< Back dave ring Literary Author dave ring is a writer and editor of speculative fiction living in Washington, DC. He is the author of The Hidden Ones (Rebel Satori Press), numerous short stories, and an upcoming short story collection from Off Limits Press. He is the editor of Baffling Magazine and also the publisher and managing editor of Neon Hemlock Press, where his work includes the Shirley Jackson Award-winning anthology Unfettered Hexes. Find him online. Other Socials http://www.dave-ring.com

Program Participants Featuring 150+ Panelists from all over the world. Authors, Publishers, Editors, Artists, Scientists, Musicians, Cosplayers, and more! Balticon strives to introduce our members to talented writers and artists, locally and from around the world. Balticon 60 will be held in person with a robust virtual experience, including streaming panels and events from the hotel AND virtual-only panels, presentations, and gathering spaces. Our Panelists are kinda the best Jeanne Adams Author Jeanne Adams writes award-winning romantic suspense, paranormal and urban fantasies, as well as space... Read More Sarah Avery Author Sarah Avery's first book, Tales from Rugosa Coven, won the 2015 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. Her... Read More Jim Beall Scientist Jim Beall (BS-Math, MBA, PE) has been a nuclear engineer for over 50 years and an avid science fiction... Read More AD Boorman Author Retired US Army. Paratrooper, served in Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Retired Special Educator Read More Ann Chathamann Artist Ann is a writer, crafter, and naturalist who makes things semi-compulsively because her head is full of ideas... Read More Tyaz Cosplay Costuming Tyaz Cosplay has been sewing since she was 10 and cosplaying for 10 years. Although sewing is her... Read More Valerie Estelle Frankel Author Valerie Estelle Frankel has won a Dream Realm Award, an Indie Excellence Award, and a USA... Read More Dr. Eric Haag Scientist Eric Haag, PhD, is Professor of Biology at the University of Maryland, College Park, and author of The... Read More Bjorn E. Hasseler Author Bjorn was in a library looking for Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy when he found David Weber's Honor... Read More Kim Headlee Author Kim Iverson Headlee lives on a farm in southwestern Virginia with her family, cats, goats, someone else’s... Read More Larry Hodges Author Larry Hodges is an active member of SFWA with over 220 short story sales, with 56 "pro" sales, including ones to... Read More Akua Lezli Hope Author Akua Lezli Hope, a Grand Master of Fantastic Poetry (SFPA), is a creator & wisdom seeker who creates... Read More Neil Inglis Author Neil Inglis is a translator based in the Washington DC area. Educated in the UK, Neil moved to Washington in... Read More Lord Kron Miniature Painting Instructor Tabletop and RPG gamer for over 40 years. I currently play Starfleet Battles and Warhammer 40k. I've... Read More Evelyn Lewis Cosplay Evelyn Lewis is the producer, editor, and one of the hosts for the podcast Tolkien About It. Evelyn's father... Read More Gail Z. Martin Author Gail Z. Martin writes epic fantasy, urban fantasy & more for Solaris Books, Orbit Books, and Falstaff... Read More Jo Miles Author Jo Miles writes optimistic science fiction and fantasy, including the Gifted of Brennex space opera... Read More Jessica Moran Author Jessica Morán is a published fantasy author witch, & poet. Being a lover of all thing geeky she combined her... Read More Chidumebi Njoku-Browne Science I have been a researcher of African History since 2011. I have a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and... Read More Neil Ottenstein Fan Neil Ottenstein obtained a PhD in theoretical nuclear physics in 1990 and since then has been working in... Read More Ann Pollack Scientist Ann Pollack, Principal Professional Staff member at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab (APL), brings... Read More Diana Raynes Filk A DC-area composer and performer who has sold instruments, built instruments, and played many... Read More Father John Robison Fan A Native of Maryland, John is a lifelong fan of Science Fiction and Fantasy. He loves Star Wars, both... Read More Ken Schrader Author Ken Schrader writes Science Fiction, Steampunk, Fantasy, Weird Westerns, and anything else he can get away... Read More Alan Smale Author Alan Smale writes alternate