< Back Kit England Literary Author Kit England is a fantasy author whose work is deeply influenced by her academic background in Disability Studies and her experience supporting college students with disabilities. She has published nonfiction essays analyzing the representation of disabled characters in fantasy literature and applies Critical Disability Theory to both her fiction and literary discussions. Her short novel, Polyphonic Seduction (May 2025), is a contemporary dark fantasy romance with political intrigue, blending Mesopotamian mythology with dark fantasy elements. It follows a lamassu who cannot speak around humans and a lamia demon working together to protect a Deaf muse from chaos magic hunters. Kit frequently speaks on writing trauma narratives, disability representation in speculative fiction, and the intersections of power, agency, and identity in fantasy worlds. When she’s not writing, she enjoys hiking with her guide dog and getting lost in research rabbit holes. Other Socials

< Back Elwin Cotman Literary Author Elwin Cotman is a storyteller from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is the author of three collections of speculative short stories, The Jack Daniels Sessions EP, Hard Times Blues, and Dance on Saturday. His work has appeared in Electric Lit, Weird Fiction Review, Black Gate, The Southwestern Review, and Buzzfeed, among others. His debut novel, The Age of Ignorance, is scheduled for release by Scribner in 2023. Other Socials

< Back Lisa Ashton Costume Cosplay Lisa Ashton is a master division costumer for whom Balticon is home. From Isis in "Magic of the Ancients", Rainbows & Unicorns, alien brides, Bad Harem Day, Urban Legends, a Tequila Sunrise, Kali and various pirates, to the "Sweet Sixteens", as well as 2019's BIS "Mystic Legacy" (with Alanna Whitestar), her Balticon masquerade costumes have been many and varied. She also is a quilter and beader, and restores antique parasols, quilts and Victorian clothing. She is the Founder of Miss Lizzy's Traveling Historical Fashion Show, a 501 (3)(c) organization. In 2016 she was awarded the ICG "Lifetime Achievement Award" at Costume Con. Teaching beadwork, costuming and sewing techniques is another part of her Balticon experience. She loves coffee and is generally considered friendly at cons. Other Socials

< Back Swift Crescendo Social Media vtuber Hello! I am Swift Crescendo, your friendly neighborhood Silver Dragon VTuber! Over on Twitch I do a variety of games including RPGs, strategy/simulation, city builders, and more. I like to take it easy and hang out with friends, often even featuring them on stream! I otherwise try to keep things comfy and cozy - though I do have a competitive streak too, which often comes out when I'm playing something worth competing in - including mini golf. Offline, I am almost always singing and listening to some form of music, either a local classical station or Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan. Glitch Symphony is my partner and co-conspirator in most things...which I repay by attempting to be some semblance of a manager for her own channel. I am perpetually working on writing somewhere around six ideas for novels and plotting to take over worlds both virtual and physical. That last one's a joke... or is it? Other Socials

< Back Ada Palmer Literary Author "Perhaps the Stars" the fourth and final volume of Ada Palmer’s Terra Ignota series (Too Like the Lightning, Seven Surrenders, the Will to Battle) comes out in September 2021, complting her exploration of how Earth culture might evolve in a future of borderless nations and globally commixing populations. Too Like the Lightning won the 2017 Compton Crook Award and was a 2017 Best Novel Hugo finalist, while Ada won the 2017 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. She teaches History at the University of Chicago, studying the history of radical ideas such as atheism, materialism, radical science, deism, atomism, and magic, mainly in the Italian Renaissance, and the Enlightenment. She composes fantasy, SF and mythology-themed music, and performs at conventions with the filk group Sassafrass. She also researches anime/manga, especially Osamu Tezuka, and consults for many anime and manga publishers. She blogs for Tor.com, =writes the philosophy & travel blog ExUrbe.com, and her Patreon supports these projects and the hope to soon launch a podcast with author friend Jo Walton. Other Socials

