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< Back Kit Englard Literary Author Kit Englard 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

Whether you love science with your fiction or costumes with your books, at Balticon we do too! Join 1500+ fans of all backgrounds to celebrate Science Fiction and Fantasy with 300+ hours of diverse programming: meet authors, publishers, editors, cosplay experts, Twitch live-streamers, renowned scientists and tech innovators. Sing along with our filkers, see our stunning Art Show and Masquerade, laugh and cry at our Film Festival. We’ve got something for everyone A four day celebration of Science Fiction and Fantasy! Get your geek on Profoundly uncool since 1967 Whether you love science with your fiction or costumes with your books, we do too! While our central theme is writing, literature, and authors, our dynamic program has something everyone can appreciate. Join over fifteen hundred fans of all backgrounds as we gather to celebrate Science Fiction and Fantasy with more than 300 hours of diverse programming, from award-winning authors and publishers to twitch live-streamers, from cosplay experts to renowned scientists and tech innovators. Sing along with our filkers, soak in our stunning Art Show and Masquerade, laugh and cry at our Film Festival. We’ve got something for everyone. Balticon exists to celebrate the creation and appreciation of science fiction and fantasy in all its expressions, by bringing together fans of all backgrounds in a warm, welcoming environment. Marty Gear Memorial Masquerade Scroll through our gallery to view our judges and contestants. Marty Gear Memorial Masquerade Winners Guests of Honor Guess Who? 2027 Guest of Honor Guess Who? 2027 Guest of Honor Guess Who? 2027 Robert A. Heinlein Award Guess Who? 2027 Compton Crook Winner The PDX Broadsides 2027 Music Guest of Honor Guess Who? 2027 Special Guest Hayley Gelfuso 2026 Compton Crook Winner "Balticon Anywhere" plans to return in 2027! Adult (25+) $89 Young Adult (13 - 24) $45 Child (12 and under) ALWAYS FREE Virtual Only $30 Workshops FOUR DAYS OF EVENTS TRINKETS FOR SALE Dealers Room & Artist Alley Balticon’s Dealers Room is like a pop-up mini mall of geeky goodness. You’ll find an assortment of vendors with all sorts of fannish delights, including books, games and gaming accessories, collectibles, clothing, jewelry, and more! Just outside the Dealers Room, you’ll find Artist Alley , where you can meet the artists behind the tables, browse a selection of fine art and handcrafted goods, and even commission custom art! GAMES TO PLAY RPGs, Board Games, and Video Games With three full rooms of gaming, there's sure to be something you'll like! Our RPG room has drop-in round-the-clock tabletop role-playing games, including demos of new systems and scheduled games with old favorites. The Board Games room has scheduled drop-in games as well as our game library where you can pick for yourself. And our Video Game room brings you both modern and retro video gaming! COME IN COSTUME Cosplay Contest The Marty Gear Memorial Masquerade is a cosplay contest with history! Individual and Group contestants take the stage for a short presentation showcasing their costuming skills. We'll also have panels all weekend long on how to craft your own costumes, and a chance to interact with some of our cosplay experts! Partners STAY IN THE KNOW Enter your email here Sign Up Thanks for submitting!

< Back Batya "The Toon" Music Filk Batya "the Toon" Wittenberg is, in no particular order: a successfully transplanted New Yorker, a practicing Orthodox Jew, a happily married woman since 1999, a certified master of Pun Fu, an enthusiastic cook and foodie, a founding member of filk group Lady Mondegreen, a fanfic writer, a habitual online and tabletop roleplayer, and in no particular order. Other Socials

