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< Back Ada Palmer Literary Author "Perhaps the Stars" the fourth and final volume of Ada Palmer’s Terra Ignota series (Too Like the Lightning, Seven Surrenders, the Will to Battle) comes out in September 2021, complting her exploration of how Earth culture might evolve in a future of borderless nations and globally commixing populations. Too Like the Lightning won the 2017 Compton Crook Award and was a 2017 Best Novel Hugo finalist, while Ada won the 2017 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. She teaches History at the University of Chicago, studying the history of radical ideas such as atheism, materialism, radical science, deism, atomism, and magic, mainly in the Italian Renaissance, and the Enlightenment. She composes fantasy, SF and mythology-themed music, and performs at conventions with the filk group Sassafrass. She also researches anime/manga, especially Osamu Tezuka, and consults for many anime and manga publishers. She blogs for Tor.com, =writes the philosophy & travel blog ExUrbe.com, and her Patreon supports these projects and the hope to soon launch a podcast with author friend Jo Walton. Other Socials

< Back Marty Gear Memorial Masquerade Balticon’s Cosplay Contest, the Marty Gear Memorial Masquerade, is the opportunity for fans to present their science fiction- and fantasy-related costumes to delight our audience. While some costumers may simply model their costumes on stage, most entries present dramatic or comedic skits. A team of judges reward costume design and workmanship to encourage our costumers’ efforts. Cosplay, or the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book, or video game, is a strong component of Balticon. Many attendees choose to wander around the con dressed as their favorite character. Anonymous judges will award Hall Costume Contest ribbons throughout the weekend. The costuming highlight of the weekend is the Masquerade held on Saturday evening. Balticon offers hours of costuming panels, workshops, and presentations. We try to schedule the majority before the Masquerade so that novices can pick up last minute coaching, if desired. The Marty Gear Memorial Masquerade The Marty Gear Memorial Masquerade will be held in the Main Ballroom. Individual and group contestants take the stage for a short presentation showcasing their costumes. Children will get to show off their favorite characters before the adults strut their stuff. Our team of expert judges award points in several categories, including creativity, craftsmanship, and presentation. Winners are announced at the end of the evening. The goal of the Masquerade is to give our costumers a chance to share their talent and put on a good show for the enjoyment of all. Everyone is invited to enjoy the display of creativity and artistry that will be on stage. Balticon 60 Masquerade Results Young Fan Most Energetic: Jacks of the Amazing Digital Circus - Arwen Best Routine: SDX: Mission Star - Hayden Welsher Best Fan Pop: Avatar Kyoshi - Annaliese Dinstad Best Characterization: Wednesday - Samantha Olszowka Novice – Presentation Third Place: Kiko the Kitsune - Liore Sipple Second Place: Lara Raith - Jessika Rovell First Place: Zade Meadows from Haunting Adeline - Noir Bryant Novice – Workmanship Spirit of Con Crunch Award: In Space the Moon is Always Full - Joshua Stern Best in Class: Kiko the Kitsune - Liora Sipple Judge’s Award, Most Improved: Thal Soldier from Genesis of the Daleks - Alexander George Arthur Meranski Journeyman – Presentation Second Place: The Countess of Orinoco Goes Fishing- Rachel McClelland First Place: Steampunk Librarian -Melissa Joslin Journeyman - Workmanship Best Documentation: Jaskier - Jennifer Frederick Best in Class: Amethyst the Dragon Warrior - Elyzabeth Morgan Master -Presentation Third Place: A Ball with the Fae - Misha Bushyager Second Place: To the Stars - Evelyn Lewis First Place: Danny Phantom - Tori Suggs Master – Workmanship Fantastic Rigging and Detail Work: Captain Zeon Bones - Joe Delmanico Incredible Crochet Design: Princess Beatrice, Darling of Balticon 60 - Rachel Ahrens Beautiful Book Interpretation: To the Stars - Evelyn Lewis Cleanest Beading Award: Black Halo - Lisa Ashton Best in Class: A Ball with the Fae - Misha Bushyager Best in Show Workmanship: The Countess of Orinoco Goes Fishing - Liz McClelland Presentation: Jaskier - Jennifer Frederick Masquerade Rules and Guidelines

< Back Lisa Hertel Art Artist Lisa Hertel is an artist from a long line of artists. A former pharmacist, she works in a variety of media, sometimes mixing them, and will try almost anything. Currently, she produces work in watercolor, alcohol ink (an alcohol soluble dye), encaustics (wax), wire, and ceramics. A long-time convention runner, she's worked in just about every area of conventions, and has broad fannish interests -- it's all good! Other Socials