history, historical fantasy, and hard SF. His novella of a Roman invasion of... Read More Morgan Stallard Fan Morgan Stallard is an autistic trans man, local convention regular and LGBT+/Disability activist. He's... Read More R. Taylor Content Creator Library worker by night—crafter, author, artist, voice actor, and sometime podcaster by... Read More Mary G. Thompson Author Mary G. Thompson is the author of the sci-fi novella One Level Down (Tachyon, 2025). She is also the... Read More Jim Wilmerling 3D Printer Tech I am a founding member of MACRObot (Maryland Area Combat Robotics). I have been 3d printing... Read More Robyn Wyrick Scientist Robyn Wyrick is a Maryland-based novelist and AI researcher. His novel, Eviction Notice, is a science-fiction... Read More Rigel Ailum Author Rigel Ailur wrote her first novel—all of seven pages!—at the age of seven and hasn't stopped since. Now with... Read More Misha B Editor I’m a longtime gamer and designer working on making sure the next generation of geeks sees... Read More Martin Berman-Gorvine Author After an eventful youth living in Israel and fathering 3 sons, I live with my wife and 2 of my now-grown sons... Read More Paul Bove Author Paul Bove is a Maryland based World History Teacher with an M.A, in International Relations. An author... Read More Doc Coleman Author Doc Coleman never dreamed of being a writer. He dreamed of being an actor, of making movies... Read More Tom Doyle Author Tom Doyle is the award-winning author of the American Craftsmen trilogy from Tor Books, a saga of... Read More Dr. Pamela Gay Scientist I am an astronomer, technologist, and creative focused on using new media to engage people in... Read More Elektra Hammond Author Elektra Hammond emulates her multi-sided idol Buckaroo Banzai by going in several directions at once... Read More Lee Hawkridge Content Creator A budding streamer, compulsory world-builder, and a occasional author of short stories, Lee has... Read More Lisa Hertel Artist Lisa Hertel is an artist from a long line of artists. A former pharmacist, she works in a variety of media... Read More Nate Hoffelder Fan Nate has been helping people fix broken tech since 2010. He turns broken down Wordpress sites... Read More hymie! Staff hymie! is here because his wife is making him. She has involved him in the boardgaming community for... Read More A.L. Kaplan Author A. L. Kaplan’s love of books started as a child and sparked a creative imagination. Born on a cold... Read More Mary Soon Lee Author Mary Soon Lee is a Grand Master of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association and a three-time... Read More Shahid Mahmud Editor Shahid Mahmud created Arc Manor; a Maryland based small press in 2006. Since then, the company has... Read More Ty McNeer Technician I dream of dragons to fill in my baggins, from green ones to blue ones and often old ones. Happy 60th! Read More Miguel O. Mitchell, PhD Author Miguel O. Mitchell, PhD (he/him) is a Black speculative poet, SFF author, visual artist, and retired chemistry... Read More Mari Ness Author Mari Ness is the author of Resistance and Transformation: On Fairy Tales, from Aqueduct Press; Through... Read More Anne E.G. Nydam Author, Artist Anne E.G. Nydam has been celebrating worlds both real and imaginary since she could hold a... Read More Leslye Penelope Author Leslye Penelope has been writing since she could hold a pen and loves getting lost in the worlds in her... Read More Andrija "Andy" Popovic Author Andrija Popovic is a native of the Washington DC metropolitan area who indulges in photography... Read More dave ring Author dave ring is a writer and editor of speculative fiction living in Washington, DC. He is the author... Read More Christopher Mark Rose Author Christopher Mark Rose is an engineer for NASA spacecraft by day, a writer of speculative fictions by night. His... Read More Jay Smith Author When the Old Gods return and ask where to find him, the survivors clinging to the dying skin of planet... Read More D.A. Xiaolin Spires Author D. A. Xiaolin Spires steps into portals and reappears in sites such as Hawai’i, NY, various parts of Asia... Read More Cecilia Tan Author Cecilia Tan is an award-winning trailblazer in queer science fiction and fantasy. She founded Circlet... Read More Wendy Van Camp Author Wendy Van Camp writes science fiction, fantasy, historical regency, along with poetry and non-fiction... Read