< Back Robert Lewis Podcasting Podcaster Robert has been a Geek since elementary school. It began with comics (and he still collects them) and Sci-Fi books. In high school, he discovered great fantasy writing. He is the co-host of the podcast Tolkien About It. Robert is also on the editorial staff with The Tolkien Society. He is the owner and operator of The Comic Appraisers. Robert presented "The Personification of Evil in Comics" at Doxacon. He teaches two Art History classes at a University of Maryland campus - Understanding Movies and Film & American Culture Studies. In addition, he also teaches philosophy and ethics. Robert is also a moderate-liberal theologian, having studied at Boston University and Loyola University New Orleans. Robert considers his crowning achievement to be raising two children, now adults, who can rattle off more Geek trivia than he can. Other Socials

< Back Miguel O. Mitchell Literary Poet Miguel O. Mitchell, PhD (he/him) is a Black speculative poet, SFF author, visual artist, and retired chemistry professor. He has published poems in Amazing Stories, Dreams and Nightmares, Eye to the Telescope, FIYAH, Scifaikuest, Scarlet Dragonfly Journal, Star*Line, and Year's Best African Speculative Fiction (2022). Three of Miguel's poems (2 in 2021 and 1 in 2025) have been nominated for the Rhysling Award for best speculative poetry in the Long Poem category. He has two poetry collections: Surrealia (Gnashing Teeth Publishing, 2024) and an illustrated one, Periodic Table of Alien Species (Elements 1–86) (Barnes & Noble, 2021). In addition to poetry, Miguel has also published two short stories, "The Revenant Saga" (Scarlet Leaf Review, October 2021, https://www.scarletleafreview.com/short-stories23/miguel-o-mitchell-the-revenant-saga) and "Trading with Monsters" (Fantasy, April 2023, https://www.fantasy-magazine.com/fm/fiction/trading-with-monsters/). Other Socials

< Back Dr. Karen Purcell Costuming Masquerade Director Dr. Karen Purcell obtained her Bachelor's in Biology from Pace University, Pleasantville Campus. She graduated with the Class of ’92 from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell, the only veterinary school in the United States with a theatre troupe. Dr. Purcell has worked as an associate veterinarian in New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and North Carolina. After the pandemic, she took a year off to work remotely and volunteer with Chihuahua Rescue & Transport. She is now working Smithfield Road Veterinary Hospital in Knightdale, NC - a wonderful place with an excellent team. I am enjoying my work more than ever. In her spare time (hah!), Dr. Karen belongs to the Northern Lights Costumers and The Maryland Costumers and Cosplayers Guild. She has been running the Balticon Masquerade for the past couple years and was Masquerade Director for Discon III. Other Socials

< Back Roberta Rogow Music Filk Roberta Rogow writes mysteries set in unusual times and places. She is also a filker, inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame in 2013. When she is not attending SF or Mystery conventions, Roberta is a retired Children's Librarian, living in New Jersey. Other Socials

< Back Jennifer R. Povey Literary Author Jennifer R. Povey lives in Northern Virginia with her husband. She writes a variety of speculative fiction, whilst following current affairs and occasionally indulging in horse riding and role playing games. She has sold fiction to a number of markets including Analog, and written RPG supplements for several companies. Her most recent novel is Araña, a space opera romp that echoes Star Trek and golden age science fiction. Other Socials

< Back Scott Edelman Literary Author Scott Edelman has published more than 125 short stories in magazines such as Analog, Apex, Lightspeed, and The Twilight Zone, and in anthologies such as Why New Yorkers Smoke, Crossroads: Southern Tales of the Fantastic, and MetaHorror. Many of these have been collected in the books These Words Are Haunted, What Will Come After (a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Memorial Award), What We Still Talk About. and Tell Me Like You Done Before (and Other Stories Written on the Shoulders of Giants). His most recent collection is Things That Never Happened. He has been a Stoker Award finalist eight times. Edelman also worked for the Syfy Channel for 13+ years as editor of Science Fiction Weekly, SCI FI Wire, and Blastr. He was the founding editor of Science Fiction Age, which he edited during its entire eight-year run. He has been a four-time Hugo Award finalist for Best Editor. He has also been the host of the Eating the Fantastic podcast since February 2016 Other Socials https://www.scottedelman.com/wordpress/

