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< Back Anne Gray Fan Fan Anne Gray is a futurist, a smof, a teacher, a diversity and inclusion activist, an historian, and a systems design engineer. An editor on Wikipedia and Fancyclopedia, she is constantly learning things (and then forgetting half of them). You can find out more about her at her website. Other Socials http://netmouse.com

< 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 Gracie Gaming Gamer Hello! My name is Grace, and I’m a Pokémon Professor! I’m excited to join Balticon as both a guest and staff member, traveling all the way from Seattle, Washington. As a Pokémon Professor at Balticon 59, I’m your go-to expert for all things Pokémon and the Pokémon Trading Card Game. I’ve been doing this for quite a while, and I absolutely love being an ambassador for my favorite hobby. Teaching the next generation of trainers who aspire to be the very best always brings a big smile to my face! When I’m not collecting, trading, or studying Pokémon, I’m a quirky shark VTuber streaming video games and diving deep into all things tabletop! As a self-proclaimed Warhammer nerd (reading the books totally counts, right?), I’d love to hear from all of you about which loyalist legion is the best—and why it’s the Dark Angels. Other Socials

< Back Dana Bell Literary Author/Editor Owned by two cats Taj and Esther, Dana Bell often creates tales that include her four footed overlords. Most of her stories and books feature felines, but a few contain dogs and wolves. Raised in rural Idaho she had the advantage of having been on farms, ranches and part of small town life. In later years she moved from Idaho to Oregon, then Boston, MA until settling in Denver, Colorado. Her travels include national parks, both east and west coastlines, a cruise to the Bahamas, ghost towns and animal rescues or zoos. All of her journeys allowed her to create unique settings for her characters to explore. Books authored by her: Winter Awakening, Winter Emergence, God's Gift, Bast's Chosen Ones and Homefall Search. Romance is under her pen name Belle Blukat, her first book in this genre Blood Bride. Also an editor she's worked with many up and coming authors including their stories in anthologies. Hobbies include dollhouses, flower arrangements, and candle holders. Other Socials

< Back Brick Barrientos Operations Trivia Host Brick Barrientos hosts the movie trivia game show Silver Screen Test. He won a national championship in College Bowl and was a one-day champion on Jeopardy. Brick has been regularly hosting the Balticon trivia contest and can be found all over Maryland winning pub quiz trivia cash. The pandemic enabled him to host academic and trivia contests with participants from elementary school to adult, who were competing in Central America, Europe, East Asia, and Australia. He is the proud father of a daughter who is also a science fiction fan and may also have a cat. Other Socials

< Back Jana Brown Literary Editor Jana S. Brown entered the world of publishing in the mid-90s and has never looked back. She’s worked as a fiction writer, technical writer, editor, presenter, author coach, and a host of other positions. In the last several years, she’s assisted in the creation of bestselling and award-winning novels in the self-publishing space as well as working as an editor with small presses and as an acceptance editor for Book Cave, a book promotion company. She has twenty books published across three pennames, as well as a host of articles and award-winning anthology tales, and adores helping other creators reach their goals. Her amazing family and fuzzy sidekicks provide her with support, inspiration, and amusement, sometimes not in that order. Other Socials

< List of Vendors Sign of the Unicorn Dealer's Room Hand made jewelry in Science Fiction and Fantasy themes, mostly one-of-a-kind, in sterling silver and unusual semi-precious stones; commissions invited. http://laurietobyedison.net

