Norwescon 46 Program Book

Norwescon 46

The souvenir program book for Norwescon 46.

Shelley George

Norwescon

March 28-31, 2024

Content copyright Norwescon except artwork as noted.

English

NORWESCON 46 Into the Wylde

FRONT & BACK COVER ART:
Companions to the Moon © Charles Vess

CONTENTS

Letter from the Chair 5
Philip K. Dick Award 6
Guests of Honor 10
Professional Panelists & Performers 21
Artist GoH Charles Vess Art Gallery 36
Memorials 59
Artists & Dealers 64
Norwescon 46 Convention Committee 66
Norwescon 46 Staff Photos 69
Charitable Giving 70

[Artwork] Dragon Head ©Douglas Herring

Letter from the Chair 2024

Norwescon sprang from the tradition of the World Science Fiction Convention, which is a travelling convention that began 80 years ago, featuring content from writers, artists, scientists, and fans. Those early conventions grew out of groups of fans pulling together to throw themselves the party they wanted to go to. Now 46 years strong, Norwescon continues that tradition of volunteer-led, community­based, participatory events. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you back to our community of readers, learners, makers, and dreamers - tied together by our love of genre fiction.

Last year, I talked about community at every opportunity. Here at Norwescon, you become a member when you register, and everyone who attends contributes to the convention in some way. You may participate by working on staff, volunteering for a few hours, or asking a question in a panel--there are many ways to contribute. This year, I also encourage you to try something new. I make a point every year of going to a panel on a topic I think I have no interest in. I have been blown away each time by how fascinating it can be to hear people who are passionate about a subject discuss it in depth.

Next year, there's something else new you can try. The World Science Fiction Convention is coming to Seattle in 2025, for the first time since 1961. In structure, it will be a lot like Norwescon, but bigger, and with guests and members from all over the world, in a community that is interested in sharing knowledge, making, and learning. If this is your first Norwescon, welcome. If you're returning, welcome back. Your community is here, waiting to learn, make, and dream with you. ••

SunnyJim Morgan
Chair, Norwescon 46

PHILIP K. DICK AWARD 2024

The judges of the 2024 Philip K. Dick Award and the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society, along with the Philip K. Dick Trust, are pleased to announce the six nominated works that comprise the final ballot for the award.

First prize and any special citations will be announced on Friday, March 29, 2024 at Norwescon 46 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Seattle Airport, SeaTac, Washington.

The Philip K. Dick Award is presented annually with the support of the Philip K. Dick Trust for distinguished science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States during the previous calendar year. The award is sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and the Philip K. Dick Trust and the award ceremony is sponsored by Norwescon.

The judges for this year's award are Nicky Drayden, Gordon Eklund, Christopher V. Rowe, Kali Wallace (Chair), and Lisa Yaszek.

Norwescon honors the award administration: Gordon Van Gelder John Silbersack Pat LoBrutto

For more information contact: the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society

[Artwork] Beginnings ©Rob Carlos

PHILIP K. DICK AWARD NOMINEES 2024

As announced on January 9, 2024, the nominees for the 2024 Philip K. Dick Award are:

Danged Black Thing
Eugen Bacon (Apex Book Company)

The Museum Of Human History
Rebekah Bergman (Tin House)

Infinity Gate
M. R. Carey (Orbit)

Wild Spaces
S. L. Coney (Tordotcom)

Where Rivers Go To Die
Dilman Dila (Rosarium Publishing)

These Burning Stars
Bethany Jacobs (Orbit)

PREVIOUS WINNERS:

Presentation Year / Eligibility Year - W: Winner - SC: Special Citation

2023 / 2022
W: The Extractionist, by Kimberly Unger
SC: The Legacy of Molly Southbourne, Tade Thompson

2022 / 2021
W: Dead Space, Kali Wallace
SC: The Escapement, Lavie Tidhar

2021 / 2020
W: Road Out of Winter, Alison Stine
SC: The Book of Koli, M. R. Carey

2020 / 2019
W: Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea: Stories, Sarah Pinsker
SC: The Little Animals, Sarah Tolmie

2019 / 2018
W: Theory of Bastards, Audrey Schulman
SC: 84K, Claire North

2018 / 2017
W: Bannerless, Carrie Vaughn
SC: After the Flare, Deji Bryce Olukotun

2017 / 2016
W: The Mercy Journals, Claudia Casper
SC: Unpronounceable, Susan diRende

2016 / 2015
W: Apex, Ramez Naam
SC: Archangel, Marguerite Reed

2015 / 2014
W: The Book of the Unnamed Midwife, Meg Elison
SC: Elysium, Jennifer Marie Brissett

2014 / 2013
W: Countdown City, Ben H. Winters
SC: Self-Reference Engine, Toh EnJoe

2013 / 2012
W: Lost Everything, Brian Francis Slattery
SC: LoveStar, Andri Snaer Magnason

2012 / 2011
W: The Samuil Petrovitch Trilogy, Simon Morden
SC: The Company Man, Robert Jackson Bennett

2011 / 2010
W: The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack, Mark Hodder
SC: Harmony, Project Itoh, translated by Alexander O. Smith

2010 / 2009
W: Bitter Angels, C. L Anderson
SC: Cyberabad Days, Ian McDonald

2009 / 2008
W (tie): Emissaries from the Dead, Adam-Troy Castro
Terminal Mind, David Walton

2008 / 2007
W: Nova Swing, M. John Harrison
SC: From the Notebooks of Dr. Brain, Minister Faust

2007 / 2006
W: Spin Control, Chris Moriarty
SC: Carnival, Elizabeth Bear

2006 / 2005
W: War Surf, M. M. Buckner
SC: Natural History, Justina Robson

2005 / 2004
W: Life, Gwyneth Jones
SC: Apocalypse Array, Lyda Morehouse

2004 / 2003
W: Altered Carbon, Richard K. Morgan
SC: Dante's Equation, Jane Jensen

2003 / 2002
W: The Mount, Carol Emshwiller
SC: The Scar, China Mieville

2002 / 2001
W: Ship of Fools, Richard Paul Russo
SC: Divine Intervention, Ken Wharton

2001 / 2000
W: Only Forward, Michael Marshall Smith
SC: Evolution's Darling, Scott Westerfeld

2000 / 1999
W: Vacuum Diagrams, Stephen Baxter
SC: Tower of Dreams, Jamil Nasir

1999 / 1998
W: 253: The Print Remix, Geoff Ryman
SC: Lost Pages, Paul Di Filippo

1998 / 1997
W: The Troika, Stefan Chapman
SC: Acts of Conscience, William Barton

1997 / 1996
W: The Time Ships, Stephen Baxter
SC: At the City Limits of Fate, Michael Bishop

1996 / 1995
W: Headcrash, Brush Bethke
SC: Carlucci's Edge, Richard Paul Russo

1995 / 1994
W: Mysterium, Robert Charles Wilson
SC: Inagehi, Jack Lady

1994 / 1993
W (tie): Growing Up Weightless, John M. Ford
Elvissey, Jack Womack

1993 / 1992
W: Through the Heart, Richard Grant
SC: In the Mothers' Land, Elizabeth Vonarburg

1992 / 1991
W: King of Morning, Queen of Day, Ian McDonald
SC: Bone Dance, Emma Bull

1991 / 1990
W: Points of Departure, Pat Murphy
SC: The Schizogenic Man, Raymond Harris

A full list of winners going back to 1982 may be found on Wikipedia.

For more information about the Philip K. Dick Award, please visit the official award website at philipkdickaward.org.

WRITER GUEST of HONOR Jim Butcher

Jim Butcher is the author of The Dresden Files, Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, The Cinder Spires. His resumé includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it.

Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He came by this name in the early 1990s when he decided he would become a published author. Usually only three in 1,000 who make such an attempt actually manage to become published; of those, only one in 10 make enough money to call it a living. The sale of a second series was the breakthrough that allowed him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist.

All the same, he refuses to change his nickname.

[Artwork] Amethyst ©Rob Carlos

ARTIST GUEST of HONOR Charles Vess

[Artwork] The Witch in the Wood (from instructions) © Charles Vess

Charles Vess has been drawing ever since he could hold a crayon and crawl to the nearest wall. His long list of accomplishments includes cover and interior art for Marvel, DC, Tor, Harper, Abrams, and Subterranean Press, as well as many illustrated books and graphic novels. He has won two Hugo, four World Fantasy, three Chesley, five Locus, a Mythopoeic, and two Will Eisner awards.

Charles' art has been featured in many gallery and museum exhibitions across the nation, including Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators, and Enchanted, A History of Fantasy Illustration at the Norman Rockwell Museum. His work has been shown in Paris, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

His four-year collaboration with Ursula K. Le Guin resulted in a fully illustrated edition of all her Earthsea stories. Published by Saga Press, The Books of Earthsea garnered many awards. 2021 saw the release of Honeycomb (Saga), written by Joanne M. Harris, with color and black and white illustrations by Charles, and The Art of Stardust (Titan), an informal history written by Charles and with an introduction by Neil Gaiman.

In September 2022, his first novel, The Queen of Summer's Twilight, was published by NewCon Press. Publication of a limited edition collection of the Peter Pan novels by J. M. Barrie is eminent, as well as an unnamed book of genre interest for The Folio Society of England, which he will be able to talk about the book at the time of the convention.

Charles lives in a house on the North Fork River in Southwestern Virginia, where he works diligently from his studio, Green Man Press.

[Artwork] Red Sky ©Ray VanTilburg

SCIENCE GUEST of HONOR Dr. Raychelle Burks

After working in a crime lab, Dr. Raychelle Burks returned to academia, teaching, and forensic science research. Her research team is focused on the development of field portable colorimetric and luminescent sensor arrays for the detection of analytes of mainly forensic interest, such as explosives, chemical weapons, controlled substances, and latent prints. She writes a science-meets-true crime column called "Trace Analysis" for Chemistry World. Beyond forensics, Dr. Burks collaborates with colleagues in a variety of fields on projects where low cost and reliable rapid screening methods are needed. An in-demand science communicator, Dr. Burks regularly appears on television, in podcasts, at large genre cons such as DragonCon and GeekGirlCon, and other venues to converse on chemistry, forensic science, and STEM meets pop culture. She is the 2020 recipient of American Chemical Society's Grady-Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public. She is a member of several local, national, and international committees, task forces, and projects focused on social justice and STEM. In 2021, Dr. Burks was listed as one of the "6 Women Who Are Changing Chemistry as We Know It" by BBC Science Focus Magazine.

SPECIAL GUEST of HONOR Kate Alice Marshall

Kate Alice Marshall is an author of horror and thrillers for all ages, from middle grade to adult. In YA, her novels include I Am Still Alive, which was nominated for the Washington State Book Award, as well as Rules for Vanishing and These Fleeting Shadows, both nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. Her adult books include the thrillers What Lies in the Woods, which was called "an endlessly interesting dance between past and present" by The New York Times Book Review, and No One Can Know. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family and a growing collection of fancy pens.

SPOTLIGHT PUBLISHER Clarkesworld Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine

Since launching in 2006, Clarkesworld rapidly became one of the leading English language science fiction and fantasy magazines. Each monthly issue features six-to-eight works of original fiction by new and established authors, thought-provoking articles, interviews, eye-catching cover art, and an editorial. They are also known for taking a more global approach to science fiction, with almost every issue featuring at least one work in translation. Clarkesworld has been recognized with a World Fantasy Award, three Hugo Awards, and a British Fantasy Award. Their fiction has been nominated for or won the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, BSFA, Sturgeon, Locus, Shirley Jackson, Ditmar, Aurora, Aurealis, Ignyte, Eugie Foster, Utopia, WSFA Small Press, and Stoker Awards. Clarkesworld is available in ebook, online, and print editions. Their fiction is also available via podcast. can find them online at: www.clarkesworld.com.

Representative Neil Clarke

Neil Clarke is the multi-award-winning editor of Clarkesworld Magazine and over a dozen anthologies, including the Best Science Fiction of the Year series. An 11-time finalist and the 2022 and 2023 winner of the Hugo Award for best editor short form, he is also the three-time winner of the Chesley Award for best art director. In 2019, Clarke received the SFWA Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award for distinguished contributions to the science fiction and fantasy community. He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife and two sons.

Professional Panelists & Performers

A. W. McCollough

A. W. McCollough writes, edits, and coaches writing in the Pacific Northwest. The grist for his writing mill comes from experiences living abroad, a doctorate in psychology, tech startups, social tango, and a long frustration with brushing Japanese calligraphy. He believes that writing that lacks emotion lacks soul, and story beats style, but enchantment lies in the voice. Contact Andrew for writing mentoring or read his latest work at worlds.workingtitle.us.

Agathon McGeachy

Going by the name Manfred Kriegstreiber, Agathon built armor and mastered personal combat in the Society for Creative Anachronism from the 1970s through early 1990s. As a sand sculptor, he participated several times as a soloist at the prestigious world championship in Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia. Best known in fandom for ceramics and mixed-media figure sculpture, he won best 3D art in show at Sasquan.

Agathon started studying the craft of writing in 2015 and sold his first fantasy story, "Shiplah's Eyes," in 2021.

Aigner Loren Wilson

Aigner Loren Wilson is a queer Black writer and a double Ignyte finalist for best novelette and best critic. She serves as a senior fiction editor at Strange Horizons and has guest-edited issues of Fireside Magazine and Apparition Literary Magazine. Her work has appeared in FIYAH, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Monstrous Futures, and more. When she's not writing or editing for others, she's yodeling like Alanis Morissette into the dark void and hoping to win it over.

Alan Andrist

Alan has 20 years of experience in Nordic studies and archaeology. He also has a bachelor's degree with certification in multiple science disciplines, a master's degree in English literature and history, and a Master of Business Administration in international trade, project management, and business process management. Professionally, he has taught veterinary nursing, published papers on animal science research and geriatric rehabilitation, and worked on the biomechanics of seating and mobility design and manufacturing.