< Back Dr. Inge Heyer Science Astronomer Born and raised in Berlin, Germany, Dr. Inge Heyer completed her secondary education there before accepting a language scholarship to attend Tenri University (Japan). Later she moved to the US to earn an undergraduate degree in Astronomy and Physics, an M.S. in Astronomy, and a Ph.D. in Science Education. Over 20 years as professional astronomer Dr. Heyer worked as senior data analyst at the Space Telescope Science Institute, as deputy press officer for the American Astronomical Society, and as the public information officer at the Joint Astronomy Centre in Hawai`i. Dr. Heyer teaches astronomy and physics at Loyola University Maryland. She is co-author of seven books, including the Investigating Astronomy textbook which is used in many astronomy classes. And if you have ever wondered how those beautiful Hubble images got into science fiction series like Babylon-5 and Star Trek, here is the troublemaker who instigated this. Other Socials

< Back Zack Be Literary Author Zack Be is an author, obscure songwriter, and psychotherapist trapped in the Washington, D.C. area gravity well. His fiction has appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Asimov's Science Fiction, Writers of the Future Vol. 36, and The Science Fiction Tarot anthology. In 2024, he was named the grand prize winner of the Jim Baen Memorial Science Fiction Award for excellence in near-future, forward-thinking science fiction for his story "Locus of Control." He is also the editor of Inner Workings, an anthology of SFF stories and craft writing essays available now from Calendar of Fools. More info about Zack's writing and music can be found at zackbe.com or anywhere @bezackbe. Other Socials http://zackbe.com

< Back Cherrie Fors Literary Author Cherrie Fors writing under the pen name CL Fors is a science-fiction and speculative fiction author and award-winning illustrator. You can find the first novel in her epic sci-fi series, Cradle of Mars, on Amazon. Cherrie lives in the Southern California desert with her four kids and fellow author and spouse Jason P Crawford. She enjoys wilderness, creatures and all things science and spends most of her time in the worlds she creates. Other Socials http://www.clforsauthor.com

< Back Lee Hawkridge Literary Author A budding streamer, compulsory world-builder, and a occasional author of short stories, Lee has been in the fandom for nearly fifteen years. Other Socials

< Back Kemi Ashing-Giwa Author Kemi Ashing-Giwa is a writer and grad student based in Palo Alto. She is the author of The Splinter in the Sky, This World Is Not Yours, The King Must Die, and several short stories. Her work won the Compton Crook Award, has been nominated for an Ignyte Award, and has appeared on the USA Today Bestseller List. She studied integrative biology and astrophysics at Harvard, and is now pursuing a PhD in Earth & Planetary Sciences at Stanford. Kemi will be attending Balticon 58 in person. Find out more about the author on her website. Other Socials

< Back Dr. Tom Holtz Science Scientist Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. is Principal Lecturer in Vertebrate Paleontology at the Department of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park. His research focuses on the origin, evolution, adaptations, and behavior of carnivorous dinosaurs, and especially of tyrannosauroids (Tyrannosaurus rex and its kin). He received his Bachelors at Johns Hopkins in 1987 and his Ph.D. from Yale in 1992. He is also a Research Associate of the Department of Paleobiology of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and serves on the Scientific Council of Maryland Academy of Science (which operates the Maryland Science Center (Baltimore, MD)). In addition to his dinosaur research, Holtz has been active in scientific outreach. He has been a consultant on museum exhibits documentaries. He is the author of the award-winning Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-To-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages (Random House). Apply now to join our Program Participants! Other Socials