Guests of Honor


Mur Lafferty Guest of Honor Mur Lafferty is a podcaster, author, and editor. She began podcasting in 2004 and in 2005 she launched the still-running podcast “I Should Be Writing," a podcast aimed at aspiring writers. She currently co-hosts the show “Ditch Diggers,” a business-focused podcast aimed at authors trying to make a career. After writing several novellas and publishing them via podcast, her first book was released from Orbit in 2013: The Shambling Guide to New York City which won the Manly Wade Wellman Award. Her book Six Wakes, a science fiction mystery, came out a few years later and was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, Philip K. Dick, and Manly Wade Wellman awards. Her current series, the Midsolar Murders, features murder mysteries aboard a sentient space station. The series has two books, the most recent being Chaos Terminal, published in November 2023. Mur has also been the recipient of the Astounding Award for Best New Writer in 2013 and was inducted into the podcast academy hall of fame in 2015. She lives in Durham, NC with her family.
Via Bella Music Guests of Honor (Bandcamp) (HearNow) (Patreon) (Facebook) (Twitter) (Instagram) Via Bella (aka Erin and Rand Bellavia) are a nerd rock band from Buffalo, NY. Their songs address many fandoms, including Agent/Peggy/Captain Carter, A Wrinkle in Time, Mr. Rogers, the October Daye books, Sesame Street, and the Princess Bride. Their debut album The Way of Beauty was released in 2018. Erin is a filker, writer, editor, calligrapher, and cosplayer. She has been writing and performing with Rand since 2013, and has been nominated for 9 Pegasus Awards. In 2022, she became Co-Con Chair of FilKONtario. Rand Bellavia formed the nerd-rock bands Via Bella and Ookla the Mok. He has been nominated for 25 Pegasus Awards, his songs were #1 on Dr. Demento in 2012 and 2013, and he co-wrote the theme to Disney’s Fillmore. He works for majorspoilers.com and is the assistant editor of the new comic Crashdown. Rand plays guitar. They both sing. Erin’s been known to wear a costume or two. Come see what all the fuss is about.
Scott Zrubek Fen Guest of Honor Scott has been active in convention running since 1997. His first job was to assist in running security for LoneStarCon2 in San Antonio. His second was running security for the World Fantasy Convention (WFC) in Corpus Christi in 2000. Starting in 2004, he has been in charge of ArmadilloCon’s Art Show. In various years, he has run (or helped to run) the Art Show for WorldCon in 2013, WFC in 2006, 2017, 2021, and 2022. He is currently scheduled to run the Art Show for NASFiC 2023 in Winnipeg, and WFC 2024 in Niagara Falls. As is often the case with folks who run art shows, Scott tends to acquire works of art at shows he runs, and others he attends. The collection spills off the walls of his home and into piles waiting to rotate onto the walls. He has a number of pieces that were used as cover art for Roger Zelazny’s books and magazine appearances. The art includes works by Ron Walotsky, Wendy Pini, Richard Hescox, and others. As a continuation of his interest in Roger Zelazny, He runs the website Zelazny & Amber, a major on-line resource for the works of Roger Zelazny. He also edited the book "Manna from Heaven", a collection of the harder-to-find short stories by Roger, of which a second edition of which was recently published. His two dogs, both Blue Heelers, are named after Zelazny characters: Random and Oberon. Scott's craftwork can occasionally be found in convention art shows. He works in stained glass, chainmaille wood, and leather. Check back next month, it will probably have changed. Outside of fandom, he is currently working on the data infrastructure for the soon-to-be-launched space station that will orbit the moon. He also studies Shindo Muso Ryu and studies and teaches Tomiki-Ryu Aikido.
