participant Membership Policy here.

Check out the list of potential program ideas here.

Please send us your program ideas, including a brief descriptive paragraph and preferred format (round table or panel discussion, presentation or demonstration, or workshop). For Balticon purposes:

A Panel Discussion is a moderator and 3 or 4 panelists discussing a topic and may or may not include input or Q&A from the audience;
A Roundtable Discussion is a moderator amd 5 tp 10 panelists discussing a topic. It may be a little less structured than a panel discussion and is not likely to include audience input;
A Presentation is a lecture, with or without a projected (PowerPoint slides, etc.) or other visual (whiteboard, flipchart) element;
A Demonstratop is just that -- a demonstration of a skill or technique; and
A Workshop includes handout literature for the attendees, may use projected or other visual elements, and provides exercises or worksheets for attendees.

Please specify whether you wouild like to be the moderator/presenter or a panelist for the idea you're suggesting to the program coordinators. They will see that your suggestions get to the right track coordinators. While we welcome program suggestions year round, those received after Feb. 15, 2012, are not as likely to find a program slot at Balticon 46. Any suggestions that are not used this year may be carried over to the following year's ideas list.

We are still accepting program participant requests for all program tracks for Balticon 46. Please read our Participant Policy first, then contact our program coordinators, to request an invitation. Mention your areas of interest/expertise so they will know which department to forward your request to. Thank you!

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