Alexander Pereira

Alexander Pereira is a chronic weaver of tales and a geek by all reckonings. By day he gets paid to bring the joy and magic of video games to hospitalized children. By night, day, or whenever he can squeeze it in, he is an amateur living historian, an eternal DM, a ballroom dancer, and a sci-fi/fantasy writer.

Alma Alexander

Alma Alexander was born in a country which no longer exists. She has lived and worked in seven countries on four continents (and in cyberspace! ), flown small planes, swum with dolphins, and touched 2,000-year-old tiles in a gate out of Babylon. Along with her two obligatory writer's cats, Alma shares her life between the Pacific Northwest and the wonderful fantasy worlds of her own imagination. Find her online at AlmaAlexander.org, (Amazon author page); and patreon.com/AlmaAlexander.

Amanda Cherry

Amanda Cherry is a writer and actor from the Seattle suburbs who still can't believe people pay her to write. She has five books currently in print: Rites & Desires (2018); The Dragon Stone Conspiracy (2021); the Femmes Fatale Series (2022, 2023; coauthored with Erik Scott de Bie); and Time and Again (2024). You can find her short fiction in multiple anthologies, the tabletop role-playing game Acute Paranoia, and online outlets including ToscheStation.net and StarTrek.com. Keep up with Amanda on Twitter & TikTok @MandaTheGinger.

Amy Hirayama

Anastasia Wilde

Anastasia Wilde has created a successful career in indie publishing, with over 30 books published on Amazon and an annual six-figure revenue for her publishing company, mainly in paranormal/fantasy romance. Prior to that she was a full-time freelance editor and writer, specializing in fiction and business writing. She holds a master's degree in creative writing from the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Andrew Penn Romine

Andrew Penn Romine is a writer, animator, and educator. His stories have appeared in Lightspeed Magazine, Paizo, and in several collections including Fungi and Help Fund My Robot Army. When he's not wrangling words, robots, or dragons, Andy dabbles in craft cocktails and baking. He lives in Seattle with a cheesemonger and two cats who have never, ever, EVER been fed. You can find him at andrewpennromine.com and on Twitter @inkgorilla.

Andrew Williams

Andrew Williams has been a professional and hobbyist photographer for more than 10 years, working with cosplayers at conventions and photoshoots. He has photographed events ranging from burlesque shows to professional conferences and gaming tournaments. He is also an experienced body painter and makeup artist. His work can be found on Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms as @journeysincolor.

Andy Dykes

Andy is a real live working rocket scientist, currently running a software development team. How that happened, he is still unclear. At Intelsat, Andy flew commercial telecommunications satellites. At NASA's Flight Dynamics Facility at Goddard Space Flight Center, he supported satellite launches and on-orbit operations, including 14 space shuttle missions, Soyuz launches, and International Space Station operations. He received his Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech, and his Master of Engineering from the University of Maryland.

Andy Quinn

Andy is a professional structural engineer with 28 years' experience in building design with a primary interest in seismic design. In addition to his professional career, he is a longtime fan of science fiction, fantasy, and anime, and has been attending Norwescon since the early 1990s. A martial arts enthusiast, Andy is trained in a variety of styles, but has focused on Japanese karate for much of his life.

Ann Shilling

Ann Shilling has spent several years riding, jousting, and swinging swords with the Seattle Knights, and has logged countless hours on horseback compiling a list of King County horse trails, riding in wagon trains, and investigating the countryside of Europe from the saddle. She rode in the Tournament of the Phoenix, a historical reenactment tournament in Poway, California, and the Hackaland tournament in Liege, Belgium. Ann enjoys organizing and squiring for other knights at events around the country. Her historical interests range from medieval Europe to the American West to ancient China. Her written work includes several plays performed regularly around the Pacific Northwest by the Seattle Knights and a number of short stories.

Anne Stewart

Anne Stewart is a writer, costumer, and geek of all trades, with degrees in English literature and Japanese language and literature with and a focus in comic book studies from the University of Oregon, and most of a master's degree in library and information science from the University of Washington. Her lifelong interests include space, poetry, sciences, art, music, horror, and just about anything she can get her hands on. IDIC, LLAP, and MTFBWY.

B. Zelkovich

B. Zelkovich writes speculative fiction, anything from dragon hunting and space whales to demon-dealing and ghost tales. She likes to explore human emotions in very inhuman situations. When she isn't escaping through her imagination, she escapes into the wonders of the Pacific Northwest with her spouse and their four-legged son, Simon. Connect with her at bzelkovich.com.

Bart Kemper

Bart is a writer, photographer, inventor, and consulting professional engineer. He is a U. S. Army veteran based in South Louisiana, wandering the world to solve problems.

Technical areas of interest include forensics, subsea, aerospace, failure analysis, equipment design, medical systems, and biomechanics. He is editor-in-chief for a peer-reviewed journal, a peer reviewer for others, a published fiction author, and a Titan sub interviewee. In his free time, he seeks refuge in his black and white darkroom.

Barth Anderson

Barth Anderson is co-director of the Norwescon Writers Workshop. His stories have appeared in Asimov's, Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, Talebones, and other quality venues. Salon called his novel The Patron Saint of Plagues "a page-turner with smarts and heart." His book The Magician and the Fool was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. He has won the Spectrum Award for best short fiction.

Belsac

Brian Grinnell has been carving leather under the name Belsac Leather Art for almost 30 years. His primary focus is Viking, Celtic, medieval, and fantasy art. His work can be found in the art show and on Facebook.

Berlynn Wohl

Berlynn Wohl is an octopus in a Russian fur hat who sometimes writes science fiction and Sherlock Holmes pastiches. No one knows why this is. Berlynn's anthologies include Oh, Doctor Watson! and Mad Scientists Need Love Too.

Bethany Jacobs

Bethany Jacobs is a former college instructor of writing and science fiction who made the leap into education technology. When she is not writing she enjoys reading, trying out new recipes, and snuggling in bed with a TV show she's already watched ten times. She lives in Buffalo, New York, with her wife, her dog, and her books. These Burning Stars is her debut novel.

Bill Gruner

An armorer/weaponsmith, Bill Gruner travels worldwide to historical sites. He has a Master of Science in Education, has been an emergency medical technician, taught science, and leads an SF OPDETA (special forces operational detachment A--a special forces A team). Bill studies metallurgy, Roman tech, Latin, geology, blacksmithing, military history, historical reenactment, and Euro-martial arts. He is a member of the Senior Classical League, Society for Creative Anachronism (a peer), SASS (the Single Action Shooting Society), and he fights in Cohorts II Legion VI. He operates a 12-foot traction trebuchet, and teaches classes in Roman and Norse combat. He teaches wood and metal crafts out of his atelier. He is a National Rifle Association firearms Instructor with seven NRA certifications. He is the founder and war chief of the North West Shield Wall Norse combat mobile training team.

Birdie

Birdie is a content creator on TikTok and YouTube. They have a passion for history and how it leads to the pop culture people love today. Birdie studied critical theory in school and now likes to create content that dissects media using theory in an approachable way for beginners. Anime is their bread and butter and what they spend their time watching and discussing. Birdie is also a cosplayer, aspiring writer, and definitely not a cook.

Brenda Carre

Brenda Carre is a multi-published author of pro and semi-pro short fiction. She has been published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Pulphouse Fiction Magazine, Fiction River Anthologies, Pulp Literature Magazine, Heart's Kiss Romance Magazine, and many others. Find out about her adventure fantasy duology at brendacarre.com.

Brenda Cooper

Brenda Cooper writes science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. Check out her website at brenda-cooper.com. Brenda lives in the Pacific Northwest in a household with two people, five dogs, more than three computers, and only one TV.

Brian D. Oberquell

Brian keeps busy doing fireworks (New Year's Eve, Canada Day, Celebration of Light), pyro (Phantom of the Opera, Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience, and, most recently, Godsmack and KISS) and special effects (Lost in Space, Arrow, Supernatural, Riverdale, and Nancy Drew). He is certified by the Explosives Regulatory Division as an instructor for display fireworks and special effects pyrotechnics. In his spare time, he collects film scores and "so bad they're good" movies.

Brian U. Garrison

Brian Garrison serves as managing editor for the online poetry quarterly, Eye to the Telescope. His own poetry appears in New Yesterdays, New Tomorrows (self-published) and Micropoetry for Microplanets (Space Cowboy Books). He mostly wanders Portland, Oregon, and the internet. Find him at bugthewriter.com.

Brianna Tibbetts

Raised on a diet of fiction, novelist Brianna Tibbetts has been writing speculative worlds for as long as she can remember. Currently based in the Pacific Northwest, she reads voraciously and writes extensively. From short stories to novels, Brianna demonstrates her passion for lively stories infused with hope. Her other superpowers include being a ginger and yarn crafting. When she isn't spending time in her own creations, she loves indulging in the fictional worlds of others.

Brittany Torres

Brittany Torres is an award-winning digital fantasy artist whose artwork evokes the magic, mystery, and power of women through the female gaze. Armed with a medieval studies degree, an obsessive love for the fantasy genre, and a talent for self-teaching, Brittany developed her unique style of digital painting, creating luminous, fantastical female portraits using Photoshop. She also runs her own marketing and branding business for creatives. Brittany is based in the Seattle area.

Bruce R. Cordell

Bruce authored D&D books over four editions, including The Illithiad, Return to the Tomb of Horrors, and The Sunless Citadel, and served on the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition design team. As a senior designer at Monte Cook Games since 2013, he's worked on Numenera, The Strange, and Cypher System books like Gods of the Fall, The Stars Are Fire, and Path of the Planebreaker. Bruce also wrote 10 published novels including Darkvision, Myth of the Maker, Plague of Spells, and Sword of the Gods, and is working on more in his spare time.

Bryana Cross Bean, Attorney at Law

Bryana Cross Bean is an attorney whose primary practice areas are estate planning, long-term care planning, elder law, and probate. She has been admitted to the bar in Washington State since 2013 and has had her own practice since 2014. She centers her practice around helping clients plan for the future by anticipating problems before they occur. She enjoys hiking, spending time with family, and sci-fi, especially The Expanse and Doctor Who.

Cait Alvarez

Cait hails from Michigan but, after spending her first winter in Texas and not seeing one single snowflake, she realized she'd never go back. She's a veteran of the U. S. Army and works as an acupuncturist in Central Texas. Cait lives with a Catahoula dog who loves her, a tortoise who hates her, and an amazing spouse. She has her undergrad in classical archaeology and enjoys spending her time wandering the hill country looking for fossils when she isn't writing, reading, or playing Skyrim.

Camden Rose

Camden Rose is a queer author who loves seeking out magic hidden beneath the everyday world. She is often found at the ocean's edge taking notes on the local mermaid population. After graduating from Elon University, she brought her typewriter and ideas across the country to the Pacific Northwest where she now lives with her partner, black cat, and collection of books and board games. You can find her online at camdenscorner.com.

Caren GS

Caren Gussoff Sumption lives in a nest of books, knitting, and rescue cats, south of Seattle, WA. The author of six books (most recently, her postcolonial, deep space, far-future comedy of manners, So Quick Bright Things Come to Confusion) and more than 100 short stories, Caren received her Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and, in 2008, was the Carl Brandon Society's Octavia E. Butler Scholar at Clarion West. Find her online at spitkitten.com.

Carl Strand

Carl has been a fan of sci-fi and fantasy medieval fiction all his life. He has spent a great deal of his over 20-year career as a craftsman working with different materials to recreate common and popular equipment, instruments, and weapons found in these genres, using both traditional and adapted modern means.

Carol Berg

A former software engineer, Carol Berg majored in math and computer science so she wouldn't have to write papers. Her 18 fantasy novels have won national and international awards, including multiple Colorado Book Awards and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature. Her newest novel, written as Cate Glass, is A Summoning of Demons from Tor Books. Learn more at carolberg.com.

Celeste Wakefield

Celeste Wakefield publishes feminist horror and gothic fantasy on Patreon, as well as magazines like Short and Twisted and Veil: A Journal of Darker Musings. She grew up in a sleepy suburb where late-night drives to cemeteries passed for entertainment, then earned a Master of Fine Arts in the shadow of the Chugach Mountains. Her corruption continued at the Viable Paradise and Odyssey workshops. Her work took a turn toward obstetric horror when she experienced pregnancy and childbirth amid the pandemic.

Charlotte Lewis Brown

Charlotte Lewis Brown is a vertebrate paleontologist, a science writer, and a college professor. She has published numerous science articles for adults and three books that use true stories about dinosaurs and other fossil animals to draw children into the world of reading.

Cindy Fangour

Cindy Fangour has been attending science fiction conventions for 30 years. She loves costuming, belly dance, animals, and children. Her day job is working as a fingerprint examiner for a sheriff's department, a position she's held for 31 years. In the past, she has processed, collected, and analyzed fingerprint evidence. She hopes to see you around!

Clara Ward

Clara Ward lives in Silicon Valley on the border between reality and speculative fiction. Their latest novel, Be the Sea, features a near-future ocean voyage, chosen family, and sea creature perspectives, while delving into our oceans, our selves, and how all futures intertwine. Their short fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, Decoded Pride, and The Arcanist. More of their words along with crafted creations can be found at: https://clarawardauthor.wordpress.com

Clayton Mann

Clayton served in the U.S. Army for more than 29 years. He was deployed three times and served overseas on five additional missions at various locations, visiting Jordan, Kuwait, Botswana, Central and South America, and South Korea. He has specialized training in operational security, army instruction, army combatives, and disaster response.

Colette Breshears

Colette Breshears is an academically trained geologist (plate tectonics). Before joining the natural gas team at Wood Mackenzie, where she spies on the natural gas market, she worked with the U. S. F. S. conducting climate change research. She has a Bachelor of Science in geology from Pacific Lutheran University, and a Master of Science in Earth science from Boise State University. Her hobbies include D&D, fishkeeping, gardening...and lasers. Let's talk lasers.

Colleen Anderson

Colleen Anderson is an award-winning author and edited several anthologies. A multiple grant recipient, Colleen has served on Stoker and other award juries, judged, and co-taught Crystal Lake Publishing's Poet's Journey. Her writing has been published in seven countries with works in Best Indie Speculative Fiction, Shadow Atlas, Penumbric, OnSpec, and more. Author of I Dreamed a World, The Lore of Inscrutable Dreams, A Body of Work, and Embers Amongst the Fallen, she is president of the Science Fiction Poetry Association.