Lisa Snellings Artist Guest of Honor Lisa grew up in South Carolina, where her favorite pastimes were reading science fiction and horror books and making art with any medium available. Her unique artistic perspective was further informed by her first job at a hospital, specifically in its basement morgue. A fascination for county fairs and her family’s deep involvement in religion added to the mix, resulting in beautiful, whimsical, and sometimes macabre sculptures. These found captive audiences at speculative fiction conventions, drawing the attention of authors she had grown up reading. Her kinetic carnival collection, “Dark Caravan,” premiered at the 59th World Science Fiction Convention in 2001 and eventually made its way to the American Visionary Art Museum in 2010. Lisa has enjoyed collaborating with the likes of Neil Gaiman, Harlan Ellison, Larry Niven and Peter S. Beagle. Her “Poppets,” two-inch-tall figurines that mimic “silly humans,” are collected around the world. Her highly acclaimed novel “Night Birds” written with Alan M. Clark, was published in 2022. “No Other Season” a collaboration with Jan Thie, is a collection of writings inspired by her art and was published in June of this year. Currently, Lisa is writing “The Poppet’s Guide to the Tarot” and “The Little Red House.” After nearly two decades in the Southern California desert, Lisa lives in Eugene, Oregon with her spouse, Pete Clark, and two ever-present cats. <
Dr. Jancy McPhee Science Guest of Honor (SciArt Exchange) Dr. Jancy McPhee has always been fascinated about how people think and create. She became a neuroscientist to examine the science behind these human capabilities. She works as a space life science strategist and science communicator and is the Founder and Executive Director of the nonprofit, SciArt Exchange. The nonprofit aims to maximize global human potential by integrating space, science, and technology with the arts, to better prepare each individual and team to solve the future grand challenges on Earth and in space. Formally, Dr. Jancy McPhee has a B.A. in Neurobiology and Behavior from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Biophysics from Brandeis University. She was a cellular and molecular neuroscience researcher and lecturer in academia for 17 years. Currently, she works as the Associate Chief Scientist of the NASA Human Research Program where she develops space science strategies that span physiological disciplines, space missions, and international and commercial partners. Since 2010, she has also been developing motivating and novel ways to enhance space education and communication, foster science and technology innovation, and promote global collaboration to solve hard challenges in space and on Earth. Through her nonprofit, SciArt Exchange, her team offers a variety of global science-integrated-with-art activities and training to inspire and prepare the world for the future of space exploration. So far, the nonprofit programs have engaged over 15,000 participants in 68 countries, and over 4.5 million have viewed multi-media artwork displays and performances locally worldwide in person. Learn more about Dr. McPhee on her episode of the Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria Podcast episode.
Maurice Broaddus Toastmaster (MauriceBroaddus.com) (Patreon) An accidental teacher, an accidental librarian, and a purposeful community organizer (resident Afrofuturist at the Kheprw Institute), his work has appeared in such places as Magazine of F&SF, Lightspeed Magazine, Black Panther: Tales from Wakanda, Weird Tales, and Uncanny Magazine, with some of his stories having been collected in The Voices of Martyrs. His novels include the science fiction novel, Sweep of Stars, the steamfunk novel, Pimp My Airship and Buffalo Soldier; and the middle grade detective novel series, Unfadeable and The Usual Suspects. He’s an editor at Apex Magazine. His gaming work includes writing for the Marvel Super-Heroes, Leverage, and Firefly role-playing games as well as working as a consultant on Watch Dogs 2. Learn more at MaruceBroaddus.com
Keith Lansdale Special Guest Keith writes comics, film scripts, novels, and short stories. Keith has made films such as The Pale Door, The Projectionist (in production), and Christmas With The Dead, adapted for the screen, a stage musical, and even a pod cast. Keith has written multiple comics such as Hoot Goes There, a short X-Files series for IDW comics, Mud for Creepy Comics, Prisoner Of Violence (an extension of the Prisoner 489 universe), along with comic adaptations of Crawling Sky for Antarctica Comics, Vampirella for Diamond comics, Dog, Cat, and Baby for Dark Horse and Avatar comics, as well as adaptations for God of the Razor, the Dump, The Fat Man, a short comic called The Hanging (in production), and others. Among his writing credits are, the novella Big Lizard with Joe R Lansdale, as well as the short story, Hoppity White Rabbit Done Broke Down, appearing in the recent collection: The Drive-In: Multiplex. Others of mention, soon to be released are Elijah’s Elixer, It Goes With Everything (inspired by Ozymandias), Two Sides Of The Same Dream (pirate/Lovecraft). He was also a co-editor for Son Of Retro Pulp Tales, published by Subterranean Press and is editing multiple other collections. Keith also co-wrote the children's story The Companion when he was twelve with his younger sister which was picked up by the tv show Creepshow and co-authored the children’s book In Waders From Mars.

