< Back Catherine Asaro Literary Author Catherine Asaro has written more than 30 books in science fiction, fantasy, and near-future thrillers. She earned her doctorate in chemical physics and masters in physics, both at Harvard. Her works The Quantum Rose and The Spacetime Pool are both Nebula® Award winners. Among her other distinctions, she is a multiple winner of the AnLab from Analog Magazine and the RT BOOKClub Award for “Best Science Fiction Novel.” Her most recent book is The Down Deep. A former ballet and jazz dancer, Catherine has performed on both coasts and in Ohio. As a musician, she performs at various cons and jazz clubs. She has appeared at cons and other venues as a Guest of Honor or author guest in the US and abroad. For more information, see her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Catherine.Asaro and her patreon page at Patreon.com/CatherineAsaro. Other Socials https://www.patreon.com/CatherineAsaro.

< Back Valerie Estelle Frankel Literary Author Valerie Estelle Frankel has won a Dream Realm Award, an Indie Excellence Award, and a USA Book News National Best Book Award for her Henry Potty parodies. She's the author of over 90 books on pop culture, including Hunting for Meaning in The Mandalorian; Inside the Captain Marvel Film; Star Wars Meets the Eras of Feminism; and Who Tells Your Story? History, Pop Culture, and Hidden Meanings in the Musical Phenomenon Hamilton. Many of her books focus on women's roles in fiction, from her heroine's journey guides From Girl to Goddess and Buffy and the Heroine's Journey to books like Superheroines and the Epic Journey and The Many Faces of Katniss Everdeen. Once a lecturer at San Jose State University, she now teaches at Mission College and San Jose City College and speaks often at conferences. Come explore her research at her website. Other Socials http://www.vefrankel.com

< Back Emily Anne Lewis Filk Musician Emily got hooked on filk as a member of Sassafrass. Having played Baldur in Sassafrass' production "Sundown" at Balticon 2012, Emily has come back to Balticon ever since then, now serving as the second in command for the Music track. Emily is an avid scifi/fantasy fan and songwriter/singer. Other Socials

< Back Jen Brinn Literary Author Jennifer Brinn grew up with her nose in a book, reading everything with a dragon, a spaceship, or a horse on the cover. While she always told herself stories, it never occurred to her to write them down until she needed an elective in high school and chose creative writing. She proudly writes in cursive with fountain pens, knows many useless facts, and loves putting stickers on things. Her retired racing greyhound and Cardigan Welsh Corgi let her pretend to be leader of the pack as long as she provides the right snacks. Other Socials

< List of Vendors Tigereyes Press Dealer's Room Books, mostly small press and imports. Specializing in slipstream and post-new wave sf.

< Back Jean Marie Ward Literary Author Jean Marie Ward writes fiction, nonfiction and everything in between, including novels, art books, and military strategy. (That one surprised her too.) Her first collection of short fiction, Dragons, Cats, and Formidable Femmes, was published in 2024. The former editor of Crescent Blues and currently author interviewer for BOOKBALE.com, she co-edited the six-volume, 40th anniversary World Fantasy Con anthology UnConventional Fantasy Learn more at JeanMarieWard.com. Other Socials

< Back Compton Crook Award The Compton Crook Award is presented to the best of each year’s English language first novel by an author in the field of science fiction, fantasy, or horror. The 2025 Compton Crook Award winner will be announced in Spring 2025. The Compton Crook Award is presented to the best of each year’s English language first novel by an author in the field of science fiction, fantasy, or horror by the members of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society at our annual science fiction convention, Balticon, the Maryland Regional Science Fiction Convention. Awards have been presented since 1983. The award is also known as the Compton Crook/Stephen Tall Award. The list of eligible books is published in the monthly newsletter so all club members will have a chance to read and vote. The winning author is invited to Balticon (BSFS pays transportation and lodging) for two years, and presented with the cash award of $1,000 and an award plaque. Compton Crook, who wrote under the name of Stephen Tall, was a long-time Baltimore resident, Towson State University professor, and science fiction author. He died in 1981. The 2025 Compton Crook Award Finalists

< Back Misha Gaming Game Developer Born in the 70s, raised in the 80s, and trying hard to recover from both of those traumas, I crawled into my first RPG before I became a teenager and never looked back; around the same time, I took a trip to Quag Keep and never entirely returned. Like most long-time Eternal GMs, I'm an unpublished game developer and have any number of my own worlds in various stages of building at any given moment. Other Socials

< Back Perrianne Lurie Gaming Gamer Perrianne Lurie is a long time fan who ran the Green Room for Balticon for many years. She was the Hugo Ceremony director for Torcon 3 and the Email Liaison and Deputy Program Division Director for BucCONeer. She is active in strategy (Euro) board gaming and has GMed at Euroquest, Prezcon and other gaming conventions. She watches way too much television and (mostly art house) movies. She retired from the Pennsylvania Department of Health in 2020, where she was a public health physician and infectious disease epidemiologist. She now lives in suburban Maryland. Other Socials

< Back Elektra Hammond Literary Author Elektra Hammond emulates her multi-sided idol Buckaroo Banzai by going in several directions at once. She’s been involved in publishing since the 1990s—now she writes, concocts anthologies, and edits science fiction for various and sundry. When not freelancing or appearing at science fiction conventions, she travels the world judging cat shows. Look for her new story "Looking Back, I Wouldn't Change a Thing" - set in Jack Chalker's Well World, appearing in Permutations: A Well World Anthology, edited by David Boop. Elektra is a graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop and an associate member of SFWA. She lives in Delaware with her husband, Mike, and more than the usual allotment of felines. Other Socials

< List of Vendors WOW! Fudge and WOW! Spices Dealer's Room WOW! All about us. Yes, us. The folks behind this fudge. Yeah, WOW! It’s been a journey that started with a love of fudge. A love of knock-your-socks-off, holy moly, melt-in-your-mouth fudge, not the gritty-fake-gas station pretend stuff in the fancy box that SAYS “Fudge” in pretty letters but it doesn’t sing to your taste buds.Ten years ago we started with a few basic flavors made with the very finest ingredients (sugar, cream and butter) and when we shared our fudge something amazing happened, people put it in their mouth and gave us their “Fudge Face,” which basically means their eyes got big, their cheeks sunk in and their mouth squished up into a big kissy-face UNTIL they could talk again, at which point they would say “WOW! THAT’S FANTASTIC FUDGE!” Followed by “I’ll take a pound of four flavors” Thank you all for enjoying what we love to do for you. fudge, truffles, turtles, toffee, spices http://www.wowfudge.com

< Back Marie Vibbert Literary Author Hugo and Nebula nominee Marie Vibbert has over 90 works in print, including multiple appearances in Analog, F&SF, and Lightspeed. Her work has been translated into Vietnamese and Chinese and called "Everything science fiction should be" by the Oxford Culture Review. Her debut novel Galactic Hellcats, about a female biker gang in outer space rescuing a gay prince, was long-listed for the BSFA award. Publisher's Weekly called it "A rip-roaring space heist." The sequel comes out July 2025. Other Socials