< Back Charity Auctions Fandom has a history of giving. At Balticon, you will have opportunities to contribute to several causes. BSFS also maintains a Little Free Library in front of its building in East Baltimore. Books for Kids money is used to purchase books to be distributed through the LFL. Over 900 books have been distributed this year. BSFS Books for Kids raises money at Balticon in several ways. BSFS Books for Kids Balticon holds two auctions to raise money for the BSFS Books for Kids program: Saturday evening during the Masquerade intermission and Sunday afternoon after the Art Auction. Funds raised will be used to purchase books for students to keep on their own. BSFS Books for Kids also collects book donations for local school libraries. Items for the auction are donated by individuals and companies and generally have a Science Fiction or Fantasy theme. To donate items for the auction, contact booksforkids@balticon.org .

< Back Ben Newman Music Filk Benjamin Newman has been filking since his college friends dragged him to his first convention his freshman year at Swarthmore. Since then, he has written almost 300 songs on a wide range of topics, including SF and fantasy, science, computers, and religion, both singly and in various whimsical juxtapositions. Ben has also organized filk programming for Philcon, ConCertino, and Pi-con. Ben's other fannish interests include tabletop and digital game design and a variety of arts and crafts. Other Socials

< Back John Ashmead Literary Scientist/Editor John Ashmead has a BA in physics from Harvard, summa cum laude, and a masters in physics from Princeton. For several years he was an assistant editor for Asimov's SF Magazine. Since then he has worked as a software and database developer. He currently supports a leading optical switch manufacturer (your web pages & email travel over switches he helped build). John has stayed part of the science fiction community. Recently he co-edited Tales from the Miskatonic University. And he has given talks at NASA, Philcon, Capclave, Balticon, and several Worldcons on Time Travel, Invisibility, Practical Telepathy, Artificial Intelligence, the Quantum Internet,... He has published several papers in peer reviewed journals in the areas of time and quantum mechanics, the most recent on "Time dispersion in bound states" proposing practical experiments to see if the rules of quantum mechanics apply to time. His life time ambition: invent a really practical time machine. Other Socials

Activities & Events Gaming RPG, Board, and Video games are available for all...let the adventures begin. Read More Concerts and Filk Balticon is home to one of the East Coast’s strongest tracks of filk and fannish music, featuring a variety of concerts, panels, and workshops, plus open circles all three nights. Read More Robert A. Heinlein Award The Baltimore Science Fiction Society will present the Robert A. Heinlein Award during the Opening Ceremonies. Read More Jack L. Chalker Young Writers Contest The Jack L. Chalker Young Writers Contest honors local writers aged 14 - 18 who reside in Maryland. Submission deadline is March 31. Read More 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. Read More Short Film Festival The Balticon Sunday Short Science Fiction Film Festival (BS³F³) features independently produced short films from around the world, including live action and animated films in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. Awards are given based on audience preferences. Read More 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. Read More Charity Auctions Fandom has a history of giving. At Balticon, you will have opportunities to contribute to several causes. Read More

< 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. Register Here Balticon 59 Masquerade Results Young Fan Sunny the Axolotl Wizard – Most Magical Handsome Jack – Most Energetic Best in Class Workmanship – Sunny the Axolotl Wizard Novice – Presentation Keeper of the Stories – Best in Class Lady Maria of the Astral Clock Tower – Most Deadly Regency Dandy Magneto – Diamond of the Season Warrier Cats – Best Cat Toy Space Cowboy – Most Dazzling Lethal Undercover Jedi – Honorable Mention Novice – Workmanship Keeper of the Stories – Best Original Character Regency Dandy Magneto – Most Sustainable Cosplay Mythril Arts Judge’s Award – Warrior Cats: Into the Wild Personified Best in Class – Lady Maria of the Astral Clock Tower Journeyman – Presentation Brother Philostogen – Most Impressive Hawk Eye not the Hawk Guy – Best Presentation In Memory of Black Suffragettes – Best in Class Journeyman - Workmanship Jinafiire Judge’s Award – Brother Philostogen Masquerade Kate Bishop Hawkeye – Most Elegant Master -Presentation Princess Mirabel, I give you wings – Most Original Interpretation Patchwork Peacock – Best in Class Master – Workmanship In Memory of Black Suffragettes – Best in Class Best in Show – Presentation Zuko Best in Show – Workmanship Patchwork Peacock Masquerade Rules and Guidelines

