< Back Brie Tart Literary Aurthor Brie Tart, short for Brie Tartaglia, is a fantasy author and publishing services professional. Her stories include a YA Irish portal fantasy series, Exiles of Eire, an urban fantasy series about one mom's fight against the fae, Heart of Hellfire, and a twisted retelling of Cupid and Psyche coming out July of 2025 in the anthology, Chaotic Cupids: When Love Goes Awry by WordFire Press. She also teams with The Book Break empowering authors and publishers to overcome their own obstacles. She holds an MA in creative writing and publishing from Western Colorado University, and has worked with fiction, nonfiction, and comics for over a decade. When not immersed in the book world, she plays with languages as an interpreter and prepares for her next Renaissance Festival. Follow her escapades at brietart.com or brietartaglia.com. Other Socials http://brietart.com

< Back Philip K. Booker Literary Author Philip K. Booker is an author and editor with a head full of Mind Squirrels and a gnarly case of resting-bitch-face—but he's actually really friendly. He writes stories across all genres, with a focus on Urban Fantasy and Science Fiction. His works are often littered with humor, snark, and pop culture references, and he is a regularly contributor to Three Ravens Publishing's annual horror-comedy anthology "It Came From The Trailer Park". When not writing or hunting the fabled full-night’s sleep, he loves plays exploring Hyrule and catching Pokemon while juggling his water tankard and coffee mug. A boardgame geek, he loves to gather around a table to play rounds of Munchkin, Splendor and Pandemic with friends and family. Other Socials

< List of Vendors Jolley, Dan Dealer's Room I'm Dan Jolley. I grew up in a rural Southern town as a huge fan of all things science-fiction and fantasy, and now I’m lucky enough (and stubborn enough) to make my living writing novels, video games, comic books, and children's books. I got started writing professionally at age 19. Beginning in comic books, I worked for most of the major American publishers, such as DC (Firestorm), Marvel (Dr. Strange), Dark Horse (Aliens), and Image (G.I. Joe), soon branching out into licensed-property novels (Star Trek), film novelizations (Iron Man), and original novels, including the Middle Grade Urban Fantasy series Five Elements, the Sci-Fi/Superhero Gray Widow Trilogy, the Southern Mystery Thriller The Storm, and my first-ever fantasy novel, The Runemaster Homicide. I first got a chance to write for video games in 2007, and since then I've contributed storylines, characters, and dialogue to titles such as Transformers: War for Cybertron, Prototype 2, and Dying Light. I'm an author, but I'll also be offering some laser-cut wood decorative items. http://www.danjolley.com

< Back David Walton Literary Author David Walton hails from Philadelphia, where he lives with his wife and eight children. An engineer by day and an author by night, David has won both the John W. Campbell Award and the Philip K. Dick Award for his novels, which have been translated into seven languages. His newest books are the LIVING MEMORY series, dinosaur thrillers involving paleontologists and an ancient genetic technology. Other Socials

< Back Jim Beall Science Engineer Jim Beall (BS-Math, MBA, PE) has been a nuclear engineer for over 50 years and an avid science fiction reader for even longer. His experience began as a naval officer aboard USS Long Beach (CGN-9), then design, construction, inspection, and assessment with a nuclear utility, an architect engineering firm, and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC). USNRC assignments included senior resident inspector and policy assistant for reactors to three different USNRC Commissioners, earning the agency’s Meritorious and Distinguished Service awards. Duties included research into alternative and speculative energy sources, including coal, oil, hydro, geothermal, tidal, solar, wind, fracking, space-based, heavy water reactors, breeder reactors, fusion, and even anti-matter. These studies supported reviewing energy proposals, assessing technical reports, and drafting speeches. JBIS, Elsevier, Baen Books, and the Interstellar Research Group have published several of his non-fiction articles. Other Socials

< Back Gracie Gaming Gamer Hello! My name is Grace, and I’m a Pokémon Professor! I’m excited to join Balticon as both a guest and staff member, traveling all the way from Seattle, Washington. As a Pokémon Professor at Balticon 59, I’m your go-to expert for all things Pokémon and the Pokémon Trading Card Game. I’ve been doing this for quite a while, and I absolutely love being an ambassador for my favorite hobby. Teaching the next generation of trainers who aspire to be the very best always brings a big smile to my face! When I’m not collecting, trading, or studying Pokémon, I’m a quirky shark VTuber streaming video games and diving deep into all things tabletop! As a self-proclaimed Warhammer nerd (reading the books totally counts, right?), I’d love to hear from all of you about which loyalist legion is the best—and why it’s the Dark Angels. Other Socials

< Back D.H. Aire Literary Author D.H. Aire has published more than 20 books, most recent are Knight's Blood and Bigfoot Hunting. His love of history & archaeology found expression in writing his epic fantasy/sci fi Highmage's Plight, Hands of the Highmage, and his sense of adventure and humor in Apocaplyse Knot, and Knights Tower Series. He is a member of SFWA & an Indy author. Other Socials http://dhaire.net

< 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://catherineasaro.net/

< 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 www.vefrankel.com Other Socials

< Back Video Gaming We're still working on the full details of our video gaming room this year. Last year, we had 15 screens and two full tournaments! Balticon 58 featured 15 screens with different consoles, with both modern and retro consoles available, and two full tournaments. Reach out to gaming@balticon.org if you have games you really want to see! 6 Tables 20+ Scheduled Games & Demos 50+ Games in our Library

< Back Sonya Bleakley Multilingual. Traveled quite a bit for some years. Baltimore native, lived in other countries. Went to school for International studies/Asian studies, currently steering towards healthcare. Have been in a car ride to near Canada, and also to Canada at least several times! Other Socials

< Back Rob O'Malley Science Researcher Rob is a biological anthropologist who shifted from a career studying wild chimpanzees to one focused on public engagement with science. He worked >6 years at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in the Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion (AAAS-DoSER) program, where he worked to develop programming in support of inclusive science engagement, education, and public dialogue about science. In 2023 he joined Personal Genetics Education & Dialogue (PGED), a public engagement with science program at Harvard Medical School that supports curiosity, dialogue, and reflection about genetics. Rob has expertise in evidence-based public engagement approaches, with a particular interest in how history, culture, and worldview inform peoples’ perspectives on science and technology. At PGED he helps to develop and facilitate workshops and public programming, creates and edits education resources, and develops grant proposals to support the program's work. Other Socials