More David Walton Author David Walton hails from Philadelphia, where he lives with his wife and eight children. An engineer by day and... Read More Martin Wilsey Author Martin Wilsey is a full-time author and creator of the bestselling SOLSTICE 31 SAGA. Mr. Wilsey's... Read More Yoshi Game Master Hello fellow nerds, I am Yoshi! I am the Director of RPG and Tabletop Programming for Balticon 59... Read More Scott H. Andrews Editor Scott H. Andrews lives in Virginia with his wife, two cats, eleven guitars, a dozen overflowing bookcases... Read More Phoebe Barton Author Phoebe Barton is a Canadian queer trans science fiction writer. Her short fiction has appeared in venues such... Read More Joshua Bilmes Editor Joshua Bilmes is the President of JABberwocky Literary Agency, which he founded in 1994. His clients... Read More Jen Brinn Author Jennifer Brinn grew up with her nose in a book, reading everything with a dragon, a spaceship, or a horse.... Read More Iver P. Cooper Author Iver Cooper has been an active contributor to Eric Flint's "1632" shared universe, with more than... Read More Kit Englard Author Kit Englard is a fantasy author whose work is deeply influenced by her academic background in Disability... Read More Anne Gray Fan Anne Gray is a futurist, a smof, a teacher, a diversity and inclusion activist, an historian, and... Read More Eric Hardenbrook Author, Artist, Fan Eric is a fan, an author and an artist, usually in that order. Eric lives in central Pennsylvania with his... Read More Morgan Hazelwood Author Morgan Hazelwood (she/her) writes from her lair in Northern Virginia. She’s been sharing “Writing Tips... Read More Inge Heyer Scientist, Author Born and raised in Berlin, Germany, Dr. Inge Heyer completed her secondary education there before... Read More Dr. Tom Holtz Scientist Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. is Principal Lecturer in Vertebrate Paleontology at the Department of Geology... Read More Michelle Hymowitz Staff Michelle is the former president of the Games Club of Maryland. She has been involved in the boardgaming... Read More Daniel M. Kimmel Author Daniel M. Kimmel is the 2018 recipient of the Skylark Award, given by the New England Science Fiction... Read More Emily Anne Lewis Musician Emily got hooked on filk as a member of Sassafrass. Having played Baldur in Sassafrass'.. Read More Elora Malat Artist Elora Malat (she/her) has been volunteering at Balticon since 2010 since she graduated from... Read More Dr. Valerie J. Mikles Author Dr. Valerie J. Mikles is a scientist and author. By day (like for money) she works on weather satellites for... Read More Misha Game Developer Born in the 70s, raised in the 80s, and trying hard to recover from both of those traumas... Read More Ben Newman Filk Benjamin Newman has been filking since his college friends dragged him to his first convention his freshman... Read More Chris Oakley Author Chris Oakley owned and operated Oakley’s Gently Used Books, a bricks & mortar used bookshop with a... Read More Dr. Gillian Polack Author Dr Gillian Polack is an award-winning Jewish Australian speculative fiction writer. She was the 2020... Read More Jennifer R. Povey Author Jennifer R. Povey lives in Northern Virginia with her husband. She writes a variety of speculative fiction... Read More Gregory Robin Dungeon Master Greg has experience playing & running for over 41 years. Greg ran the Balticon game room off and on... Read More Aaron M. Roth Author Aaron M. Roth is a science fiction author and leader in artificial intelligence. He has led research... Read More Melissa Scott Author Melissa Scott was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, and studied history at Harvard College. She... Read More Angela Yuriko Smith Author Angela Yuriko Smith is a two-time Bram Stoker Award–winning author, former president of the Horror... Read More Beth Morris Tanner Fan Beth is a long-time fan and occasional writer living between DC and Baltimore. She works in higher... Read More Mark L. Van Name Author Mark L. Van Name is a writer, technologist, and spoken word performer. He has published five... Read More Jean Marie Ward Author Jean Marie Ward writes fiction, nonfiction and everything in between, including novels, art books, and... Read More L. Marie Wood Author L. Marie Wood is a psychological horror author, recipient of the Golden Stake Award, a MICO Award-winning... Read More