Craig Jackson

Craig Jackson, also known as Ocicat, is a community organizer in Seattle's polyamorous, sex-positive, and kinky communities. He's also an associate editor at Podcastle and is the founder of the Coalition to Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO). Once upon a time he studied astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz and has convinced people to give him money for breaking their computer programs.

Crystal Lloyd

Crystal Lloyd is a lifelong lover of science fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction. Armed with degrees in literature and sustainability/ public policy, she strives to understand our collective history as humans and how we can better ourselves in the near future.

Curtis C. Chen

Once a Silicon Valley software engineer, Curtis C. Chen (陳致宇) now writes stories and runs puzzle games near Portland, Oregon. He's the author of the Kangaroo series of funny science fiction spy thrillers and has written for the Realm original podcasts Echo Park, Ninth Step Murders, and Machina. His short fiction has appeared in Playboy Magazine, Aliens vs. Predators: Ultimate Prey, The Sunday Morning Transport, and elsewhere. Curtis Eis not an aardvark. Learn more at CurtisCChen.com.

[Artwork] Boom Witch ©Eric L Vargus

D. L. Gardner

D. L. Gardner is an award-winning author, artist, filmmaker, and screenwriter with 27 published titles. Collectors of her oil paintings reside all over the world. Her awards include the Wishing Shelf Book Award, B.R.A.G. Award, and the Book Excellence Awards for Ian's Realm and Cassandra's Castle. She won best screenplay adaption for Dylan at the Paris Screenplay Awards, Mile Hill International Screenplay Awards, L. A. Edge Awards, ECA, and Moondance Film Festival. She also won a best screenplay award for An Unconventional Mr. Peadlebody.

D. L. Solum

D. L. Solum is a recently published author of the four-volume dark urban fantasy series, Persephone--A Tale of Darker Seattle. He lives in Seattle but will always be from Butte, Montana. He's a collector of odd friends and even odder hobbies, including medieval combat, armor, and weapon collection, fishing, hunting, and computer games. His latest obsession with writing speculative fiction is only made possible by the mostly gentle encouragement and tolerance of his partner, Kate.

Dan Dubrick

Known to many in the Northwest U.S. fandom, Kahboi (pronounced Cowboy) has for many years been the editor for the H. R. McMillan Planetarium's affiliated space and astronomy educational BBS SpaceBase™. Dan has witnessed space launches as an accredited journalist, including the U.S. Space Shuttle.

Danielle Gembala

Danielle Gembala is a writer, archaeologist, science educator, historian, and neurodivergent parent of two neurodivergent children living in rural southwest Washington.

Darren McKinty, RVT

Born and raised in Victoria BC, Darren McKinty developed an interest in animal health and welfare early in life. He has worked in the veterinary industry since 1988 and has been a registered veterinary technician for 33 years. His career has allowed him the experiences of raising baby black bears, helping with service dogs for the blind and support dogs for Wounded Warriors, and snuggling countless new puppies. His hobbies include sport fishing and home brewing.

Daryl Gregory

Daryl Gregory's novels and short stories have been translated into a dozen languages and have won multiple awards, including the World Fantasy, Shirley Jackson, and Crawford awards, and have been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, Edgar, Locus, Lambda, and Sturgeon awards. His latest novel is Revelator, and his SF novel When We Were Real is upcoming from Simon & Schuster. He's also worked in TV, comics, and video games, and is a regular instructor at the Viable Paradise Writing Workshop.

Dave Davis

Dave Davis has a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering and more than 30 years' experience in the aerospace field, ranging from commercial projects to the Space Shuttle. He works as a project manager on a commercial aircraft program. A member of the National Association of Rocketry and a tornado/storm chaser, Dave has merged these two endeavors into The Glenda Project, which launches weather-related payloads into storms to supply data for improved severe weather warning systems.

David Boop

David Boop is an author, editor, screenwriter, and essayist. His debut novel was the sci-fi/noir She Murdered Me with Science. His follow-up is the weird Western novel The Drowned Horse Chronicle: Volume One. David edited the bestselling weird Western anthology trilogy beginning with Straight Outta Tombstone, and the recent space Western anthology series Gunfight on Europa Station. He does a lot of short fiction using characters such as Predator, The Green Hornet, and Kolchak the Night Stalker.

David D. Levine

David D. Levine is the author of the space opera caper novel The Kuiper Belt Job, the Andre Norton Nebula Award-winning novel Arabella of Mars and two sequels, and over 50 SF and fantasy stories. His story "Tk'Tk'Tk" won the Hugo, and he has been shortlisted for awards including the Hugo, Nebula, Campbell, and Sturgeon. His stories have appeared in Asimov's, Analog, Clarkesworld, F&SF, Tor.com, numerous year's best anthologies, and his award-winning collection Space Magic.

Dean Wells

Dean Wells is an author, educator, and workshop leader. His published work has appeared in Queer Sci Fi, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, 10Flash Quarterly, Ideomancer, and other venues of speculative fiction, including the fantasy anthologies Ceaseless Steam and The Best of BCS and flash anthologies Rise and Ink from QSF. Dean is an active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association.

Deborah Strub

Deborah is a textile artist from the Pacific Northwest. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Central Florida and has been a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism for over 30 years, where she is a laurel for her research and work in historical Japanese clothing. Deborah enjoys creating science fiction costumes and occasionally makes medieval Western European clothing for her husband. She has won many awards in both the SCA and science fiction venues, and has had work published in The Costume Maker's Art.

Dilman Dila

Dilman Dila is a writer and filmmaker. His most recent book, Where Rivers Go to Die, is shortlisted for the 2024 Phillip K. Dick Award. He was shortlisted for the British Science Fiction Association's BSFA Award (2021) and the Nommo Award for best novella (2021), among many accolades. His short fiction appeared in The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Six and The Best of World SF: Volume 2, among many anthologies. His films have won multiple awards. For more of his life and works, visit dilmandila.com.

DJ Wüdi

DJ Wüdi has been spinning tunes since the 1990s, in venues from all-ages alternative clubs in Anchorage, Alaska, to pandemic- induced DJing on Twitch. He is happy to return for his latest Norwescon appearance. He's always request-friendly, and loves to find creative and unexpected ways to blend formats and keep the dance floor busy. Star Trek is his home fandom. He has been volunteering with Norwescon in various roles for more than a decade.

[Artwork] Blue ©Raven Oak

Douglas Herring

Although he had been drawing and reading SF and comics all of his young life, Douglas didn't discover fandom until 1972. At that point he was hooked. Ink, watercolors, sculpting, Photoshop, and now crazy things like ZBrush are his favorite mediums. He is working on several HD video short subjects of late, both in front of and behind the camera. Learn more at douglasherring.com and user/douglasherring07.

dQ Kaufman

dQ Kaufman has been a regular at Norwescon since the '80s. He is an award-winning short film director and a graphic designer who has occasionally designed and typeset the NWC program book. He recently designed Todd Lockwood's Found Worlds, an awesome book of Todd's paintings. Meanwhile, his screenplays have won and placed in contests where screenplays are judged. You can usually find him outside with a big, fat, cigar, as part of his 20-year homage to Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar." No, really.

[Artwork] Schemes Dragon Blue ©Douglas Herring

Dr. Mark Rounds

Mark was an Air Force officer in B-52s, a bouncer in Spokane, a consultant in information technology, a geek in a cube in dot-coms, a folk singer, and currently a faculty member at the University of Idaho in management information systems. He has published on the subjects of computer security and geographical information systems. Mark has a Bachelor of Science in computer science, a Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in computer science, and a doctorate focusing on cyber security. His hobbies include reenacting, playing the guitar, and cooking. He recently published his fourth novel, Commonality Games.

Dr. Sean Robinson

Data scientist and astrophysicist by training, nerd, gamer and athlete by avocation. 25 years in applied statistics and research, helped pioneer autoencoder-driven generalized anomaly detection. Tech lead and business analyst for pre-seed and early stage startups across the artificial intelligence/machine learning sector. He is a long-time LARPer and roleplayer.

Edward Martin III

Edward Martin III is a writer and an award­winning filmmaker from Portland, Oregon. He's made four feature films, six web series (totaling over 400 episodes), and dozens of independent short films. He has self-published four books, and sold two published novels. An additional book series, Terror Stories from the Territories, is in production, due in Summer 2024.

Elizabeth Guizzetti

Much to her chagrin, Elizabeth Guizzetti discovered she was not a cyborg, and growing up to be an otter would be impractical, so she began writing stories. Guizzetti currently lives in Seattle with her husband and two dogs. She is an author and illustrator of a few comics and science fiction novels. Her debut novel, Other Systems, was a 2015 finalist for the Canopus Award. When not writing, she loves hiking and birdwatching.

Elliott Kay

Like many Seattleites, Elliott is a transplant from Los Angeles. He took a swing at self-publishing just for grins and soon found his books paying more bills than his day job. His work ranges from military sci-fi to steamy/comedic urban fantasy. Elliott's Poor Man's Fight series has hit the top of Amazon's sci-fi charts.

Ellis Bray

Ellis Bray is an SFFH author and artist who lives near Seattle. He has a master's degree in medieval Scandinavian studies and, if you don't run away fast enough, he will tell you everything he knows about the Old Norse poem "Völuspá." You can find his fiction in SoulJar: 31 Fantastical Tales from Disabled Authors (Forest Avenue Press) and his poetry in The Cozy Cosmic (Underland Press), F&SF, and Eye to the Telescope. You can find his art on Instagram @idreamofvikings.

Eric L Vargas

Based in Washington state, Eric L Vargas is a freelance comic artist and illustrator with eight years of experience in the industry. This year he completed work on the Steel Siege series for Battle Quest Comics, for which he did pencils, inks, world building, mecha, and character design. He is currently working on personal projects and commissions.

Erik Scott de Bie

Erik Scott de Bie is a speculative fiction writer who got his start in the Forgotten Realms setting, home of his Shadowbane series. He is also known for his World of Ruin apocalyptic fantasy series and his ongoing Justice/Vengeance superhero series. He lives in Seattle with his wife, cats, chickens, and dog.

Ethan Vodde

Ethan Vodde is an intellectual property attorney with the law firm Lee & Hayes, PC. His practice focuses primarily on trademark and copyright protection, registration, enforcement, licensing, and litigation. While he's got a lot of clients with SaaS, he really likes working with pizzazz. Specifically, Ethan enjoys working with creatives. An avid gamer, reader, and nerd-pop (and should-be-pop) culture fan, Ethan is always happy to talk about the intersection of geek and IP.

Eva L. Elasigue

Eva L. Elasigue combines an honor-awarded imagination with scientific and empirical backgrounds to create the fantasy space opera trilogy Bones of Starlight, as well as works that range from poetic to humorous for the internet and stage. She lives on San Juan Island in the Pacific Northwest Cascadia bioregion. There she manages Primal Spiral, her imprint/events collective/studio. A mixed-media artist and renaissance woman, she loves music and the wilderness.

Evan J. Peterson

Evan J. Peterson is an author, critic, game writer, and Clarion West alum. His latest book is Better Living Through Alchemy from Broken Eye Books. Recent work includes Drag Star! (Choice of Games), the world's first drag role­playing game, and Metaflesh: Poems in the Voices of the Monster (ARUS Entertainment).

His writing appears in Weird Tales, PseudoPod, Queers Destroy Horror, and Nightmare Magazine. Go to Evanjpeterson.com to learn more.

G. David Nordley

G. David Nordley is the pen name of Gerald David Nordley, an author and astronautical engineer. A retired Air Force officer, he has extensive experience in spacecraft systems operations, engineering, and advanced propulsion. As an author, he has about a hundred fiction and nonfiction sales and is a past Hugo and Nebula Award nominee, as well as a four-time winner of the Analog Science Fiction and Fact annual AnLab readers' poll. His latest novel is To Climb a Flat Mountain from Variationspublishing.com. His latest book is a collection, Among the Stars, from the same publisher. He lives in Sunnyvale, California, with his wife, a retired Apple programmer. His website is gdnordley.com.

G. R. Theron

G. R. Theron is a Seattle-based storyteller and member of the Fairwood Writers Group. In addition to writing, he is an active artist, photographer, podcaster, and wayward spirit. A graduate of the University of Washington, he is formally educated as a classical historian. He currently balances his time between those things that make a living and those that make a life.

Garth Stubbs

A long time ago, at a Norwescon back in the dark ages, Garth entered his first masquerade. Since then, he has competed, judged, and sat on way too many costume panels to count. If the years continue to be kind to him, he will do more of the same.

Gary Bennett

Gary Bennett is an award-winning SAG-AFTRA audiobook narrator of over 200 audiobooks (so far!) for nearly all major publishers. He has trained with top coaches for narration and accents, and records in his professional home studio. He loves thrillers, mysteries, sci-fi, and fantasy. Raised in Montana, Gary now calls the greater Seattle area home. He's an avid outdoor enthusiast, private pilot, author, musician, and huge sports fan. He also narrates under the name Liam Sanderson.

Gina Saucier

Gloria Jackson-Nefertiti

Gloria Jackson-Nefertiti is a Seattle-based published author and recently diagnosed autistic adult (in 2019, six months before turning 63). Her upcoming memoir is called A Different Drum: A Black, Autistic, Polyamorous, Mentally Ill, Former Fundamentalist Christian/Cult Member and Breast Cancer Survivor WHO JUST WANTS TO FIT IN.

Gordon B. White

Gordon B. White is a Seattle-based author of horror and weird fiction, as well as a finalist for both the Shirley Jackson Award and Bram Stoker Award. His second short story collection, Gordon B. White is Creating Haunting Weird Horror(s), was released by Trepidatio Publishing in October 2023. A graduate of Clarion West, Gordon's stories, reviews, and interviews have appeared in dozens of venues. You can find him online at gordonbwhite.com or on most social media as @GordonBWhite.