< Back Leonardo Benavides Literary Author Leonardo Espinoza Benavides (a.k.a. Leo) is a Chilean physician-writer & editor specialized in science fiction. As a doctor, he’s a specialist in dermatology and venereology, with studies in psychodermatology. As a writer, he’s best known for his short story cycle Más espacio del que soñamos (2018), and the short-novel Adiós, loxonauta (2020), recognized as a ‘book worth your consideration’ by the International Latino Book Awards and winner of the Chilean Altísimo Award (Premio Altísimo) 2022 for Best Work Published in 2020-2021. His most recent publication is Nomadismos del tiempo trifráctico (2022), an experimental SF short story collection. He’s currently serving as director of the Chilean SF&F Association (ALCIFF) and is an associate member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). From 2008 to date, his work has been published in Latin America, Europe, China, and the US. He currently lives in Santiago with his wife Daniele, his baby Máximo 海 and Hulky the dog. Other Socials

< List of Vendors Mind’s Eye Bookstore, The Dealer's Room used SF&F books

< Back Misha B Costuming, Gaming Editor I’m a longtime gamer and designer working on making sure the next generation of geeks sees themselves represented. I’m a panelist, writer, editor, proofreader, and sensitivity reader for tabletop RPGs and larps. I’m one of the founders of New Agenda Publishing and a curator for More Seats at the Table. I’ve worked on Orun, #Feminism , Chill:SAVE, Lovecraftesque, Dead Scare, Misspent Youth:Sell Out With Me, Masks:Unbound, and the as yet unpublished larp Nightingales. Other Socials

< Back JT Thomas Music Filk JT Thomas is a filker, SCAdian, and general gigantic nerd. Most of his free time is spent writing, researching, adding patches to his jacket, and training his service dog. JT was dragged into staffing the music track not quite kicking and screaming, and is probably an adult ... ish. Other Socials