< Back Aria Winters Literary Author Chronically ill chaotic being, currently being crushed under capitalism. They/them, presents femme, queer, mixed and tired. I write weird fiction, SF/F. Currently writing Breaking, Blooming Mind, What Grows in the Marrow, and Vestiges (TTRPG) Other Socials

< Back Sam Scheiner Science Scientist Sam Scheiner is a long-time fan and scientist. He grew up in the Pittsburgh area and got involved in fandom during college. At the University of Chicago, he reincarnated the science fiction club. He met his wife at Windycon in Chicago, and his daughter attended her first con at the age of 4 weeks, sleeping underneath a huckster table. He was the CFO for DisCon III and currently is involved in the Washington Science Fiction Association and is a past chair of the local convention – Capclave. His scientific areas of expertise are ecology and evolution, and he has published 11 books, including The Ecology of Plants and The Theory of Ecology, and over 120 scientific papers. He has also co-authored a book with SF author Phyllis Eisenstein on arthritis. For 26 years he has worked at the U.S. National Science Foundation giving away money. He is now retired from federal service having escaped just in time. Other Socials

< Back Nate Hoffelder Literary Author Nate has been helping people fix broken tech since 2010. He turns broken down Wordpress sites into sites which convert visitors into superfans, also builds sites from scratch, and helps authors with their social media and newsletters. Nate is on the board of the Florida Writers Foundation, and works with SF conventions as a webmaster. When he is not volunteering, he writes bad jokes on Bluesky and creates memes and graphics. His current obsessions include collecting autographs, designing con badges, and finding novel uses for a thermal postage printer. Other Socials

< Back Patches Music Filk Patches has taught dance at many science fiction conventions and Society of Creative Anachronisms events. She loves bringing dance to new people. She has also taught many to hula hoop. Other Socials

< Back Evelyn Lewis Pocasting Podcaster Evelyn Lewis is the producer, editor, and one of the hosts for the podcast Tolkien About It. Evelyn's father, Professor Robert Lewis, has used Tolkien and Lord of the Rings in his masters and doctorate publications, along with now using it in the college courses he teaches. Evelyn, despite reading many fantasy books, never read Lord of the Rings before. Starting as a pandemic project, Evelyn and Robert started the podcast discussing the Lord of the Rings chapter by chapter as Evelyn reads it for the first time and Robert for about the Hundredth. Now, Evelyn has been converted into a Tolkien fan and the Podcast continues talking about all things Tolkien with the aim of having interesting topics for new and seasoned fans from a multi generational perspective. Evelyn is also a comic and fandom historian, as well as part of the LGBT+ community and works for inclusion of everyone in fandom. She also is a multi-award winning cosplayer and an experienced GM for ttrpg. Other Socials

< Back Diana Peterfreund Literary Author Diana Peterfreund has published fifteen novels for adults, teens, and kids, including the four-book Secret Society Girl series, the “killer unicorn novels” Rampant and Ascendant, For Darkness Shows the Stars (a post-apocalyptic retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion), and Across a Star-Swept Sea (inspired by the classic series The Scarlet Pimpernel). Her middle grade trilogy, Omega City, are contemporary adventure novels for younger readers set in a secret bunker city somewhere under modern Maryland. Her CLUE mysteries were written in partnership with Hasbro to bring the classic board game to life for the modern teen. Diana lives in Maryland with her family. Other Socials

< Back Alex Shvartsman Literary Author Alex Shvartsman is the author of Kakistocracy (2023), The Middling Affliction (2022) and Eridani’s Crown (2019) fantasy novels. Over 120 of his stories have appeared in Analog, Nature, Strange Horizons, etc. He won the WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction (2014) and was a three-time finalist for the Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Fiction. His translations from Russian have appeared in F&SF, Clarkesworld, Tor.com, Analog, Asimov’s, etc. Alex has edited over a dozen anthologies, including the long-running Unidentified Funny Objects series. He’s the editor-in-chief of Future Science Fiction Digest. Alex resides in Brooklyn, NY. His website is http://www.alexshvartsman.com. Other Socials