Gordon Van Gelder

Gordon Van Gelder became the sixth editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1997. He held the position until 2015. Before that, he worked as an editor for St. Martin's Press and also for The New York Review of Science Fiction. He has edited several anthologies, including Welcome to the Greenhouse, Fourth Planet from the Sun, and, most recently, Go Forth and Multiply and Welcome to Dystopia. He lives in New Jersey.

GregRobin Smith

GregRobin Smith is a proud union performer (The American Guild of Variety Artists), multi-­instrumentalist, and showman whose "Ben Franklin" Chautauqua has been seen across the U.S. Renaissance faires see a lot of his "Robyn Plaeyr--Renaissance Man" act. With The Washington Shakespearean Festival he helps produce performances, books, and other media. With the group Scholars for Educational Advancement (S.E.A.), he produces educational and public historical-themed classes and events.

Gwen Callahan

Gwen Callahan is the co-director of the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival and Portland Horror Film Festival. Gwen has degrees in creative writing and studio art, and worked in community marketing for many years before starting Sigh Co. Graphics and Arkham Bazaar with her husband Brian, creating Lovecraftian and horror-themed apparel, film collections, and more.

Gwendolyn N. Nix

Gwendolyn N. Nix is the author of the Celestial Scripts fantasy series, the apocalyptic cli-fi Sharks of the Wasteland, the weird west I Have To Be Where No Storms Come, and the forthcoming urban fantasy horror Bone Knuckles & the Rose Scavenger. An active member of HWA, SFWA, and IAMTW, and an editor with Aconyte Books, she lives in Montana with her husband, young son, and wild silver Labrador. Follow her online at gwendolynnix.com, or on Instagram, BlueSky, and Threads at @gwendolyn.nix.

Hazel

Hazel has been attending Norwescon for over 25 years. The amazing con community has been such a positive formative experience in her life that now she wants to pass that experience on to others. She loves history, natural sciences, fiber arts, costuming, and dancing.

Howard Davidson

Howard Davidson was captured by a Heinlein book in second grade and hasn't been seen much since. Inspired to do science fiction by reading it, he went off and got a Ph.D. in physics, the best training available for becoming a crackpot inventor. He is currently a senior physicist in the computer industry. He gets to write science fiction for the annual budget cycle.

Hugh S. Gregory

A cancer survivor, professionally Hugh is an avid spaceflight historian from British Columbia, Canada. His research includes the conceptual theory for the ELDSRR space reactor and Project MOSS for the Musk Observatory. He also co-authored a paper in Cartographica about mapping on Mars. Hugh's slide/video shows have been appearing at conventions for over 34 years, including 11 Worldcons and eight DragonCons. This will be Hugh's third appearance at Norwescon.

Ieva Ohaks

Ieva Ohaks' background in theatrical costume includes construction and alteration of costume accessories, costume design, and design support roles. She gained her special expertise in costume maintenance, storage, and packing during her 23-year tenure as costume stock and rental coordinator at Seattle Opera. Current costume interests include designing specialized clothing for imaginary professions in fictional locations.

J. P. Barnett

J. P. Barnett is the author of the award-winning Lorestalker series, a six-book collection of horror adventures examining folklore of mysterious creatures roaming our world, published by Evolved Publishing. As a lifelong consumer of stories, J. P. was more than ready to move from writing software to writing novels with the publication of his first book in 2019. J. P. currently resides in Redmond with his partner, who looks at him dubiously with some frequency.

Jack Skillingstead

Jack Skillingstead's stories have appeared in Asimov's, Clarkesworld, F&SF, and Lightspeed, as well as various Year's Best volumes and original anthologies. His first published story was a finalist for the Sturgeon Award. His second novel, Life on the Preservation, was a finalist for the PKD Award. He lives in West Seattle with his wife, writer Nancy Kress.

Jae Steinbacher

Jae Steinbacher is a queer nonbinary trans writer living on unceded Duwamish lands. They have been published in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lightspeed, and Baffling Magazine. Jae is a graduate of the Clarion West Writers Workshop and North Carolina State University's Master of Fine Arts program. Find them online at JaeSteinbacher.com or @JaeSteinbacher on various social media.

Jake McKinzie

Jake McKinzie, a science teacher since 1999, now teaches astronomy, chemistry, and physics. His favorite authors are Moorcock, Feist, Niven, Bova, Howard, and deGrasse Tyson. He began in 1980 with Car Wars and Red Box D&D and is currently playing various Savage Worlds settings and D&D 5E. His daughter Cait is a former panelist and art show participant but is currently away attending Colorado State. Travel where his jeep, ShadowWalker, takes him is one of his favorite things.

Janna Silverstein

Janna Silverstein grew up on Long Island, where her parents encouraged her to watch Star Trek, read National Geographic, and to write...a lot. In third grade she edited her class newspaper, and has been telling writers what to do ever since. She has worked for more than two decades in publishing and related fields, first as an acquisitions editor for Bantam Spectra, followed by stints at Wizards of the Coast and Microsoft, among others. She has edited books on a freelance basis for Night Shade Books, Pocketbooks, and Kobold Press. Recent editorial credits include the ENNIE Award-winning books The Complete Kobold Guide to Game Design and The Kobold Guide to Worldbuilding. Her own writing has appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show, 10Flash Quarterly, and the anthologies The Trouble with Heroes and Re-Deus: Beyond Borders, among others. She was twice a Writers of the Future semi-finalist. Though she'll always be a New Yorker, she lives in Seattle with two spoiled cats and many, many books.

Jason Nelson

Jason Nelson has been an award-winning role -playing game author and game designer for over 20 years, and a player for more than 40 years, primarily with D&D, Pathfinder, and similar RPGs through multiple editions. He has worked with both Wizards of the Coast and Paizo and left a career in education and research to pursue game publishing full-time with his own company, Legendary Games, managing a team of authors and artists around the world with regular releases and over 25 successful crowdfunded projects.

Jason Tondro

Jason Tondro is a senior designer for Wizards of the Coast and a project lead on the D&D team. Before that, he was a professor teaching writing, literature, film, and comics. He's also been a senior developer and editor at Paizo, writing for both Pathfinder and Starfinder.

JD Wiker--Man of 1,000 Minis

JD Wiker has worn a lot of hats in the game industry: RPG designer, narrative designer, localization editor, and miniature producer. He's a full-time gamer and painter of miniatures, with over 40 years of experience painting miniatures.

Jeannine Hall Gailey

Jeannine Hall Gailey, a writer with MS, served as the second poet laureate of Redmond, Washington. She's the author of six books, including Becoming the Villainess, She Returns to the Floating World, Field Guide to the End of the World, winner of the Moon City Press Book Prize and the Elgin Award, and Flare, Corona. Her work has appeared in American Poetry Review, Salon, and Poetry. Her website is webbish6.com, and she is @webbish6 on Twitter (X) and Instagram.

Jeff Grubb

Jeff Grubb is an award-winning game designer and best-selling author. He has had a long and tawdry career in creating and caring for fantasy worlds, including the Al-Qadim, Spelljammer, and the original Marvel Super Heroes game. He is a co-founder of the Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance campaign settings. His original novels include Azure Bonds (with his lovely bride, Kate Novak) and The Brothers' War (surprisingly, all by himself). He lives in Seattle with his lovely bride and two cats.

Jennifer Brozek

Jennifer Brozek is a wordslinger and optimist, an author, a media tie-in writer, an editor, and a collector of antique occult literature. She believes the best thing about being a full-time freelance publishing industry professional is that she gets to choose which 60 hours of the week she works. In between cuddling her cats, writing, and editing, Jennifer is an active member of SFWA, HWA, and IAMTW. She keeps a tight schedule and credits her husband with being the best sounding board ever.

[Artwork] Snap Dragons ©John R Gray III

Jenny Jarzabski

Jenny Jarzabski (she/her) is senior creative developer at Paizo Publishing (publisher of Pathfinder RPG). Jenny's works in tabletop gaming include dozens of published credits ranging from rulebooks to epic adventure campaigns. She is especially excited to be part of the team launching Starfinder's Second Edition in 2024. If you're curious about Starfinder 2, you can join Jenny for an exclusive preview this weekend in the gaming room--just ask her about the demo!

Jenny Shafer

Jenny Shafer is a long-time congoer, mom, and Girl Scout leader. She loves books, writing, crafts, and kids.

Jessica Rae Bergamino

Jessica Rae Bergamino is the author of UNMANNED, winner of Noemi Press' poetry prize, as well as speculative poetry chapbooks from dancing girl press and Sundress Publications. She holds a doctorate in literature and creative writing from the University of Utah.

ARTIST GUEST OF HONOR ART**

Charles Vess

Slipcase Art Illustration from The Folio Society edition of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke © Charles Vess 2024 coming soon.

GoH Artwork
Bottom Left to Up and Over to Right
© Charles Vess

JS&MN interior page #28
JS&MN color final page #762
Summer's Twilight cover art
Peter Pan page #22
JS&MN color interior page #11

All JS&MN Illustrations are from The Folio Society edition of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke

© Charles Vess 2024
Coming soon.

GoH Artwork
From Left, in a circle.
© Charles Vess

Peter Pan page #52
Sandman cover
JS&MN interior page #603
Peter Pan frontispiece
Peter Pan page #92
Gathering the World

All JS&MN Illustrations are from The Folio Society edition of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke

© charles vess 2024
Coming soon.

Professional Panelists & Performers (cont.)

Jessie Kwak

Jessie Kwak has always lived in imaginary lands, from Arrakis and Ankh-Morpork to Earthsea, Tatooine, and now Portland, Oregon. When she's not writing, she can be found sewing, mountain biking, or out exploring new worlds both at home and abroad. She is the author of a supernatural thriller, two series of space pirate and space mafia novels, and the productivity guides From Chaos to Creativity and From Big Idea to Book.

Jim Kling

Jim Kling is a science and medical writer. He has also published short fiction in Nature and serves as the chair of The Endeavour Award for SFF novels or short story collections published by Pacific Northwest authors.

John Lovett

John has over 20 years of experience as a producer, writer, and military technical adviser for television and film productions. He is the writer or co-writer of two produced movies as well as over 100 television or motion picture scripts. He teaches screenwriting at Bellevue College and has taught screenwriting and motion picture production at national writers conferences.

Jon Lasser

Jon Lasser lives in Seattle, WA with his wife and two children. His stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Interzone, Kaleidotrope, Lightspeed, and elsewhere. He's a graduate of the Clarion West writers workshop. Find him on the web at twoideas.org and on Mastodon as @disappearinjon@wandering.shop.

Joseph Malik

Joseph Malik is the bestselling author of Dragon's Trail and The New Magic. A veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, he has worked as a stuntman, a high-rise window washer, a touring rock musician, and a soldier in the United States Special Operations Command. He is represented by Sarah Hershman of Hershman Rights Management, NY.

Julie McGalliard

Julie McGalliard is a writer and occasional cartoonist. Her most recent novel is Fighting the Moon, the second sequel to the werewolf coming-of-age novel Waking Up Naked in Strange Places. Her short stories have appeared in the magazine Talebones and the anthologies Witches, Stitches & Bitches: A Three Little Words Anthology (Volume 1) and Space Grunts: Full-Throttle Space Tales #3. She lives in Seattle with her husband Paul, a fellow lover of books and New Orleans native.

Julie Zetterberg

Julie Zetterberg has been making and wearing costumes since 1975. She has appeared as everything from Princess Leia (at Norwescon 1) to Rocket Racoon; from Olive Oyl to Queen Anne's Lace. Though she competes in the Master Division, don't call her a master costumer. She was costume guest of honor at Marcon 39 and Rustycon 33, and co-chair of Costume-Con 14. She is a past president of the Beyond Reality Costumers' Guild. She lives in Seattle with her husband, fellow costumer Greg Sardo, and their two cats.

K. G. Anderson

A journalist and technology writer, K. G. Anderson has interviewed Muddy Waters and Harlan Ellison, worked on the launch of the iTunes music store, and served on the boards of Clarion West Writers Workshop and the Northwest Folklife Festival. Her short fiction appears in magazines, anthologies, and podcasts, including Galaxy's Edge, The Overcast, Weirdbook, Welcome to Dystopia, and Alternative Deathiness. Find out more at .

Kara Swanson

Kara Swanson is the award-winning author of young adult fantasy novels about fairytales and fiery souls. Raised in overseas jungles as the daughter of relief workers, Kara grew up a bit like a Lost Girl, which inspired her Peter Pan retellings, Dust and Shadow. Ignite, her upcoming phoenix novel (August 2024), explores what it means to feel safe in your own fiery skin. Kara is also the co-founder of the Author Conservatory. Connect with her on Instagram @karaswansonauthor or on the web

Karen Eisenbrey

Karen Eisenbrey (she/her) lives in Seattle, Washington, where she leads a quiet, orderly life and invents stories to make up for it. Karen writes fantasy and science fiction novels, as well as short fiction and the occasional poem or song if it insists.

Kat Richardson

When Kat is not writing weird fiction, editing other people's weird fiction, or coaching other writers of weird fiction, she wanders loose through the mountains of Western Washington with a hound named Banjo and a husband-- it's even her own husband--and hides her bad romance novels in trees. She is a very silly human who will spout fake Shakespeare or meme-cat at the drop of a hat.

Kate Ristau

Kate Ristau is an author and folklorist. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times and The Washington Post. She is the author of the middle-grade series Clockbreakers and Wylde Wings, as well as the young adult series Shadow Girl.

Kate Sherman

Kate Sherman, author of DBT for Everyone and founder of Heartfelt Mental Health, is a licensed counselor serving the LGBTQIA+, kink, and polyamorous communities. Always a "weird kid" growing up, she finally discovered acceptance in those spaces as an adult. After six years in private practice, she recognized the scarcity of professionals serving those communities, leading her to found Heartfelt Mental Health in 2022. Kate is also a crazy houseplant lady, tea snob, and self-described geek.