Balticon’s Dealers Room is like a pop-up mini mall of geeky goodness. You’ll find an assortment of vendors with all sorts of fannish delights, including books, games and gaming accessories, collectibles, clothing, jewelry, and more! Just outside the Dealers Room, you’ll find Artists Alley, where you can meet the artists behind the tables, browse a selection of fine art and handcrafted goods, and even commission custom art! Dealers Room & Artist Alley Balticon’s Dealers Room is like a pop-up mini mall of geeky goodness. You’ll find an assortment of vendors with all sorts of fannish delights, including books, games and gaming accessories, collectibles, clothing, jewelry, and more! Dealers Room Hours: Just outside the Dealers Room, you’ll find Artists Alley, where you can meet the artists behind the tables, browse a selection of fine art and handcrafted goods, and even commission custom art! Day Open Closed Friday, May 22, 2026 2 p.m. 7 p.m. Saturday, May23, 2026 10 a.m. 7 p.m. Sunday, May 24, 2026 10 a.m. 7 p.m. Monday, May 25, 2026 10 a.m. 2 p.m. Dealers & Artists Adventures of Cobasfang, The Four family oriented fantasy novels with coloring books and memorabilia Dealer's Room Read More Art By Brittany Cole Original fantasy, sci fi and whimsical art and art prints. Dealer's Room Read More Bayside Books of Maryland Rare and Used Books of all kinds, but specialized in SF, Fantasy, Weird and genre adjacent Dealer's Room Read More Caezik SF & Fantasy An award-winning small press based in Rockville, Maryland. Dealer's Room Read More Crit Harder Imminent Peril; Potions of Fidgeting; Geeky Arts and Crafts Dealer's Room Read More Dealers Wanted Check out our list of confirmed vendors closer to the con! Read more to learn about becoming a Dealer! Dealer's Room Read More Distractia Kilts, costumes, accessories, and the soap with the dice in it! Dealer's Room Read More Fantaminals Designer of free standing jigsaw puzzles, fretwork, and dragons of all types... Dealer's Room Read More Fantastic Books Independent book publisher. Dealer's Room Read More French, John L. John is an author of science fiction, pulp, horror, fantasy, and, of course, crime fiction. Dealer's Room Read More Games By Bee TTRPG accessories - dice bags, dice trays, pencil cases, and more Dealer's Room Read More Greek Gods Giggling Handmade woodburned home decor and novelty items. Graphic designer. Dealer's Room Read More Heroes' Hoard Heroes Hoard sells handmade gear for those of the geek persuasion, including but not limited to: Cloaks, dice bags, trays, plushes, and keychains. All items are handmade using embroidery and/or sewing. Dealer's Room Read More Jolley, Dan I'm an author, but I'll also be offering some laser-cut wood decorative items. Dealer's Room Read More Jones, N. D. Kuumba Publisher, Fantasy Author fantasy novels, coloring books, and notebooks/journals. Dealer's Room Read More Larry Smith Book Seller, LLC New books: science fiction, fantasy, mystery and oddities Dealer's Room Read More Looking for Artists Check out our list of confirmed Artists closer to the con. Read more if you're interested in joining Artist Alley. Artist Alley Read More Magical Mysteries-Fairy Hair Sparkles Fairy Hair-Silk Sparkle Strands are delicate strands of Sparkling Thai Silk which are hand-tied to individual hairs. Artist Alley Read More Mahali Pengine Ent LLC Novels, Graphic Novels, Comics, Art Prints, and Stickers. Dealer's Room Read More Maryland Writers' Association The Maryland Writers' Association (MWA) is a voluntary, not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting the art, business, and craft of writing in all its forms. Dealer's Room Read More Mind’s Eye Bookstore, The used SF&F books Dealer's Room Read More Molly's Sundries Fiber Art Dealer's Room Read More Old Earth Books Publicaions of Old Earth Books Dealer's Room Read More Omnihedral Omnihedral is committed to "enriching life, learning, and doing through curated creative play". Dealer's Room Read More Painting Dragon Feathers Stop by Painting Dragon Feathers to find all kinds of real, extinct, and fantastical animals, from mythozoological specimens, fossil reproductions, dioramas and terrariums, original artworks in block print, scratchboard, watercolor, tarot decks and zines, and novels such as CryptoZoo. Dealer's Room Read More Patrick Thomas Author of Fantasy, SF, Horror, and Mystery books inlcuing Murphy's Lore, Dear Cthulhu, Mystic Investigators, and Bikini Jones. Author or YA, Middle Readers and kids' books as Patrick T. Fibbs. Dealer's Room Read More Pink Lotus Company, The We have crystals, fairies, dragons, tarot cards, accessories of mystical and mythical. Dealer's Room Read More Rare Dandy Gothic fashion, handmade with vintage and secondhand materials. Dealer's Room Read More Running2Write Ben Pick is an indie author of several novels and related merchandise - magnets, bookmarks, and stickers. Dealer's Room Read More Sign of the Unicorn Hand made jewelry in Science Fiction and Fantasy themes, mostly one-of-a-kind, in sterling silver and unusual semi-precious stones; commissions invited. Dealer's Room Read More Silver Satyr Designs Fantasy themed crafts including dioramas in glass jars, jewelry/keychains made from wood, resin, and pu leather. Wooden etched items including coasters, cutting boards, and boxes. A few self published coloring books. Hand painted resin figures. Dealer's Room Read More Sol, Jonathan Jonathan Sol is a Science Fiction & Fantasy author Dealer's Room Read More Steampunk Garage Heavy-duty chainmaille jewelry and scalemaille made from stainless steel and titanium. I'll have some scalemaille dice bags as well as a couple aluminum shoulder pieces. Dealer's Room Read More Tadesse, Besu Books (horror novels and short story collections): The Ghosts of Poplar Valley (ISBN: 979-8986302218), Broken Persons (ISBN: 979-8986302225) Dealer's Room Read More Tigereyes Press Books, mostly small press and imports. Specializing in slipstream and post-new wave sf. Dealer's Room Read More Undiscovered Treasures Jewelry and curios Dealer's Room Read More WOW! Fudge and WOW! Spices fudge, truffles, turtles, toffee, spices Dealer's Room Read More Walt's Cards and Games Cards & Collectables Dealer's Room Read More Wendra Colleen Modern fantasy author: books, short stories, and screenplays Dealer's Room Read More White, Richard C. Author of: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Dark Fantasy, New Pulp/Noir, Non-Fiction, Fantasy Noir. Dealer's Room Read More

