< Back San Scheiner Podcasting Content Creator 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 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

< List of Vendors Bayside Books of Maryland Dealer's Room Rare and Used Books of all kinds, but specialized in SF, Fantasy, Weird and genre adjacent https://www.ebay.com/str/baysidebooksofmarylandioba

< List of Vendors Walt's Cards and Games Dealer's Room Walt's Cards and Games 7620 German Hill Rd, Dundalk, MD 21222 Phone: (410) 288-7044 Walt's Cards & Collectibles is place for people of all ages to enjoy the hobby of card collecting. We look forward to doing business with all of you and sharing the hobby we all love. Cards & Collectables https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083523424532#

< Back Morgan Stallard Fan Fan Morgan Stallard is an autistic trans man, local convention regular and LGBT+/Disability activist. He's been involved in running LGBT+ and disability programming at Maryland conventions for the last 10 years. Other Socials

< Back Henry Gibbons Science Scientist Since 2008, Henry S. Gibbons, Ph.D. has been a Research Microbiologist at the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command - Chemical Biological Center, the Army laboratory charged with developing and testing non-medical protections against chemical and biological weapons. His group has employed a combination of genomics, bioinformatics, synthetic biology, and classical microbiological techniques to develop new techniques for characterizing biological and chemical threats. His group recently utilized microbial genetics and synthetic biology to create new, genetically tagged or “barcoded” strains of Bacillus thuringiensis for use as anthrax simulants and paired those strains with specific PCR-based detection assays to enable their tracking in the environment. Beginning in 2015, he co-chaired the DoD-wide technical working group that developed a standardized, validated method of inactivating B. anthracis spores by gamma-irradiation and currently serves as vice-chair of the Biological Select Agents and Toxins Biorisk and Safety Review Panel for the DoD. He is a member of the Chemical Corps Regimental Association’s Honorable Order of the Dragon, and in 2019 was awarded a Service Chiefs’ Fellowship from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. In addition, he has authored or co-authored 27 primary scientific publications. Other Socials

< Back A.L. Kaplan Literary Author A. L. Kaplan’s love of books started as a child and sparked a creative imagination. Born on a cold winter morning in scenic northern New Jersey, her stories and poems have been included in several anthologies and magazines. Her most recent publications are Hummingbird and Mark of the Goddess. She is a member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, is the past president of Maryland Writers’ Association and holds an MFA in sculpture from the Maryland Institute College of Art. When not writing or indulging in her fascination with wolves, this proud mother of two lives in Maryland with her husband and dog. Other Socials http://ALKaplanauthor.com

< Back Dr. Charles E. Gannon Author Dr. Charles E. Gannon’s best known work is in the best-selling Caine Riordan hard sf series and the Vortex of Worlds epic fantasy saga. Winner of the Dragon, ALA Choice, & Compton Crook awards, he’s been a finalist for the Nebula (novel, 4x) and Dragon (2x). Multiple credits in other series include: Ring of Fire (Flint), Black Tide Rising (Ringo), Starfire (White & Weber), Honorverse (Weber), Known Space (Niven). Other credits: TV producer, Distinguished Professor, five-time Fulbrighter, and Beltway/media SME. 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 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

< List of Vendors Molly's Sundries Dealer's Room Fiber Art

< Back Cecilia Tan Literary Author Cecilia Tan is an award-winning trailblazer in queer science fiction and fantasy. She founded Circlet Press in 1992 and since then has been widely published in sf/f, literary, and queer fiction circles, including over 100 short stories in Asimov’s, Strange Horizons, and Ms. Magazine, essays in Uncanny, Queers Destroy Science Fiction, and Lambda Literary Report, and over 30 novels including the Magic University series, Slow Surrender, The Prince’s Boy, and others, plus several short story collections (Black Feathers; Telepaths Don’t Need Safewords: And Other Stories; White Flames; Edge Plays; Bent for Leather). Tan was inducted into the GLBT Writers Hall of Fame at Saints & Sinners Literary Festival in 2010. Her most recent books are The Mystery of the Bitten Peach (Neon Hemlock) and Bound by the Blood (book one of The Vanished Chronicles). She identifies as a biracial bigender bisexual and is also into baseball. Other Socials