Kathy

Kathy has been watching Doctor Who since she was in the womb. While technically Colin Baker should be her Doctor, she loved Peter Davison the best. After having subsisted on the Target novelizations, BBC books, and Big Finish audio dramas, she cried copious tears of joy when new Who came back on the air in 2005. Kathy never misses an episode and enjoys discussing the finer points of wibbley-wobbley timey-wimey stuff with anyone who will sit still long enough. Ask her about Seattle Worldcon 2025: Building Yesterday's Future--For Everyone.

Kaylea Champion

Kaylea Champion is a doctoral candidate in communication at the University of Washington. Her research is focused on how people work together incredibly to build information as public goods, including knowledge bases like Wikipedia and software like Linux. She examines what gets built and maintained (and what doesn't), who takes part (and who is excluded), and how teams form (and fall apart).

Ken Bebelle

Ken Bebelle is an avid reader of fantasy, science fiction, and comic books. His love of Star Wars led him to a career in prosthetics, where he spent 25 years in patient care, specializing in upper limb replacement. Now Ken writes Asian-inspired urban fantasy with his co-author, Julia Vee. They have two current series, Seattle Slayers and The Phoenix Hoard. Ken and his wife live in the Pacific Northwest, and he longs to grow the perfect tomato.

[Artwork] Mountain Unicorns ©Camille Meehan CamilleMeehan.com

Ken Scholes

Ken Scholes is a Pacific Northwest original who broke into print first with short stories and later with his award-winning series The Psalms of Isaak. He is also a singer-songwriter with over 40 years of experience performing. Ken's eclectic background includes time spent as a preacher, a sailor, a soldier, a label gun repairman, a nonprofit executive, and a government procurement analyst. He lives in Cornelius, Oregon, with his wife and twin daughters.

Kendare Blake

Kendare Blake is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Three Dark Crowns, Anna Dressed in Blood, and many others. She lives and writes in Gig Harbor, Washington, from under a pile of dogs and cats.

Kevin Taft

Kevin spent his life learning skills from various jobs and trainings in the fields of plumbing and electrical work, and from 15 years in the military as a communications expert. He is currently expanding his skills by learning sewing, costuming, wood working, metal work, brewing, and recently taking a deep dive into 3d printing.

Kris "Pepper" Hambrick

Kris "Pepper" Hambrick has been in fandom since she discovered Prodigy in 1994. She used to put on plays for her parents as Sherlock Holmes or Doctor Who. Now she is the co-founder/producer of Hello Earth Productions' outdoor Star Trek and Star Wars series, so life has not changed much. Since moving to Seattle in 2005, she has been involved in libraries, laser shows, Seattle International Film Festival film classes, informal education, and acting. In her "spare time" she writes and obsesses about the Beatles.

Kristi Charish

Kristi is the author of The Adventures of Owl, an urban fantasy series about a modern-day "Indiana Jane" who reluctantly navigates the hidden supernatural world, and Kincaid Strange, a series about a voodoo practitioner living in Seattle. She writes what she loves; adventure-heavy stories featuring strong, savvy female protagonists, pop culture, and the occasional role-playing fantasy game thrown in the mix. Kristi also has a doctorate in zoology, specializing in genetics, cell, and molecular biology.

Kurt Cagle

Kurt Cagle is the principal consultant for Semantical and publishes The Cagle Report, The Ontologist, Generation AI, Future Proof, Data Bytes, and other newsletters. He also writes science fiction and paranormal mystery books. He has a long career advising Fortune 500 companies and federal agencies. He lives in Bellevue, Washington with his family and cats, Bright Eyes and Pumpkin.

L. J. Melvin

L. J. Melvin is a mom, a teacher, and a healer who finally figured out that it's all about stories. She lives in Washington state.

Larry Lewis

Larry Lewis is a cartoonist, illustrator, writer, and teacher whose degree is in architecture. He lives with his girlfriend and adoptive family near Tacoma, and his son is from Shoreline. Lately he has done 40+ autobiographical minicomics and is working on much larger fantasy, SF, and urban planning projects.

Laura Anne Gilman

Laura Anne Gilman has established a reputation for herself with darker-edged fantasy, both urban and epic. Her work has been praised for "deft plotting and first-class characters" by Publishers Weekly, was hailed as "a true American myth being found" by NPR, and won an Endeavor Award, as well as being shortlisted for a Nebula, another Endeavor, and the Washington State Book Awards.

Laura Cranehill

Laura is a fourth-generation Tarot reader and currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her spouse and three sons, who she's raised to be amazing video game players. She is a Pushcart-nominated writer, and her short stories and poems have been published in Strange Horizons, Vastarien, ergot, PANK, and others.

Lawrence Watt-Evans

Lawrence Watt-Evans is the author of about 50 books and over 150 short stories--fantasy, science fiction, horror, humor, etc. --including the Hugo-winning story "Why I Left Harry's All ­Night Hamburgers" and the Legends of Ethshar fantasy series. He was president of the Horror Writers Association from 1994 to 1996, has scripted comic books for Marvel, Dark Horse, and Tekno*Comix, and has meddled in various other things best left alone.

Leslie Varney

Lezli Robyn

Lezli Robyn is a mostly-blind Australian author and the executive editor and associate publisher for Arc Manor and its three imprints. She lives in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with her blue-eyed chiweenie, Bindi (which means "little girl" in several indigenous Australian dialects). Lezli is known for writing bittersweet fiction and being a lover of chocolate and gardening. She is forever drawn by the call of the ocean.

Lish McBride

Lish McBride is the author of funny and creepy young adult books such as Hold Me Closer, Necromancer; Necromancing the Stone; Firebug; Pyromantic; and Curses. She also has her adult fantasy romance series, which so far includes A Little Too Familiar and Rough Around the Hedges. Lish is also a former bookseller and event host at Third Place Books, a giant thriving indie bookstore just outside Seattle. While she has no long-term goals for world domination, she would like her own castle.

Liz Argall

Liz writes SF and fantasy and creates the all-­ages webcomic Things Without Arms and Without Legs, a comic about creatures who are kind. Her fiction can be found in places like Uncanny Magazine, Antipodes, This is How You Die: Stories of the Inscrutable, Infallible, Inescapable Machine of Death, and Escape Artists podcasts. She doesn't remember her first D&D game, because she was four. She lives in Seattle, but her heart misses the big silly birds of Australia.

Liz Coleman

Liz Coleman is a mental health counselor specializing in trauma. Her writing has appeared in Lightspeed and Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and she is a graduate of Viable Paradise. She has previously been on the board of Cascade Writers and enjoys being a part of the SF&F community.

Lizzy D. Hill

Lizzy D. Hill grew up on a farm in Southern Idaho where she was free to explore the world around her and find the enchanting things in it. She enjoys fantasy books, researching fashion, exploring nature, and listening to music. To pursue these inspirations, Lizzy D. got an associate degree in fine arts at Brigham Young University-Idaho and has been displaying her whimsical art at science fiction and fantasy conventions and various stores and shops for the last couple of years. She is happily married to her best friend and living in Washington state with their son and noisy blue-eyed kitty.

Luis Loza

Luis Loza is the creative director of rules and lore for Pathfinder at Paizo, Inc. He's written countless words to help develop and build Pathfinder's Lost Omen setting. He's also written for other games and settings for the past decade. He's based in Seattle.

Luke Elliott

Luke Elliott's fiction has appeared in Reckoning, Metaphorosis, and Buckman Journal, among other magazines and podcasts. He is the co-host of the Ink to Film podcast, where he discusses books and their film adaptations from a writing craft perspective. He has a Master of Fine Arts degree in writing popular fiction from Seton Hill University and is a graduate of the Viable Paradise writers workshop. His creative work spans science fiction, fantasy, and horror, but he goes wherever the inspiration takes him.

Lydia K. Valentine

Lydia K. Valentine is an artist, dramaturg, editor, educator, playwright, and the 2021-­2023 Tacoma Poet Laureate. She believes in the power of kindness, the life-saving ability of dogs, and the necessity of the Oxford comma. Her poetry collection, Brief Black Candles, dropped in 2020 (Not a Pipe Publishing), and her work is in We Need a Reckoning, an anthology from Blue Cactus Press. Two of Lydia's paintings are on exhibit at Onyx Gallery through June, and she looks forward to creating each and every day.

Marta Murvosh

Marta is a teen librarian and writer living in the Pacific Northwest. She grew up watching Star Trek reruns and lunar landings. She loves pulp fiction with gnarly apocalypses and hard-boiled mysteries. Prior to becoming a librarian she was an award-winning newspaper reporter, and she continues to write for national trade magazines. She will talk anywhere, anytime about books, writing craft, research skills, digital literacy, and digital citizenship. Find her at http://murvosh.weebly.com/

Melissa Quinn

Melissa Quinn's life took a sharp turn when she discovered costuming at her first sci-fi convention. She spent the last 20 years running Faerie Fingers Custom Costumes & Event Apparel, creating costumes and unique event attire for clients around the country. Her current pursuits include cosplaying with her daughter and finding new opportunities for cosplay competition.

Metaerie

Released back into the wild 10 years ago, JD finally sorted through his story notes, picked one, and followed it through an epic period in Metaerie's history. Three decades (then) of traveling the world's hidden byways also created impressions, feelings if you will, that needed capturing--thus Tainted Patriot Poetry was born. Occasionally the two overlap... From in-the-moment combat in fantasy fiction to melancholy awareness in combat, the storyteller crossover has sprung.

Michael Brugger

Michael Brugger is a self-taught artist residing in Oregon. He is a lifelong fan of science fiction and fantasy and enjoys every aspect of it. Michael has won several best science fiction and people's choice awards at conventions around the Upper Left Coast.

Michael Ormes

Michael has a diverse and dynamic set of interests, limited (largely) by time and focused (somewhat) by current projects. An avid reader of science fiction since finding the genre in his high school library, he learned to pace himself after running out of readily available SF novels later that same year. Normally describing himself as a computer programmer, a full account of his career would include four continents and involve most aspects of the software industry, with various side trips into other areas.

Mike Brennan

Mike Brennan fell into science fiction at the age of 12 and hasn't surfaced yet. Along the way it helped lead him to becoming a nuclear engineer, a naval officer (submarines), and a radiation health physicist, as well as dabbling in writing. He also writes poems, when no one is looking.

Mike Kimmel

Mike Kimmel is a tabletop roleplaying game developer, adventure designer, freelance writer, and one of the creators of the upcoming Starfinder Second Edition role­playing game.

Mimi Noyes

Convinced as a child that she was left on this planet by aliens and taken in by a kind lady who became her mother, Mimi has always been a bit weird. Drawn to the fantastic and the strange, she has "grown up" to be an artist, muralist, monster-maker, convention runner, and film screener and critic, among other random careers. Mimi is currently obsessed with anime, games, and reading/writing fanfiction. She spends an inordinate amount of time being silly and adding sound effects to everyday life.

Mir Plemmons

Mir Plemmons' most recent publications have been in queer and trans theology. Mir is an interfaith chaplain who does community and disaster volunteering, and a disabled special education teacher and advocate. Mir also does other freelance/contract editing and writing.

Mitchell Shanklin

Mitchell Shanklin lives in Seattle and enjoys writing stories with either magic or made-up science or both. He also writes code for companies (and sometimes for himself). In his free time he plays video, board, and mind games, reads, hikes, and has rambling philosophical arguments. (No, not all at the same time. Yet.) He is a proud member of Team Arsenic, the Dreamcrashers, and Write of Passage.

Monte Lin

While being rained on near Portland, Oregon, Monte Lin writes, edits, and plays tabletop role­playing games. He is managing editor for Uncanny Magazine and staff editor for Angry Hamster Press. Clarion West got him to write about dying universes, dreaming mountains, and singularities made of anxieties. He can be found tweeting Doctor Who news, Asian American diaspora discourse, and his board game losses at @Monte_Lin.

Ms. Purple Pearl

Purple Pearl started sewing her own costumes at the tender age of six and hasn't stopped creating since. She approaches costume design with a project manager attitude-- defining scope, schedule, and budget is key to success. She can be found gleefully handing out hall costume ribbons with her friends, dubbed Skittles for their signature color-centric group costumes. She's had the honor and joy of judging costume contests for multiple businesses, Emerald City Comicon, Tolcon, and Norwescon.

Nancy Kress

Nancy Kress is the author of 35 books, most recently Observer, co-written with Dr. Robert Lanza. Her work has won six Nebulas, two Hugos, a Sturgeon, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. She is best known for her stories about the Sleepless, people genetically engineered to not need sleep, as well as other fiction featuring genetic engineering. Nancy frequently teaches writing at various venues, including numerous Clarions, summer writing workshops, an intensive workshop in Beijing, and a semester as a visiting professor at the University of Leipzig in Germany. She lives in Seattle with her husband, SF writer Jack Skillingstead, and Pippin, a lethally cute Chihuahua.

Nick Fraser

Nick is a librarian, traveler, reader, and film buff. He is the co-programmer and co-host for Seattle Movie Geeks.

Norman K. Moss

Norman has owned Superior Machine in Snohomish, Washington, since December 2000. He has over 40 years of experience as a machinist, working on parts valued up to several million dollars. Norman has a third-degree black belt In Taekwondo, and is an active member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, where he fights heavy sword and board, combat archery, and throws knives, axes, and spears. He is also a target archer. He is a member of the An Tir armorer's guild, and is a U.S. Navy veteran serving six years from 1972 through 1978. He is the Gnarly Conservative Machinist.

Oliver

Ozzie M. Gartrell

Ozzie M. Gartrell is a librarian, speculative fiction writer, and lover of all things spooky and creepy. Her fiction has appeared in Nightmare magazine, the NIGHTLIGHT podcast, FIYAH literary magazine, Midnight & Indigo, and The Year's Best Science Fiction, Vol. 2. She was a finalist for an IGNYTE award for best novelette. When not writing, she can be found actively avoiding social situations somewhere north of Seattle with her menagerie of tiny battle Yorkies and eldritch cats.

[Artwork] Collector ©Ray VanTilburg

Pat Reed, L.E.G.