< Back Swift Crescendo Podcasting Content Creator Hello! I am Swift Crescendo, your friendly neighborhood Silver Dragon VTuber! Over on Twitch I do a variety of games including RPGs, strategy/simulation, city builders, and more. I like to take it easy and hang out with friends, often even featuring them on stream! I otherwise try to keep things comfy and cozy - though I do have a competitive streak too, which often comes out when I'm playing something worth competing in - including mini golf. Offline, I am almost always singing and listening to some form of music, either a local classical station or Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan. Glitch Symphony is my partner and co-conspirator in most things...which I repay by attempting to be some semblance of a manager for her own channel. I am perpetually working on writing somewhere around six ideas for novels and plotting to take over worlds both virtual and physical. That last one's a joke... or is it? 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). Other Socials

< Back A Bear Named Wojtek Displaced by World War II, a troop of Polish soldiers find an inseparable bond with an orphaned brown bear they name Wojtek. A Bear Named Wojtek brings to life the extraordinary true story of a Syrian brown bear adopted by Polish soldiers during World War II. This half-hour animated short follows Wojtek from the Persian Desert to the Battle of Monte Cassino, where he becomes both a soldier and a symbol of resilience. As the soldiers forge an unbreakable bond with Wojtek, the film explores themes of friendship, identity, and the search for belonging in times of upheaval. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Er-xDtXnw Previous Next

< Back Tyaz Cosplay Costuming Costuming Tyaz Cosplay has been sewing since she was 10 and cosplaying for 10 years. Although sewing is her original focus, she has also expanded into EVA foam and thermal plastics to broaden her skills. Her goal is to learn a new technique with each new costume. Other Socials

< Back Andrew McDowell Literary Author Andrew McDowell is the author of the fantasy novels Mystical Greenwood and Beneath the Deep Wave, the former of which was a finalist in the 2019 American Fiction Awards, won the 2021 Maryland Writers’ Association Novel Contest, and was an honorable mention in the 2021 Top Shelf Magazine contest. He studied at St. Mary’s College and the University of Maryland, College Park. Andrew has had poetry, short stories, and essays featured in anthologies and literary journals. He has Asperger Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. https://andrewmcdowellauthor.com https://www.facebook.com/AndrewMcDowellAuthor/ https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3175924.Andrew_McDowell https://www.amazon.com/stores/Andrew-McDowell/author/B08MVFN9TL https://bsky.app/profile/ammcdow.bsky.social https://www.youtube.com/@andrewmcdowellauthor https://www.pw.org/directory/writers/andrew_mcdowell https://books2read.com/rl/AndrewMcDowell/ Other Socials https://andrewmcdowellauthor.com

< Back D.A. Xiaolin Spires Literary Author D. A. Xiaolin Spires steps into portals and reappears in sites such as Hawai’i, NY, various parts of Asia and elsewhere, with her keyboard appendage attached. Besides Eye to the Telescope, her work appears in publications such as Clarkesworld, Analog, Nature, Terraform, Fireside, Star*Line, Liquid Imagination, and anthologies such as Make Shift, Ride the Star Wind, Sharp and Sugar Tooth, Deep Signal, and Battling in All Her Finery. Select stories can be read in German, Spanish, Vietnamese, Estonian, French and Japanese translation--and have been selected for The Year’s Top Robot and AI Stories Year's, The Year’s Top Tales of Space and Time, Year's Best Hardcore Horror, and The Year's Best Issue for Andromeda Spaceways Magazine. Her poetry has been nominated for the Dwarf Star, Rhysling, Best of the Net and Pushcart Awards. Other Socials http://daxiaolinspires.wordpress.com

< Back Hayley Gelfuso Literary Author Hayley Gelfuso has a master’s degree in biology from Miami University. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and son. Her debut novel, The Book of Lost Hours, has been published in over twenty countries worldwide and was a Good Morning America Book Club pick. Other Socials https://www.hggelfuso.com/

< Back Robert J. Sawyer Literary Author Robert J. Sawyer, the 2017 recipient of the Robert A. Heinlein Award, has been called “The dean of Canadian science fiction” by both the CBC and the Ottawa Citizen. He is one of only eight writers ever (and the only Canadian) to win all three of the world’s top awards for best science-fiction novel of the year: the Hugo (which he won for Hominids), the Nebula (which he won for The Terminal Experiment), and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award (which he won for Mindscan); he has 12 additional Hugo nominations, including eight others for best novel. The ABC TV series FlashForward was based on Rob’s Aurora Award-winning novel of the same name; Rob’s latest novel (his 25th) is The Downloaded. A Guest of Honour at the 2023 Worldcon, a past president of SFWA, a member of the Order of Canada, and one of the initial inductees into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, Rob lives in Toronto. Visit his million-plus-word website at sfwriter.com. Other Socials

< Back Inge Heyer Science, Literary Scientist, Author 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