< Back Ben Newman Music Filk Benjamin Newman has been filking since his college friends dragged him to his first convention his freshman year at Swarthmore. Since then, he has written almost 300 songs on a wide range of topics, including SF and fantasy, science, computers, and religion, both singly and in various whimsical juxtapositions. Ben has also organized filk programming for Philcon, ConCertino, and Pi-con. Ben's other fannish interests include tabletop and digital game design and a variety of arts and crafts. Other Socials

< Back Dr. Gillian Polack Literary Author Dr Gillian Polack is an award-winning Jewish Australian speculative fiction writer. She was the 2020 recipient of the A. Bertram Chandler (lifetime achievement in science fiction) award. Her most recent novel is The Green Children Help Out. Her next (much-delayed) novel will be released in 2025 and contains chocolate. In 2023, her short story from Other Covenants was a finalist for the Sidewise Award, which is wildly appropriate because she is also an ethnohistorian with a special interest in how story transmits culture, both Medieval and modern. Her current research is into how Modern western Germany sees its Jewish past, and also into what speculative fiction novels tell us about world building. Her study of culture in speculative fiction, Story Matrices: Cultural Encoding and Cultural Baggage in the Worlds of Science Fiction and Fantasy was released in 2022. Gillian and her books can be found on much social media under her own name. Other Socials

< Back Akua Lezli Hope Literary Author Akua Lezli Hope, a Grand Master of Fantastic Poetry (SFPA), is a creator & wisdom seeker who creates poems, patterns, stories, music, sculpture, adornments & peace. In print since 1974 with more than 500 poems published in numerous literary magazines & anthologies, she's a third generation New Yorker, whose honors include the NEA, two NYFAs, SFPA & Rhysling awards, NYSCA grants, Pushcart Prize & Best of the Net nominations, 2024 IGNYTE award, among others. She has twice won Rattle’s Poets Respond. Her first collection, EMBOUCHURE, Poems on Jazz and Other Musics, won the Writer’s Digest book award. A Cave Canem fellow, she created the Speculative Sundays Poetry Reading Series, now in its 6th year. Her speculative poetry chapbook, Otherwheres, won the 2021 Elgin Award. Her micro-chapbook, Stratospherics, is in the Quarantine Public Library. She edited the first BIPOC speculative poetry anthology, NOMBONO (2021) & the historic, largest Eye to the Telescope issue #42 on The Sea. Other Socials

< Back Anne E.G. Nydam Literary, Artist Author, Artist Anne E.G. Nydam has been celebrating worlds both real and imaginary since she could hold a crayon, bringing them to life in both art and writing. She makes relief block prints glorifying wonders all around, and writes and illustrates books, short stories, and poems about adventure, creativity, and finding sometimes unexpected joy. With an undergraduate degree in linguistics, a background teaching middle school art, and an abiding interest in world history, natural history, and art history, she can’t go far without encountering something fascinating. She is the first Poet Laureate of Needham, MA. Beyond Pomegranate & Thorns, her second collection of speculative short stories, poems, and art was released in April. Learn more about her art and writing at her website.. Other Socials http://NydamPrints.com

< Back Rigel Ailum Literary Author Rigel Ailur wrote her first novel—all of seven pages!—at the age of seven and hasn't stopped since. Now with twenty-four novels and ninety short stories published, including for Star Trek and Shadowrun, she writes mostly science fiction and fantasy. Her series include: otherworldly adventures and intrigue in Tales of Mimion; Gods and magic in Sorcery & Steel; an intergalactic worldship with the most diverse crew in history in A Little Piece of Home; enigmatic aliens threatening millions of lives in Curai'Nal; and interstellar exiles working together in Escapes. Her non-genre work includes The Vagabonds' Adventures, about two millionaires living in a luxury double-decker RV; the historical Last Abbot of Lin Duachaill; the romance Masquerade; and the hockey novel Breakaway. She's contributed essays to the Outside In series. Most importantly, she dotes on her astronomically adorable feline kids. For more information including a bibliography and cover gallery, visit her website. Other Socials http://BluetrixBooks.com