Pat is a professional geologist and a Viking reenactor and researcher. Her areas of expertise in Viking studies are food, clothing, textile arts, shipbuilding, and navigation. She is also interested in how geology affects culture (i.e., Vikings cooked with soapstone bowls). She is part of the Glamfolk and the Northwest Viking Alliance, which has been re-creating a Viking village at events in Poulsbo and the Nordic Heritage Museum for 20 years.

Patrick Hurley

Patrick Hurley is managing editor at Paizo, where he edits both Pathfinder and Starfinder. He has also edited licensed properties such as Marvel, Star Trek, and Star Wars. Patrick is represented by Jordy Albert of the Booker Albert Agency. He is a graduate of the 2017 Taos Toolbox Writer's Workshop, and a member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association and the Dreamcrashers. Patrick has had fiction published in dozens of magazines and anthologies, including Factor Four, Galaxy's Edge, Abyss & Apex, New Myths, and The Drabblecast.

Patrick Swenson

Patrick Swenson runs Fairwood Press, a book line that began in 2000, and the Rainforest Writers retreat that began in 2007. A graduate of Clarion West, his first novel The Ultra Thin Man appeared from Tor. His most recent novel is The Ultra Long Goodbye, completing his Union of Worlds trilogy. He is also the author of Rain Music, a standalone dark fantasy set in the Olympic Rainforest. He has sold stories to the anthologies Unbound II, Crooked V. 2, Unfettered III, Gunfight at Europa Station A, Seasons Between Us, and others. He lives in Bonney Lake, Washington, with his child Artemis.

Paul Pedersen

Paul is part of Northwest Shield Wall, a group of Viking reenactors and educators. Their quest is to share their knowledge of and passion for the ancient Viking world. He is also part of Sea Wolf Voyages, a nonprofit Viking Age living history museum, whose goals are to build, maintain, promote, and sail Viking longships and to build a historical Viking village complete with moorage for the ships.

Payne Haynes

Payne Haynes is an author and general crazy person. They write a range of literary, science fiction, urban fantasy, and everything in between. These actively take advantage of life in this world and so many others, and follow the stories of people who face hardships and challenges. Read about regular people, hardworking people, and those who struggle to survive face the challenges that come their way. More is always coming from the mind of Payne Haynes.

Peter Fuller

Peter Fuller was born in 1960 and hails from Canada. He attended two art colleges and studied many disciplines, including film animation. He has always loved the medieval period and worked with the Glenbow Museum arms and armor collection for eight years. He's been making armor since 1980, professionally since 1994. He has been involved in medieval reenactment since 1997. He's also a writer and has completed six novels. He has been married for 39 years and has two children and one grandchild.

Phil Swan

RAND the vampire

RAND the Vampire has been active in theater backstage for a number of decades. RAND also works on burlesque costumes and performances. Working with feathers and balloons are specialties.

Randy Henderson

Randy Henderson is the author of the quirky Finn Fancy urban fantasy trilogy from Tor. He's also a Writers of the Future grand prize winner, Clarion West grad, and relapsed sarcasm addict. Don't hesitate to say hi or ask questions, he's happy to chat and be of help where he can. Facebook: randyhenderson. Bluesky/Mastodon/ Instagram: @randyauthor.

Rashida J Smith

Rashida J. Smith spends her days coordinating online students and instructors for Clarion West. By night (pre-dawn, actually), she writes fantasy and paranormal romance as Jasmine Silvera. A former editor of the Hugo-nominated semiprozine Giganotosaurus and NaNoWriMo addict, Rashida attended Clarion West's six-week workshop in 2005.

Remy Nakamura

Remy is a writer of dark, weird, and hopeful fiction. You can find his stories in Escape Pod, Pseudopod, and a number of anthologies. He works as a data professional in the funeral industry. He is a graduate of Clarion West and is currently working on a cozy, fungal apocalypse novel/self-help book as his project towards a master's in genre writing. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his partner and their celebrity cat, and spends his free time getting cold, wet, and muddy.

Rhiannon/R.Z. Held

Rhiannon Held is the author of the Silver series of urban fantasy novels published by Tor. As R.Z. Held, she wrote the Amsterdam Institute series of space opera novellas. Her award- nominated short fiction, also under R.Z. Held, has appeared in markets such as Beneath Ceaseless Skies. She lives near Portland, where she works as an archaeologist and technical editor for an environmental compliance firm.

Richard Sparks

Richard has written plays, opera libretti, TV, and comedy revues. Rowan Atkinson performed Richard's schoolmaster sketch in John Cleese's The Secret Policeman's Ball. TV credits in the United Kingdom include Not the Nine O'Clock News, The Famous Five, The Flying Kiwi, The Optimist, The Worst of Hollywood, and a lot of script editing. Inspired by his love of online role­playing games, Richard writes the New Rock fantasy series, the first of which, and his fiction debut, is New Rock New Rules.

Richard Stephens

Richard Stephens works as an actor, director, and costume designer. During his more than 30 years in fandom, his costume journey has gone from media recreation to fashion anthropology. This year he won national recognition for outstanding achievement in costume design for "The Wickhams--Christmas at Pemberley" from the American Association of Community Theaters.

[Artwork] The Reckoning ©Chelsea Santamaria

Rob Carlos

Rob started his art career around 1998 selling prints on his website, and got his break when he was asked to do paintings for the Wheel of Time Collectible Card Game. In 2007 Rob started showing his work at Norwescon and other sci-fi/fantasy conventions, and in 2021 he was thrilled to be chosen as Norwescon's artist guest of honor, which felt like an amazing bookend to a story! Recently Rob has been doing art and art direction for the Start Here introductory role-playing game by Tim Beach, an exciting new project coming soon.

Rob Stewart

Rob is a husband, father, gamer, and reader. When not working for Norwescon or his day job, he likes to play games with his sons and, when possible, nap.

Ron Lundeen

Ron multi-classed into role-playing game design after earning several levels as a corporate attorney. He is now a game designer working on Dungeons & Dragons for Wizards of the Coast. Ron previously created monstrous threats and fabulous adventures for many other companies, including Paizo Publishing, Petersen Games, and Ulisses Spiele. Ron loves helping people create exciting stories with their friends.

Russell Ervin

Russell is a serial information technology entrepreneur, retired Navy captain, adventurer, and writer. An electrical engineer and nuclear submarine officer by training, he spent 30 years on active and reserve duty, with 18 years in command and seven years in senior staff commands. He studies and writes science fiction and alternate history, is an avid investor, and speaks at macroeconomic conferences. Russell is home grown. Norwescon has been his home con since 2005.

Ryan K. Johnson

Ryan K. Johnson is an independent cameraman and video editor living in Seattle. He has produced two dozen shorts, ranging from parodies to thrillers. He has shot every year of the Let's Make a Movie workshop which started in 2000 at Norwescon, as well as three feature-length films. His work has been shown on the BBC, TLC, and at the Seattle International Film Festival. He's married to Kate Waterous.

S. L. Coney

S. L. Coney is the author of Wild Spaces, an Esquire best of horror 2023 pick and 2024 Philip K. Dick Award nominee. They were named an author to watch by Publisher's Weekly. Their short stories have appeared in St. Louis Noir and Gamut Magazine and their story "Abandoned Places" was picked for 2017's Best American Mystery Stories. They still hold seashells to their ears to hear the ocean speak to them, and are still deeply disappointed that their fins never grew in.

Sakari

Sakari Hughes has been a part of Seattle's kink community for over a decade. She was an event lead and board member for Seattle's Center for Sex Positive Culture and currently co-runs a small business catering to alternative-lifestyle-enjoyers. For 11 years she has been the collared submissive in a committed D/s relationship.

Sam Stark

Sam Stark is a queer voice actor, audiobook narrator, writer, podcaster, and sound designer living in Everett, Washington, about 20 minutes north of Seattle. They are also a parent, spouse, former army vehicle operator, and foodie. They definitely play too many video games, watch too many horror movies, and obsess over too many anime series.

Sandra Rosner

Sandra Rosner is a novelist, lore writer, and developmental editor living in the Seattle area. Her most recent works include The World of Warcraft: The Dragonflight Codex (A Definitive Guide to the Dragons of Azeroth) and RuneScape: The Official Cookbook. When not crafting worlds of her own, Sandra enjoys tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs), massive (ly) multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), and streaming her gameplay on Twitch as LadyvonFrost.

Sar Surmick

Sar is a nonbinary trans fem therapy professor and marriage and family therapist/supervisor, specializing in identity, systems work, and consent. As a therapist, Sar focuses on non­monogamy, sex and gender, trans, and BDSM/kink. Sar is the former director of the Consent Academy and author of The Consent Primer, and works as a consultant, sex-positive educator, and organizer. In what little downtime remains, Sar is an author, gamer, GM, world builder, and seeker of interesting people.

Sara A Mueller

Sara A Mueller is a historian, seamstress, and horsewoman. She writes speculative fiction. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, numerous recipe books, and a forest of fountain pens. In a nomadic youth, she trod the earth of every state but Alaska and lived in six of them. She's an amateur historical costumer, gamer, and cook. The Bone Orchard is her debut novel from Tor. It was a finalist for a British Fantasy Award and a Locus Award for best first novel, and won the 2022 Endeavour Award.

Sarah Chorn

Sarah has been a compulsive reader her whole life. At a young age, she found her reading niche in fantasy and science fiction. She blames her active imagination for the hobbies that threaten to consume her life. Sarah is an award-winning author, an editor, a semi-professional nature photographer, world traveler, three-time cancer survivor, and mom to two kids. In her ideal world, she'd do nothing but drink lots of tea and read from a never­ending pile of books.

Scotty McIntosh

Scotty McIntosh is a queer author and actor who is a Pacific Northwest native. He studied acting and creative writing at Arts and Communications Magnet Academy. He has appeared in movies, TV shows, and video games, including Chad on TBS and Metal Lords on Netflix. He is a published author whose writing focuses on character dynamics and development. Scotty has been writing fanfiction since he was 13. He has a great appreciation and insight into how the world of fanfiction has developed.

Sean K. Reynolds

Sean K. Reynolds was born in a coastal town in Southern California. A professional game designer since 1998, he's known for his work on Numenera, Forgotten Realms, Cypher System, Greyhawk, and Pathfinder. He spends his free time reading, fixing up an old house, being a social justice warrior, and writing two-to-three sentence biographies.

Shahid Mahmud

Shahid founded Arc Manor LLC in 2006, a key small SF and fantasy press that has published authors like Nancy Kress and George R. R. Martin. Arc Manor released Heinlein's final published work, The Pursuit of the Pankera in 2020. It produced Galaxy's Edge magazine and co-sponsors the Resnick Memorial Award with Dragon Con. Previously, Shahid managed a $4 billion bond portfolio for the City of San Diego. San Diego's acting mayor declared November 7, 2005, to be "Shahid Mahmud" day for his services.

Shanna Germain

Shanna Germain is the award-winning author of various award-winning games and books, including Predation, No Thank You, Evil!, The Devil's Dandy Dogs, As Kinky as You Wanna Be, The Lure of Dangerous Women, and The Poison Eater. Her short fiction has appeared in places like Apex Magazine, Best American Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica, The Deadlands, Fantasy Magazine, and Lightspeed. She lives in a pocket rainforest with a black lab-mix named &. Follow her down the rabbit hole at shannagermain.com.

Shawn Marier

Shawn has been running conventions for over 35 years, including being the chair of five previous Norwescons. For 30 years he was a software engineer for a Fortune 500 company. His recent passion is running film festivals, including Norwescon's Speculative Film Fest.

Shiv Ramdas

Shiv Ramdas is an Indian writer of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and humor. His short fiction has appeared in publications like Strange Horizons, Slate, Lightspeed, and others and has been nominated for the Nebula, Hugo and Ignyte Awards. He currently lives and works in Seattle with his spouse, three cats, and two highly demanding trees. You can find out more about him at or find him tweeting as @nameshiv

Siyrren

Kate, aka Siyrren, has been dancing, performing, and teaching belly dance for 17 years. During college, she began teaching and performing and was introduced to the Fat Chance Belly Dance style (formerly known as American Tribal style). She immediately fell in love with the style and began studying it exclusively. After returning home, she began Siyrren's Song Dance Company. Now a certified instructor in FCBD-style dance, her continuing goal is to inspire others to find joy in this art.

Spencer Ellsworth

Spencer Ellsworth wrote his first novel at seven years old and never recovered. His most recent novel The Great Faerie Strike, about union leaders and stunt reporters in the Victorian Otherworld, was released in August 2019. He also wrote a trilogy for Tor & has published short fiction in Tor.com, Lightspeed, Nightmare & others. By day he teaches for a tribal college in the Lummi Nation & he is married to fantasy artist Chrissy Ellsworth with three children of the apocalypse.

Stan!

Stan! is a cartoonist, author, and game designer who has worked for Wizards of the Coast, TSR Inc., Upper Deck Entertainment, and done the English adaptation for more than 200 manga volumes for Viz Media. He's the author of novels, short stories, children's books, coloring books, comic books, and enough single-panel cartoons to wallpaper a small house. He hosts two weekly podcasts-- Random Encounters: Improv Cartooning with Stan! and The Sumo Show. Stan! lives and creates in Kent, Washington.

Stephen Radney-MacFarland

Stephen began working on tabletop roleplaying games in 2000 at Wizards of the Coast. Over the years, he's administered the Living Greyhawk campaign, aided in the development of the D&D 3.5 Edition, and was a developer for D&D 4th Edition and Star Wars Saga Edition. He joined Paizo in 2010 as a designer for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, the Starfinder Roleplaying game, and Pathfinder Second Edition. Today, Stephen is the lead game designer at GRIPNR and is designing the Delve RPG.

Steven Barnes

Steven Barnes has published over three million words of fiction and non-fiction, as well as almost two dozen produced hours of television, including Stargate, Andromeda, Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, was a staff writer on the CRYSTAL LAKE series for Peacock network and A24 studios. Norwescon is his favorite convention of the year.

Sven Red Beard

Sven Red Beard is a retired Boeing worker, with interests in the history of flight. He has also been an active member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) for over 30 years and is past baron of Blatha An Oir. He is a member of the Order of the Laurel, with his area of study being Viking Age and Pre-Viking Age history and culture. Blacksmithing and armor-making are among his hobbies.