< Back Robert A. Heinlein Award The Baltimore Science Fiction Society will present the Robert A. Heinlein Award during the Opening Ceremonies. Sharon Lee Wins 2025 Robert A. Heinlein Award The award will be formally presented during opening ceremonies of Balticon 59 Friday, May 23, 2025 8:00 p.m. Sharon Lee , novelist, is the 2025 winner of the Robert A. Heinlein Award. The award is bestowed for outstanding published works in science fiction and technical writings that inspire the human exploration of space. This award is in recognition of Ms. Lee’s body of work of over 38 novels and short stories. A majority of her space themed work is in the Liaden Universe, written with her late husband Steve Miller, and features merchant families trading across the galaxy. The next Liaden Universe novel, Diviner’s Row, is forthcoming from Baen Books in April 2025. The award will be formally presented during opening ceremonies on Friday, May 23, 2025 at 8:00 PM for Balticon 59, the 59th Maryland Regional Science Fiction Convention. Balticon will take place at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore Maryland. Ms. Lee will participate in the Balticon program across Memorial Day Weekend. Balticon and the Robert A. Heinlein Award are both managed and sponsored by The Baltimore Science Fiction Society, Inc. BSFS thanks The Heinlein Society and the family of Dr. Yoji Kondo for providing funding for this award. The Robert A. Heinlein Award is a sterling silver medallion bearing the image of Robert A. Heinlein, as depicted by artist Arlin Robins. The medallion is matched with a red-white-blue lanyard. In addition, the winner receives two lapel pins for use when a large medallion is impractical, and a plaque describing the award for home or office wall display. The Robert A. Heinlein Award selection committee consists of science fiction writers and was founded by Dr. Yoji Kondo, a long-time friend of Robert and Virginia Heinlein. Members of the original committee were approved by Virginia Heinlein. Virginia Heinlein authorized multiple awards in memory of her husband. Other awards include the Heinlein Prize, which is fully funded by Virginia Heinlein's estate, and a National Space Society award for volunteer projects. More information on the Robert A. Heinlein Award, including past winners, can be found at www.bsfs.org/bsfsheinlein.htm Sharon Lee maintains an official website at https://sharonleewriter.com/ To contact the Heinlein Award liaison at BSFS, email dale@bsfs.org Sharon Lee lives in the town of Waterville in the state of Maine, USA. The Robert A. Heinlein Award was founded by Dr. Yoji Kondo, a long-time friend of Robert and Virginia Heinlein. A grant from the Heinlein Society funds half of the costs associated with the award with additional funding provided by the family of Dr. Kondo. Balticon and the Robert A. Heinlein Award are annual activities of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society. More information on the Robert A. Heinlein Award, including past winners, can be found at https://www.bsfs.org/bsfsheinlein.htm .

< List of Vendors Looking for Artists Artist Alley Balticon’s Artists Alley is a place for artists to meet the public and interact with their fans. It is a place to demonstrate your artistic techniques and sell your original art: both originals and prints. Tables are curated so that we can offer fans a wide range of talented artists’ offerings. Artists Alley is located in an open public space, and cannot be secured. Artists are responsible for their art and other possessions, an d may wish to remo ve everything from their space, or secure it in some way when they leave each day. Balticon is not responsible for items lost or stolen from Artists Alley. If you have art that you’d like to exhibit in the Art Show, and you want to participate in Artists Alley, please consider registering for both. Applications are still being accepted. AT THIS TIME, Artists Alley WILL NOT ACCEPT ART WITH AI-GENERATED CONTENT OF ANY KIND. APPLY HERE: To register for an Artists Alley table: Create a new account or sign in to your existing account with the Vendor Portal * Update your profile with a URL where we can preview your art, as well as a description of your art. Request your Artists Alley table. When your registration has been accepted, make your payment through our portal. You may also be interested in entering the Balticon Art Show * The Vendor Portal is our online site for artists and vendors to register for the Artists Alley and Dealers Room. Through it, you can manage your personal information and make the payment for your registration. Vendor Portal*. Check out our list of confirmed Artists closer to the con. Read more if you're interested in joining Artist Alley.

< Back Christiana Ellis Literary Author Christiana is an engineer, podcaster, writer and streamer from the Boston area. She is the author of the fantasy novel, "Nina Kimberly the Merciless", the creator and star of award-winning audio drama "Space Casey", the Dungeon Master of the "So Many Levels" D&D Stream, and the podcaster behind more projects you can shake a stick at. Most recently, she is the author of the slipstream noir novel: "Phyllis Esposito: Interdimensional Private Eye". Other Socials

< Back Tom Schaad Podcasting Content Creator Long time fan and avid reader, Tom has attended, worked on (and occasionally run) science fiction conventions in the greater DC area since the late 1970s. From 1991 thru 2019 he was a co-host and member of the production team of the cable access tv show Fast Forward: Contemporary Science Fiction, carried on local cable stations in the Washington DC area, with many of the interviews now online at : https://www.youtube.com/c/FastForwardContemporaryScienceFiction. Other Socials https://www.youtube.com/c/FastForwardContemporaryScienceFiction

< Back Lord Kron Gaming Miniature Painting Instructor Tabletop and RPG gamer for over 40 years. I currently play Starfleet Battles and Warhammer 40k. I've also played Battletech, Starfire, Silent Death and Heroclix, AD&D among other games. I'm a Science Fiction Buff; Classic Star Trek, Space 1999, Stargate, UFO, Andromeda and others for TV/Movies. Starfire, Bolo,Honor Harrington, Emberverse, Drakaverse and others in novels/short stories. I've written Fan Fiction for Starfire expanding on Humanity's first unplanned interstellar voyage but for several reasons I'm not attempting to publish it. Other Socials