Fan Tables & Parties Fan Tables Fan Tables are available to fan groups, clubs, and organizations within the local community to showcase their group or event during the convention. Fan Tables are a great opportunity to promote, recruit new members, raise awareness, and do community outreach. Select the Fan Table button below for more information. Fan Tables Open Room Parties Promote Your Fan Group or Event Balticon has a long history of open-room parties for event promotion and socialization! We group all Room Parties on the same floor to minimize disturbing other attendees and hotel guests. If you're planning a party, whether open or not, let us know and we'll make sure you're on the Party floor. Open Room Parties may only be hosted by someone with a paid Balticon badge. Party Rooms are assigned for the entirety of the event on a first come, first served basis. There are a limited number of adjoining rooms in the Party Block. To request a Party Room, first make a hotel reservation for the room, and then fill out the Party Request form. You will need your hotel reservation number(s) to reserve a space in the Party Block. Our Party Coordinator and Hotel Liaison will reply with a confirmation that you are in the Party Block and, if requested, you will also be informed if an adjoining room is possible. We recommend that you make your reservation as early as possible as sometimes the hotel sells out, and no rooms are reserved from the convention block for parties. Parties may be asked to lower the volume if other hotel guests are disturbed outside of the Party Room block. Balticon does pay the cleaning fee for the first ten (10) rooms, one per party, but if more Party Rooms are requested, the registrant would be responsible for the cleaning fee. The Balticon Hotel Liaison and/or Party Coordinator do a tour of the Party Rooms prior to the convention and catalog any damage(s) they find. Any damage caused by the party to the room outside of what the hotel considers standard wear and tear is the financial responsibility of the party host. Due to Baltimore corkage laws, no alcohol is permitted to be distributed in Open Party Rooms. Parties may not charge an admission fee. Food and non-alcoholic drink may be served. Parties caught breaking these rules may be shut down or banned from future party assignments. Balticon also has limited rental space for larger events like book launch parties, etc. Please contact the Hotel Liaison for more information. Party requests should be made as early as possible and before May 1st of the convention year. If you would like to hold a party in your room, please fill out this form. (To be linked soon.)

< Back Jim Beall Science Scientist Jim Beall (BS-Math, MBA, PE) has been a nuclear engineer for over 50 years and an avid science fiction reader for even longer. His experience began as a naval officer aboard USS Long Beach (CGN-9), then design, construction, inspection, and assessment with a nuclear utility, an architect engineering firm, and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC). USNRC assignments included senior resident inspector and policy assistant for reactors to three different USNRC Commissioners, earning the agency’s Meritorious and Distinguished Service awards. Duties included research into alternative and speculative energy sources, including coal, oil, hydro, geothermal, tidal, solar, wind, fracking, space-based, heavy water reactors, breeder reactors, fusion, and even anti-matter. These studies supported reviewing energy proposals, assessing technical reports, and drafting speeches. JBIS, Elsevier, Baen Books, and the Interstellar Research Group have published several of his non-fiction articles. Other Socials

< 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

< Back Morgan Hazelwood Literary Author Morgan Hazelwood (she/her) writes from her lair in Northern Virginia. She’s been sharing “Writing Tips & Writerly Musings” with writing tips from the pros and her own writerly musings since 2015, first as a blogger, and now as a vlogger and podcaster. An actively querying fantasy author, her short story, “Just a Hike In The Woods” was published by the Dark Recesses webzine in January 2022. When not writing, you can find her devouring book series on her Kindle, learning to scroll saw, or feeding her webcomic addiction. A volunteer for her local science fiction and fantasy convention: Balticon, she is also a voice actor for Anansi Storytelling — a fairytale audio drama podcast. Other Socials