Talulah J. Sullivan

Talulah J. Sullivan has been a pro equestrian, a dancer, an actor, and a teacher...yet she's never managed to NOT be a storyteller. Ever. Her newest works, Blood Indigo and Raven Mocker, draw inspiration from her Choctaw and Chickasaw grandmothers. As J Tullos Hennig, she was awarded the SLF Older Writers Grant and wrote the historical fantasy series The Books of the Wode, reimagining Robin Hood as a queer, chaotic-neutral druid. Her books offer up an immersive, subversive experience.

Tara Campbell

Tara Campbell is a writer, teacher, Kimbilio Fellow, fiction co-editor at Barrelhouse, and graduate of American University's Master of Fine Arts program. She teaches writing at venues such as Johns Hopkins University, Clarion West, Hugo House, and The Writer's Center. She's the author of a novel, two hybrid collections of poetry and prose, and two short story collections with Aqueduct Press. Her sixth book, City of Dancing Gargoyles, is forthcoming from SFWP in September 2024.

Tegan Moore

Tegan is an aspirational farmer living on twenty muddy acres about an hour outside of Seattle, Washington. She's been published in magazines including Asimov's Science Ficiton, Tor.com, Clarkesworld, and others. She is a dog agility instructor, can't not look at crustaceans, and has a biologically improbable entirely separate second stomach for containing dumplings.

Teresa Drag

T Drag grew up in Maine and attended college and worked in Washington DC before going the US Marine Corps. She retired after 20 full years having served all around the globe. She found time to get her pilots license and participate in Renaissance festivals as a squire to several jousting knights. T Drag keeps busy after retiring from the military, some of her pursuits include editing books, studying martial arts, and quilting.

Thea Prieto

Thea Prieto is the author of From the Caves, which won the Red Hen Press Novella Award, the First Horizon Award, and the INDIES Book of the Year Award for literature. Her writing has appeared in Poets & Writers, The Kenyon Review, Longreads, CRAFT Literary Magazine, and New Orleans Review, among other journals. She teaches creative writing and publishing at Portland State University and Portland Community College, and she also prunes orchards seasonally in Northern California.

Theresa Halbert

Theresa Halbert is a textile artist with a focus on costumes, art quilts, and art bags. She has worked professionally in theater for over 20 years in Chicago and Los Angeles and received her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California. She has received awards at Worldcon and Norwescon for her costumes, and at Norwescon, Orycon and other shows for her artwork.

Thursday

R. Thursday is a writer, educator, historian, and all-around nerd. When not subverting middle school language arts and social studies curricula, they can be found watching cartoons, playing video games, reading, or writing about vampires, mutants, queerness, space wizards, and sometimes all of the above. Their poetry and short fiction have been featured in numerous journals. They've been wandering the halls of Norwescon since they could toddle.

Tim Nightengale

I'm a geek, first and foremost. I play Pathfinder RPG, computer games, and watch and read science fiction and fantasy. I co-organized the very first PaizoCon, which now has 15 years under its belt, and is about 15 times bigger since that first year, thanks to a great community and a great company, Paizo, that now runs it. I was also the editor-in-chief of Wayfinder, a Pathfinder fanzine, which won a gold ENnie Award for best free product in 2013. I helmed the fanzine for issues #5-22.

Tom D Wright

Tom Llewellyn

Tom Llewellyn is the author of five novels and one picture book for children and young adults. First published in 2008, his books have been translated into five languages. Along with Lance Kagey, Tom graduated with honors from the University of Washington's creative writing program. His latest book, The Five Impossible Tasks of Eden Smith, was released in January 2024 and is set in a guildhall for master metal workers. Booklist described it as "A truly memorable setting for a terrific tale."

Tom Whitmore

Tom Whitmore was one of the founders of The Other Change of Hobbit bookstore in Berkeley in 1977, has been a Locus reviewer for decades, and co-chaired the Worldcon in 2002. He lives in Seattle with his partner K. G. Anderson, several cats, many thousands of books, and a wealth of stories. Ask him about data analysis, The Book of the Law, his collection of etchings, or odd books. He is currently a licensed massage therapist, as well.

Torrey Stenmark

Stenmark is an award-winning costumer and a college chemistry instructor. The same skillset that earned her a masters degree in organicchemistry (attention to detail, record keeping, delicate physical coordination, refusal to be intimidated by new problems) enabled her to compete and win in the masters division of several costume contests on the local and national scale. She now teaches at Shoreline Community College.

Travis Baldree

Travis Partington

After some college, Travis Partington joined the Marine Corps and served as a radar operator for the HAWK missile system. Travis hosts the military and veterans podcast, Oscar Mike Radio, which has over 380 shows and is in its seventh year of production. In addition to using his voice for veterans, Travis has done voice­over work and writing. Being a father is the most rewarding aspect of Travis' life. Learn more at oscarmikeradio.com.

Tyrean Martinson

Tyrean Martinson is a word hunter and English language arts tutor and coach for students ages 12-92. She lives and writes on the Washington State peninsula, enjoys a full family life, and likes to daydream about life in rocket boots or flying on griffins. She is the author of a fantasy trilogy, a fantasy serialization, and a science fiction novella series for young adult readers. She also writes poems, short stories, and non-fiction for all ages.

V Whitlock

Victoria has spoken around the world on topics of privacy, computer security and women's history. She has written and contributed to over 13 books on highly technical topics involving Oracle. Victoria loves learning and sharing and is now working on a pairing blog for food and wine.

William Elder

William Elder leads Goode's Company of Foot, an Elizabethan pike and shot reenactment group. He is an instructor candidate at Salle Saint-Georges in Seattle, where he specializes in Spanish swordplay of the 16th century, and a world-building advisor for Sonia Lyris' fantasy series The Seer Saga.

Wm Salt Hale

Salt is a Seattle local involved with a wide variety of free/libre/open (FLO) communities. He attended graduate school at the University of Washington, studying the intersection of communication, computer science, and law. Salt participates, organizes, and speaks worldwide at various conferences, conventions, events, festivals, and faires. He tries to be very approachable and will always be found wearing a kilt.

Zamesta Cosplay

Zamesta Cosplay is an Army veteran who uses her cosplay to combat her MST PTSD symptoms. Her favorite thing about making costumes is getting to incorporate her mobility aids as props!!

[Artwork] HomePort ©Betsy Mott

Memorials

We will be missing members of our community and significant figures in our genre and Pacific Northwest fandom who have left us since the last time we were together.

Elizabeth (Warren) Adams
August 14, 1952 -- February 10, 2024

Elizabeth, affectionately called Dragon Lady, jumped into fandom with Puget Sound Star Trekkers (PSST) in the mid-1970s, then moved on to Norwescon and the Northwest Science Fiction Society (NWSFS). She chaired Norwescon 12, 13, and 14, was a Norwescon lifetime member, and was the editor of Westwind, the previously published NWSFS newszine. However, her true claim to fame was running legendary hospitality rooms in the days of old. In addition to being a professional bartender, Elizabeth constantly practiced her role as the Northwest Science Fiction Society's foremost hostess at the club's social meetings. Elizabeth was the axle upon which the wheel of Norwescon's hospitality efforts turned.

David Glenn Anderson
December 28, 1938 -- October 3, 2023

Throughout his life, David remained passionate about writing and was a published poet. David dedicated his time and energy to various community organizations. He was actively involved with CONduit, Utah's former science fiction and fantasy convention, where he made significant contributions behind the scenes. He also advocated for developing young readers through his involvement with Reading for the Future and served on the staff of four Worldcons.

Melva Gay Bennett
June 16, 1954 -- November 2, 2023

Melva Bennett, wife of Northwest Science Fiction Society founder Greg Bennett, met her future husband on the last day of the 1978 World Science Fiction Convention in Phoenix as the busload of 1981 Seattle Worldcon bidders were about to return to Seattle. Some mutual friends had suggested that she should meet Greg, as she was going to be moving to Seattle soon. She moved from Pullman to Seattle in late 1978 and volunteered at Norwescon 2, jumping in with both feet as she took on the public relations job. Then, less than a year later in September 1979, Greg and Melva moved to Houston, married, and worked at Johnson Space Center. After a few years, Melva became a full-time mom. They moved around a bit more for aerospace jobs, which took them to Las Vegas, Nevada; Wylie, Texas; and back to Houston. They also enjoyed trips to World Science Fiction Conventions in Boston, Baltimore, Melbourne, Orlando, and San Antonio. They finally retired to Rockport, Texas.

Marty Cantor
1935 -- November 2, 2023

Marty Cantor was a devoted fanzine fan and longtime member of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. Over the years he was involved in editing and publishing a number of fanzines and running conventions. Marty was fan guest of honor at Norwescon's Alternacon.

Tracey Claybon
August 27, 1967 -- March 1, 2023

Born in Lufkin, Texas, Tracey studied journalism and writing at the University of Oklahoma. A fan of fantasy and sci-fi since childhood, she discovered the sci-fi community in the Midwest and attended many conventions there before moving to the Seattle area. Northwest fandom embraced her when she came to an Anglicon meeting and immediately volunteered. Known for her love of British media (especially Doctor Who!) and reading, she was loved for her warmth, friendly smile, and willingness to lend a hand. She also was active in the fanfiction community. Sadly, we lost her in March of 2023. She is greatly missed.

Phyllis Coates
January 15, 1927 -- October 11, 2023

Phyllis Coates was an actress for over 50 years, with a career that ran from vaudeville to movies to television. She acted in many movies and early TV programs, but she is best known as Lois Lane in the 1951 film Superman and the Mole-Men and in the first season of the television series Adventures of Superman.

David Drake
September 24, 1945 -- December 10, 2023

David A. Drake was an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. He combined his Vietnam experiences and his degree in history in many of his military science fiction stories. He is best known for his Hammer's Slammers and The General series. Drake co-authored novels with writers such as Karl Edward Wagner, S. M. Stirling, and Eric Flint.

Sir Michael Gambon
October 19, 1940 -- September 27, 2023

Sir Michael Gambon was an Irish-English actor with a long and distinguished career but will be best remembered for his role as Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series. Sir Michael took on the role starting with the third movie and continued to the end. Among his many awards were four from the British Academy of Film and Television Actors and two from the Screen Actors Guild.

Joe Giella
June 27, 1928 -- March 21, 2023

Joe Giella was an American comic book artist, best known as a DC Comics inker during the late 1950s and 1960s. He was hired by Stan Lee in the late 1940s and moved to DC Comics in 1949. He worked on many comics, including Strange Adventures, Batman stories, and Carmine Infantino comics. In the 1960s, he prominently inked Carmine Infantino's art on the reboots of The Flash and Gil Kane's art on the Green Lantern series. He also worked for King Features on syndicated comic strips such as Flash Gordon and The Phantom (for 17 years), and as artist on the Mary Worth daily and Sunday newspaper strip for 25 years.

Al Jaffee
March 13, 1921 -- April 10, 2023

Al Jaffee was a cartoonist, best known for his work in Mad magazine. He created and drew the iconic "fold-in" cartoons on the back cover (a spoof on Playboy's fold-out centerfolds). Jaffee received numerous awards, and in 2013 was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame, the ceremony taking place at San Diego Comic-Con International.

Robert Moshel
September 11, 1945 -- November 2, 2023

Robert was a past Norwescon gaming director. A previous director described him as an awesome director with a deep passion for gaming and Norwescon. He will be remembered for his love of computers, games (including D&D, Magic: The Gathering, and Catan), movies, history, and traveling.

Denise Nilsson
April 28, 1962 -- Sept 2023

Denise was active with Anglicon (both classic and reboot). She was a member of the Society of Rusting Tardis and the Emerald City Androgums. She volunteered when she could. Denise enjoyed costumes, masquerades, and taking photos of costumes. She won a prize for her Jane Bond costume at an Anglicon and once did a "Dalek on the Cheap" using a silver garbage bag. In addition to Laa-Laa from Teletubbies, she loved fur babies of all kinds, adventures, and jokes. Denise experimented with odd cookie flavors, some of which were really weird. One favorite was her "Ledger" cookies, named for the chunks of Heath bars in them.

Paul Reubens
August 27, 1952 -- July 30, 2023

Paul Reubens was best known as Pee-Wee Herman from his starring role in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and the Saturday morning CBS show Pee-Wee's Playhouse, which ran from 1986 to 1991. He also appeared in the movies Mystery Men and Blow. His acting on television included appearances on Murphy Brown, 30 Rock, Portlandia, The Blacklist, and Gotham.

John Romita
January 24, 1930 -- June 12, 2023

John Romita was an American comic book artist, best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man and for co-creating characters such as Mary Jane Watson, the Punisher, Kingpin, Wolverine, and Luke Cage. He worked for Atlas Comics (later Marvel) in the early 1950s before moving to DC Comics, where he drew romance comics. In 1965 he returned to Marvel, where he became the artist for Spider-­Man. He became Marvel's art director in 1973 and influenced the look of their comics well into the 1980s. Romita was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2002.

Willie Siros
August 31, 1952 -- January 5, 2022

William W. "Willie" Siros was a bookseller, collector, and fan. He was Fan Guest of Honor at Norwescon 15 and was very active in fandom in Texas, including chairing a number of conventions.

Klaus Teuber
June 25, 1952 -- April 1, 2023

Klaus Teuber was a German game designer, best known for creating Settlers of Catan, which has sold over 40 million copies and been translated into over 40 languages. Its success allowed Klaus to quit his dental technician job to become a full-time game designer. His games won numerous awards, and Teuber was inducted into the Origin Awards Hall of Fame by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design (AAGAD) in 2004. The Catan studio team urges those mourning Teuber to "honor Klaus' memory by being kind to one another, pursuing your creative passions fearlessly, and enjoying a game with your loved ones."