< Back Jeanne Adams Literary Author Jeanne Adams writes award-winning romantic suspense, paranormal and urban fantasies, as well as space opera that’s been compared to the works of Robert Heinlein and Jack McDevitt. She’s also a sought-after speaker, teaching classes on body disposal for writers, worldbuilding and collaboration, plotting for pantzers and how to write a fight scene that works! Jeanne lives in Washington, DC with her husband and two growing sons, as well as three dogs – two Labs and an Irish Water Spaniel. Don’t tell, but she’s prone to adopting more dogs when her husband isn’t looking. Featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine, and other publications, her books have been consistently hailed as “One of the best Suspense Books of the Year!” by Romantic Times and “Stunningly realistic space adventure” by Amazon reviewers. You can find her books on all major platforms, and connect with her on the web at her website, Other Socials http://www.JeanneAdams.com

< Back Mari Ness Literary Author Mari Ness is the author of Resistance and Transformation: On Fairy Tales, from Aqueduct Press; Through Immortal Shadows Singing, from Papaveria Press; Dancing in Silver Lands, the 2021 Outwrite Fiction Chapbook winner, available from Neon Hemlock Press; and Let me tell you of that garden, a mini-chapbook from Sword & Kettle Press. Her fiction and poetry have also appeared in Tor.com, Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, Nightmare, Uncanny, Nature Futures, Apex, Baffling, Fireside, Diabolical Plots, and Daily Science Fiction; her flash fiction piece, "Verisya," was a finalist for the Canopus Award. She lives in central Florida, near a large lake haunted by alligators. For more, follow her on her website or social media. Other Socials http://marikness.wordpress.com

< Back D.A. Xiaolin Spires Literary Author D. A. Xiaolin Spires steps into portals and reappears in sites such as Hawai’i, NY, various parts of Asia and elsewhere, with her keyboard appendage attached. Besides Eye to the Telescope, her work appears in publications such as Clarkesworld, Analog, Nature, Terraform, Fireside, Star*Line, Liquid Imagination, and anthologies such as Make Shift, Ride the Star Wind, Sharp and Sugar Tooth, Deep Signal, and Battling in All Her Finery. Select stories can be read in German, Spanish, Vietnamese, Estonian, French and Japanese translation--and have been selected for The Year’s Top Robot and AI Stories Year's, The Year’s Top Tales of Space and Time, Year's Best Hardcore Horror, and The Year's Best Issue for Andromeda Spaceways Magazine. Her poetry has been nominated for the Dwarf Star, Rhysling, Best of the Net and Pushcart Awards. Other Socials http://daxiaolinspires.wordpress.com

< Back Mary Soon Lee Literary Author Mary Soon Lee is a Grand Master of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association and a three-time winner of both the AnLab Readers’ Award and the Rhysling Award. An illustrated print edition of her epic-fantasy-told-in-poems, The Sign of the Dragon, was published in January 2025. She hides her online presence with a cryptically-named website (marysoonlee.com) and BlueSky account (@marysoonlee.bsky.social). Other Socials http://marysoonlee.com

< Back Wendy Van Camp Literary Author Wendy Van Camp writes science fiction, fantasy, historical regency, along with poetry and non-fiction essays. Her poetry and essays have appeared in Indie Author Magazine, Star*Line, Scifaikuest, and Worlds of IF. She has edited four issues of the sci-fi poetry anthology series Eccentric Orbits, was inaugural editor of Anaheim Poetry Review. Van Camp was also an editor for SFPA's Eye to the Telescope. Her latest project is the speculative poetry journal, "Starwoven." She appears as a guest podcaster regularly, but also produces her own podcast, "No Wasted Ink Ramblecast." Wendy was named Anaheim Poet Laureate (2022-2024) and served a two-year term as community organizer, poetry editor, and mentor. Currently, she is Co-Chair of the Poetry Committee at SFWA and works at her woman-owned imprint "Indigoskye Press," an editorial and writing coach business. She lives between a writing desk and painting easel in Anaheim, CA. You can learn more at her website. Other Socials http://wendyvancamp.com