< Back Dustin Holifer Filk/Music Musician Dustin Holifer entered this world with no prior experience. He's since toured the country in punk rawk bands, slammed through the indies of pro wrasslin', and learned how to communicate almost exclusively through quotes from grindhouse and drive-in flicks. He once audited a creative writing class, so now he thinks he can write novels . . . . . . Humor him. His sage advice for you today: "Buckle up, baby! This ride only brakes for cat cafes (minus the cafe part), BBQ pits, and firework stands!" Other Socials

< Back Tris Lawrence Literary Author Tris Lawrence has been writing since she was a child, filling notebooks with the worlds, dreams, and voices inside her head. She declared in sixth grade that she wanted to be a writer, started drafting her first novel, and never looked back. When not writing, she is a wife, a mother (to two children, two cats, and a dog), a knitter, a system administrator, a black belt in taekwondo, an avid reader, and a music aficionado. Sleep, she claims, is optional.Tris can be found on most social media platforms as tryslora, talking about writing and fandom in equal measure. She is most active on Bluesky, Tumblr, Pillowfort, and Mastodon. Other Socials

< Back Andrew McDowell Literary Author Andrew McDowell is the author of the fantasy novels Mystical Greenwood and Beneath the Deep Wave, the former of which was a finalist in the 2019 American Fiction Awards, won the 2021 Maryland Writers’ Association Novel Contest, and was an honorable mention in the 2021 Top Shelf Magazine contest. He studied at St. Mary’s College and the University of Maryland, College Park. Andrew has had poetry, short stories, and essays featured in anthologies and literary journals. He has Asperger Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. More ways to connect with Andrew: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3175924.Andrew_McDowell https://www.amazon.com/stores/Andrew-McDowell/author/B08MVFN9TL https://www.youtube.com/@andrewmcdowellauthor https://www.pw.org/directory/writers/andrew_mcdowell https://books2read.com/rl/AndrewMcDowell/ Other Socials https://andrewmcdowellauthor.com

< Back Yakira Operations Cosplay Yakira wears a lot of hats, hand-knit of course. Yakira's cosplay career began at age nine when she used the good bedsheets to make herself a Princess Leah costume. When not sewing (or knitting, or spinning, or making soap,) Yakira writes queer romance and military sci-fi. Active in SMOF, Yakira has her hands in more cons than she ought. She also owns more wool, fabric, spinning wheels, and sewing machines than she ought, but that's not really a problem, per se. Other Socials

< Back John Appel Literary Author John Appel is a science fiction, fantasy, and RPG adventure writer. Now retired from the IT trenches, he lives with his wife and two adult children smack between downtown Baltimore and downtown Annapolis and makes daily trips to the word mines. His debut novel ASSASSIN’S ORBIT was published by Rebellion in July 2021 and was a finalist for the 2022 Compton Crook Award. John is a graduate of the Viable Paradise workshop and a founding member of the Maryland Space Opera Collective writing group (MD SPOC). Other Socials

< Back Walt Boyes Literary Editor Walt Boyes is a journalist, analyst, and recognized authority on 21st Century manufacturing and automation. He is a Fellow of several scientific organizations both in the US and the UK and is a member of the Association of Professional Futurists. He writes a monthly newsletter on automation and process control. He also writes science fiction, fantasy, and alternate history. He was the editor of the Grantville Gazette and Co- Editor in Chief of Ring of Fire Press with Joy Ward, to whom Walt is lucky to be married. In 2024, Walt and Joy joined Misti Media LLC as the acquisition editors of their new SFF/AltHist book imprint, Nazca Press. To pay it forward, Walt has been a Director of The Heinlein Society for several years, and now serves as Vice President. Other Socials

< Back Jessica Morán Literary Author Jessica Morán is a published fantasy author witch, & poet. Being a lover of all thing geeky she combined her passion for food, fantasy, folklore, & mythology into a shop & has not looked back. She hosts a TikTok channel where she teaches metaphysical mini classes, creates fandom inspired goodies on a budget, reviews books & the occasional film. As a History buff she also has experience combining historical, archaeological, and pop culture studies into her craft both in and out of the kitchen in unique ways. As a passionate fan, proud Latina, author, poet, and historian she offers her unique perspectives on how to make fandom inclusive, safe, and appealing to all with humor and just the right amount of sass. Other Socials

< Back Wendy Van Camp Literary Poet Wendy Van Camp, Anaheim's Poet Laureate Emerita, is a dynamic voice in speculative poetry, blending cutting-edge technology, astronomy, and daydreams. Her talent has earned her nominations for the Elgin, Pushcart Prize, Rhysling, and Dwarf Star Awards. Wendy's poems, stories, and articles grace journals worldwide such as "Star*Line," "Scifaikuest," and “San Diego Poetry Annual.” She regularly contributes to “Indy Author Magazine.” An active podcaster, you can see Wendy as a panelist on the "Con-Tinual" stable of podcasts "Fandom" and "The Panel Room". You can hear her on her own audio podcast, "No Wasted Ink Ramblecast." She is the editor of the annual "Eccentric Orbits: a science fiction poetry anthology." As a member of SFWA, SFPA, and IBPA, Wendy is a passionate advocate for the speculative community. She is a co-chair for the SFWA Poetry Committee. Discover more about Wendy and her writing coach services on her website. Other Socials http://wendyvancamp.com

< Back Carl Cipra Literary Moderator 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 participating in Balticon again this year. Mundanely, Carl is the program manager for instructor-training in a much-maligned, three-letter Government agency. Other Socials

< Back Tom Doyle Literary Author Tom Doyle is the award-winning author of the American Craftsmen trilogy from Tor Books, a saga of modern-day magician soldiers and psychic spies fighting their way through nightmares from the worlds of Hawthorne and Poe. Tom's latest work for Graphic Audio is the Agent of Exiles series of supernatural spy adventures in the 6th century BCE. His recent SF novel, Border Crosser, follows the far-future journeys of Eris, a psychologically extreme secret agent whose shifting loyalties cause chaos wherever she goes in the galaxy. Text and readings of Tom's short fiction are available on his website: www.tomdoyleauthor.com. He has survived Harvard, Stanford, and cancer. Other Socials http://www.tomdoyleauthor.com

< Back Marisa Wolf Literary Author Marisa Wolf writes SFF that ends with hope, no matter how hard the circumstances. She has a number of co-authored novels in shared universes, solo novels in her own worlds, and a plethora of short stories. All contain various levels of snark. After several years living on the road in an RV, Marisa, her husband, and their high-maintenance rescue dog are currently based in the woods of New England - but it's anyone's guess where in the country she is at any given moment. Other Socials http://www.marisawolf.net

< Back Andrew Love Science Scientist Andrew Love has Masters degrees in Electrical Engineering and Physics and works as an engineer in Maryland. He has given talks about the science of science fiction, reasoning skills, general relativity, the likelihood of alien life and other topics to a wide range of audience; many of his talks are available online here http://www.larryniven.net/menu/features_menu.shtml. He’s married to author Pamela Love (author of the recent “A Miracle in the Kitchen"). In recent years, Andy has been published at Daily Science Fiction, James Gunn's Ad Astra, and Utopia Science Fiction magazine. Other Socials