Shawna Trpcic
October 18, 1966 -- October 4, 2023

Shawna Trpcic was an American costume designer. She got her start in the industry with the 1990 film Megaville and went on to work as a wardrobe assistant on the film Toys and the series The Red Shoe Diaries. She later became the costume designer on Joss Whedon's Firefly, Angel, Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and Dollhouse, as well as Marti Noxon's Point Pleasant. She was also the costume designer for Torchwood: Miracle Day.

Howard Waldrop
September 15, 1946 -- January 14, 2024

Howard Waldrop was an American science fiction author who worked primarily in short fiction. Though he spent most of his life in Texas, he lived in Washington for several years. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2021.

Artists 2024

Agathon McGeachy
Amy Rae Hill
andyvanoverberghe
Ashley J Harper
Belsac Leather Art
Betsy Mott
Blane Bellerud
Braden Duncan
Brittany Torres
Charles Vess, Artist Guest of Honor
Chelsea Santamaria
Christy "Goldenwolf" Grandjean
Diana Daniels
Douglas Herring
Dragon Glass Works
Dragonfire
Elizabeth Fellows
Ellis Bray
Eric L Vargas
Ivy Gilliam
Jeff Sturgeon
Jeliza
John Granacki, Master of Space and Time
John R. Gray III
Katie Croonenberghs
Keith Amarak Waters
Krister Eide
L. Pierce Ludke
L. A. Wildsun Bradley
Lizzy D. Hill
Lynne Magie
Lynne Taylor Fahnestalk
Marjorie Stratton
Meredith Dillman
Michael Brugger
Mimi Noyes
my treehouse studio
Natalie Leif
OffWorld Designs
Peri Charlifu, Aegean Goods
Raven Oaks
Rob Carlos
Sandra SanTara
Sarah Clemens
Sean Nathan Ricks
The Tarot of Brass & Steam
Theresa Halbert
Theresa Mather
Tricia Diaz
Vandy H. Hall
Zain PC / Cindy Fangour Creations

Dealers 2024

A. R. Cook
Angelwear Creations
Around the Table, LLC
Art by Erika Rae Heins
Atherton Haight (dba Chooseomatic Books)
Bardhwood Book Nook
BB Wolf Pack LLC
Broken Eye Books
Cargo Cult Books & Notions
Celestial Peryton
Crystal's Idyll
Deadline Productions/Greg Tito
DragonStorm Sports
Dread Pirate Bri LLC
Elizabeth Guizzetti, Author and Illustrator
Elysium Books
Erin Hunt Rado Fantasy Author
Firefox Fashions (The Fur Connection)
Forest Path Books
Friday Afternoon Tea
Geek Girl Stuff
Gretchen S. B.
High Peak Publishing
Ink and Paint Tattoo Gallery
Jennifer Brozek Productions
Kerry Blaisdell, Author
Lone Wolf Press, Ltd.
Monkey House Studio
MoonTree Books
Natalie Leif
Nemesis Gear
OddPetz Emporium
Optimystical Studios
Pegasus Publishing
Pie Slice Dice
Quinn & Bloom
Rainbow Quartz Publishing
Regina's Ritual: Regalia & Soaps
Rosarium Publishing
SewCherie
Silas Goewey Art
Springtime Creations
TANSTAAFL Press
The Ink Well
Varida P&R
Vaughn Edward

Norwescon 46 Convention Committee

Chair SunnyJim Morgan
Charitable Giving Assistant Doug Booze
Elections Kevin Black
Historian Michael Citrak
Special Projects Keith Johnson
PR Peggy Stewart
Wiki Lead Michael Hanscom
Vice Chair Rob Stewart
Hotel Liaison Pat Booze
GOH Selection Crystal Lloyd, Caryn Meyer
Secretary Michelle Morrell
Business Director Tim Ketron
Purchasing Agent Cherie Playter
Treasurer Shawna Batty
Member Services Director Alex Demboski
Registration Manager JD Demboski
Registration Lead Jazi Akins
Registration Team Member Carla Viltz, Sam Demboski, Jaeta Forest-Rivers, Ryan Forest-Rivers
Art Show Manager Doug Booze, Jeff LaCoss
Print Shop Staff Joann Lawler
Art Show GoH Liaison Rob Carlos
Lead Cashier Jean Carlos
Art Show Cashier Fred Oakley
Art Show Team Member Marjorie Stratton, Sally Woehrle, Eric Webber, Caroline Westra, Joan Bennett, Eileen Gray, Rose Wilson
Information Table Manager Julie Demboski
Information Table Staff Tina Anderson
Club Tables Manager Jerry Johnson
Little Free Library Michelle Morrell, Seth Taylor
Dealers' Room Manager Amy Gembala
Dealers' Room Second Lea Rush
Art In Action Manager Doug Booze
Accessibility Team Lead Loree Parker
Accessibility Team Member Ted Hart, AllisonOC, Karen Radcliff

[Artwork] Color Dragon ©Douglas Herring

Programming Director Peggy Stewart
Track Leads
Alternative Lifestyles Hazel
Art Lizzy D. Hill
Biological Sciences Jake Mckinzie
Community Liz Coleman
Costume Richard Stephens
Editing/Publishing Erin Wilcox
Fanfic DameRuth
Fantasy Grant Riddell
Gaming Tim Nightengale
History Bill Gruner
Horror Julie McGalliard
Meetups Peggy Stewart
Military Teresa Brag
Music Leslie Jordan
Music Second Jeffrey Cornish
Poetry R. Thursday
Popular Media Mimi Noyes
Science Fiction Erin Wilcox
Space Dan 'Kahboi' Dubrick
Technology Wm Salt Hale
Teen/Tween Camden Rose
Writing Erin Wilcox
Young Adult Mikko Azul
Youth Programming Jenny Shafer
Norwescon Writers Workshop Co-Directors Adrienne Loska, Barth Anderson
Autograph Sessions Coordinator Autumn Saintcier
Guest of Honor (GoH) Liaison Lead Jack Buren
Guest of Honor Liaison Joe Waddington
Guest of Honor Gift Baskets Peggy Stewart
Programming Services Co-Lead Bernie Strub, Scot Oliver
Programming Service Staff William Sadorus, Joe Waddington, Meghan Lancaster, June Sevier, Lee Thompson, Bri Saucedo, Tim Sorensen, Ted Butler, Danielle Tilley, Frances Choe
Hands-On Workshops Coordinator Autumn Saintcier
Writing Class Coordinator Peggy Stewart
Pro Suite Coordinators Kathy Bond, Alan Bond
Pro Suite Procurement Kathy Bond

[Artwork] Titania ©Douglas Herring

Publications Director Katrina Marier
Newsletter Staff Writer Mike Brennan
Daily Zine Editor Caitlin Cormier
Graphic Designer Vanessa Arevalo
Souvenir Program Book Editor Shelley George
Pocket Program Layout Editor Cheryl Dyson
Lead Photogapher Thom Walls
Photographers Pat White, Dave Moore, John Jinneman, Opal Campbell, Nova, Sandra Housego
Lead Editor Kevin Black
Editors Anne Cagle, Emily Teng, Lynne Magie, Mark Sebring, Kate Waterous, Randy Hayes, Keith Waters
Web Team Lead/Webmaster Michael Hanscom
Website Assistants James Hay, Chris Radcliff
Social Media Lead Michael Hanscom
Social Media Assistant Alex Demboski
Guidebook Editor Kevin Black
Guidebook Second Teya Viola
Convention Services Director Felice Nightengale
Convention Services Second Keith Jewel
IT Manager Keith Jewell
Assistant IT Manager Sam Stark
IT Staff Scott Surber, Jeri Lynn Cornish
A/V Services Manager Ian Shaw
A/V Services Techs Ben Schreiber, Jason Emery, Robert Johns, Dawn Shaw, John Kono, Mark Kerrigan
Grand 3 Tech Streaming - Matthew Ravenmoore
Layouts Lead Michael Citrak
Layouts Assistants Grace McKelvy, Caryn Meyer, Carla Moore
Logistics (Transportation) Manager Eric Pawtowski
Logistics Staff Daniel Pawtowski, Yvonne Pawtowski, Bill Boyde
Main Stage Manager Rocco
Audio Lead Orion
Peacebonding Loki
Safety Advisor Dave Ashcroft
Office Staff Kathy Parkhurst, Jack Petrillo, Claudio
Dispatch Celina Roque, Mir Plemmons, Logan Ashcroft-Lynge, Jeanette Miller
Safety Ambassadors Stormy Gaskey, Andrew Montgomery, Amos Buchanan
Radio/Communications Shop Manager Kyle Hall
Discord Admins Dave Ashcroft, Wm Salt Hale
Personnel Director Wm Salt Hale
Teen Engagement Lead Jenn Baker
Teen Engagement Coordinator Caryn Meyer
Teen Lounge James (Minion) Akins Zillman
Year Round Engagement
Book Club Kevin Black
Book Club 2nd Caryn Meyer
Gaming Meet James Hay
Meet Ups Jeanine Swanson
NWC Camping Trip SunnyJim Morgan
Convention Lounge Host Lead Czarcasm
Convention Lounge Host Kirza, Tina Campbell, Cora
Volunteer Support Lead Jackie Gray
Teen Runners Advisor Elizabeth Bragg
Cloakoom Host Lead Tory Poling
Cloakroom Host Second Donna Poling
Cloakroom Host Assistant Taart, James (Minion) Akins, Zillman
Special Events Director Tabby L Rose
Artemis Bridge Lead Dave Thaler
Artemis Staff John Spinosa, Quinn Thomsen, Valerie Snyder, Jeff Wallace, Jessica Wallace
Games Manager Amy Gembala
Games Second Thomas Smith
Games Dungeonmaster Chris Cook-Sussan
Games Staff Thomas Smith
Social Games - Saturday Lead Amber Wakelin-Mcdaniel
Lazer Tag Lead Scott Perrin
Lazer Tag Assistant Beth Fellows, Howitzer
Nerf Coordinator Steve Hasenbuhler
Nerf Assistant James (Minion) Akins Zillman
Pub Trivia Staff David O'Neill
Single Pattern Contest Julie Zetterberg
Closing Ceremonies Lydia Valentine
Dances Producer
DJ (Thursday) DJ Wudi
DJ (Friday) DJ MC300Baud
DJ Saturday DJ Modest Pup
Masquerade Director Dahlia
Masquerade Emcee Brian Schend
Masquerade Half Time Darryl Parks
Masquerade Head Den Parent Bri Osborn
Masquerade Head Ninja Nels
Masquerade Judge Gavin Michael Moore, Alyssa Salvato, Savannah Wright
Masquerade Staff Makenzie Steele, Michael Isaiah Jason, Alexandra Phoenix Rush
Masquerade Workmanship Judge Alyssa Salvato
Opening Ceremonies Lydia Valentine
Opening Ceremonies Emcee Lydia K. Valentine
PK Dick Awards Producer Michael Hanscom
Dave O'Neill's SF&F Pub Trivia Extravaganza Dave O'Neill
Speculative Film Festival Producer Shawn Marier
Speculative Film Festival Judge Chris Cook-Sussan, Abie Ekeneza, Matt Allex, Mark Sebring
Rocky Horror Show
Rocky Horror Cast Brian Schend, Jazmine (Dahlia) Herrington, William Whisnant, Alexandra Phoenix Rush, Gavin Michael Moore, Michael Isaiah Jason, Makenzie Steele

Norwescon acknowledges that we conduct our meetings and hold our annual convention on the traditional land of the Salish and Coastal Salish peoples, including the Duwamish People - the first peoples of what is now called Washington State. We honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe: past, present, and future.

This acknowledgment does not take the place of authentic relationships with indigenous communities but serves as a first step in honoring the land we are on.

NORWESCON 2024 CONCOM

Staff Photo on the Stairs (rows from the bottom up and names from left to right Row #1: Shelley George, JD Demboski, Ian Shaw, Sunny Jim Morgan, Dream, Daniel Pawtowski Row #2: Mo LaCoss, Hazel Leetham, Salt, Kat Marier, Vanessa Arevalo, Eric Weber Row #3: Jeff LaCoss, Beth Fellows, Alex Demboski, Michelle Morrell, Michael Hanscom, Yvonne Pawtowski, Jerry Johnson Row #4: Julie Demboski, Meghan Lancaster, Ben Schreiber, Mike Brennan, Jaeta Forest-Rivers, Ryan Forest-Rivers, Donna Poling Row #5: Bill Boyd, Scot Oliver, Crystal Lloyd, Shawna Batty, Tabby L. Rose, Kevin Black, Dave Claudio Row #6: Sally Woehrle, Leslie Jordan, Jack Buren, Peggy Stewart, Caitlin Cormier, Caryn Meyer Row #7: Michael Pinnick, Carla Viltz, William Sadorus, James B. Adkins-Zillman, Niamh Row #8: Jake Mckinzie, Lynne Magie, Doug Booze, Rob Stewart, Tory Poling, Pat Booze, Shawn Marier, Chris Cook-Sussan, Mark Sebring, Orion, Keith Jewell, Steve Hasenbuhler, Jenn Baker

Zoom Chat photo (names from left to right) Jason Emery, Keith Waters, Marjorie Stratton, Caroline Westra

NOTE: We have done our best to identify everyone in these photos. If we have missed you, please accept our apologies.

Charities

Norwescon is proud to support our community of writers, readers, makers, and fans. This year, your membership dollars fund not just our annual convention, but have enabled us to contribute to a scholarship for a writer to attend Clarion West's six-week summer workshop. The workshop supports emerging and underrepresented voices by providing writers with world-class instruction, right here in the Pacific Northwest. Scholarships make the workshop accessible to a wider range of voices, enriching the landscape of genre fiction.

We also invite you to help us support our new charity: Young Black and Brilliant (YB&B). YB&B Book Club encourages black and brown youth to discover great books and establish a sense of community. It captures the attention of young readers, ages 11-16, and engages them with culturally relevant, quality literature. Youth take part in meaningful discussions to build their confidence and social and literacy skills, participate in fun literacy games and activities, and engage in healthy peer interactions. You can support YB&B and their mission through our charity sale in the art show, where various members and groups have donated items of fannish interest available for purchase, or directly at ybnbreadersclub.org. All proceeds go to support YB&B's mission and activities.