< Back Roberta Rogow Literary Author 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 Scott H. Andrews Literary Editor Scott H. Andrews lives in Virginia with his wife, two cats, eleven guitars, a dozen overflowing bookcases, and hundreds of beer bottles from all over the world. He writes, teaches college chemistry, and is Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of the ten-time Hugo Award finalist online fantasy magazine Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Scott has taught writing for the Odyssey Workshop, Writefest, Clarion West, Odyssey Online Classes and Cat Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers. He has lectured on short fiction, secondary-world fantasy, editing, magazine publishing, audio podcasting, beer, and heavy metal on scores of convention panels at multiple Worldcons, World Fantasy conventions, and regional conventions in the Northeast and Midwest. He is a nine-time finalist for the World Fantasy Award and won it in 2019, and he celebrates International Stout Day several times a week. Other Socials

< List of Vendors Distractia Dealer's Room Kilts, costumes, accessories, and the soap with the dice in it! https://www.facebook.com/DistractiaDesigns?mibextid=ZbWKwL

< Back Shahid Mahmud Literary Editor Shahid Mahmud created Arc Manor; a Maryland based small press in 2006. Since then, the company has become a significant small SF and fantasy publisher and authors published include George R.R. Martin, Orson Scott Card, Mercedes Lackey, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Harry Turtledove. In 2020 Arc Manor published Rober A. Heinlein’s last published work, The Pursuit of the Pankera, under an exclusive contract from the Heinlein Estate. Arc Manor also published Galaxy’s Edge magazine and co-sponsors the Mike Resnick Memorial Short Fiction Award in partnership with Dragon Con. Arc Manor uses a mix of old and new technologies to stay at the forefront of the publishing business. Arc Manor’s Caezik imprint is currently represented by Consortium, one of the preeminent full-service distributors in the World catering to independent presses. Prior to becoming a publisher, Shahid was a money manager and San Diego’s acting mayor declared November 7, 2005, to be “Shahid Mahmud” day for his services. Other Socials

< Back Tom Doyle Literary Author Tom Doyle is the award-winning author of the American Craftsmen trilogy from Tor Books, a saga of modern-day magician soldiers and psychic spies fighting their way through nightmares from the worlds of Hawthorne and Poe. Tom's latest work for Graphic Audio is the Agent of Exiles series of supernatural spy adventures in the 6th century BCE. His recent SF novel, Border Crosser, follows the far-future journeys of Eris, a psychologically extreme secret agent whose shifting loyalties cause chaos wherever she goes in the galaxy. Text and readings of Tom's short fiction are available on his website: www.tomdoyleauthor.com. He has survived Harvard, Stanford, and cancer. Other Socials

< Back Jennia D'Lima Literary, Podcasting Author Jennia is passionate about everything related to the publishing industry and has written or edited for academic work, newspapers, university presses, and everything in between. She loves connecting with her authors and sees each project as a unique and exciting collaboration. In addition to editing, she is a book awards judge for IPNE, CRW, ECA, and RWA, the creative nonfiction expert at NAIWE, and hosts the Writing and Editing podcast. Other Socials

< Back Jack L. Chalker Young Writers Contest The Jack L. Chalker Young Writers Contest honors local writers aged 14 - 18 who reside in Maryland. Submission deadline is March 31. The Jack L. Chalker Young Writers Contest results will be announced during the Masquerade. Contestants are local young writers aged 14 to 18 who reside in or attend school in Maryland. The winners will receive cash prizes, Balticon T-shirts, and membership in Balticon. CONTESTANT REQUIREMENTS: Contestants shall be no younger than 14 and no older than 18 years of age as of May 29 in the contest year and shall reside in, or attend school in Maryland. Winners will be required to provide their proof of age. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Submissions must be in the field of science fiction or fantasy. Submissions shall be no more than 2,500 words in length. All submissions should include a title page with the title of the story, the entrant's name or note Home schooled, home address, evening phone number, and e-mail address if possible. Also, please include your English teacher's name. Paper submissions must have numbered pages - all submissions must have a footer with the title and page number. They should not have the entrants name or other identifying information on the individual pages. Paper submissions should be typed or printed, double-spaced, on 8.5 x 11" paper. Electronic submissions must be sent as an attachment to email in either Microsoft Word, PDF or Wordperfect format. Otherwise they must be printed out and submitted on paper. One contestant may submit multiple entries, but only one prize may be won by any one entrant. Submission deadline is March 31. See the BSFS web site for details. OTHER RULES: Judges shall be drawn from the membership of BSFS, Inc. The winners will be contacted before the convention and their names will be announced to the public at the next Balticon on Memorial Day