Program Participants

Larry Atchley (Website) Larry Atchley Jr writes poetry, fantasy, science fiction and horror. In addition to his short stories and poetry appearing in a multitude of anthologies, he has stories in volumes of the shared universe series Heroes in Hell, and Sha'Daa. He performs with The Sea Dog Slam as Lars Shortshanks, the Pirate Poet. He likes watching Britcoms with his wife Ali, bicycling, nature hiking, reading and collecting books.
Kathleen Baldwin (Website) (Facebook) (Instagram) (GoodReads) (Youtube) “Master of the unexpected,” Kathleen Baldwin, is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author who enchants readers around the globe with over 650,000 copies sold. A Japanese publisher adapted one of her books into a manga. Ian Bryce, producer of Transformers, optioned her series for film. In real life, Kathleen loves adventure. She taught rock climbing, enjoyed survival camping in the desert and mountains, and inadvertently slept beside a mountain lion. Sanctuary for Seers, an Alternate History Spy Romantasy, was released 6/2023.
Julie Barrett (Stately Barrett Manor) (Steamcat) (Facebook) Julie Barrett is a writer, photographer, and maker of interesting things from Plano, TX. She is also a founding member of The Generic Radio Workshop, member of the Dallas Future Society board, and sells photography, fiber art, and hats through SteamCat.net. Julie writes short stories, radio plays, and whatever else helps pay the bills. She hates the bills. Find her at Stately Barrett Manor or on Facebook.
Paul Barrett Amongst Paul's many pastimes, a favorite is creating, finding, and programming the sound effects for Generic Radio Workshop productions. As with the other GRW founders, he's done so many of these shows that he's no longer sure if this is reality or if he's living in an episode of Dimension X. Other hobbies are prop-building and 3D printing. He has been known to demonstrate all the ways this can go wrong.
Jon Black (Jon Black) (Facebook) (Twitter) (blueSky) (Instagram) Jon is an award-winning author, game designer, and musical journalist. His blend of historical fiction with pulp, supernatural, or horror twists has been called "historical fan service." Jon's publications include ther series combining 6th-century Arthurian fantasy with 21st-century pulp and the Jazz Age supernatural mystery, Gabriel's Trumpet. Look for Chupacabra vs. Rougarou and Hill Country Supernatural out soon!
Paul Black (Paul Black) (Wikipedia) (Facebook) Paul Black always wanted to make movies, but a career in advertising sidetracked him. He's the international award-winning author of The Tels, Soulware, Nexus Point, The Presence, The Samsara Effect, Cool Brain, and Dark Slide. He has twice won the Independent Publishers Book Award, London and the New York Book Festival. He has also been on the Barnes & Noble Regional Best Seller list, has won the Writer’s Digest Book Award for Genre Fiction, and was optioned for television.
K.B. Bogen (Facebook) A cat-loving native of Texas, K.B. Bogen is a self-confessed knit-/yarn-aholic. She spends much time knitting (with the help of her three cats), inventorying her stash (also with the help of the cats), or fondling yarn anywhere within driving range (the cats don’t like road trips). She likes to cook and enjoys reading forensic anthropology books. Occasionally simultaneously. For nearly 30 years, she has lurked behind the scenes editing, copy editing and manuscript repairing. Her most recent publication, Everything Works in Theory, is available on Amazon, Baen, and Barnes & Noble. The first two books of the Quest series are also available. Coming soon Surely, You Quest—book three of the Quest.
R. Cat Conrad (Facebook) R. Cat Conrad is a jack of all trades …especially if casting calls for someone named Jack. He’s an artist of note who doesn’t sing, but writes song parodies, an illustrator who paints, but has been known to draw to an inside straight, and an actor who campaigns for silent films where his non-speaking roles stand out. A dark ale lover, vintage comic historian, celebrated auctioneer and more…Cat's leather trousers have been active in the SF community for decades!
Scott Cupp Scott A. Cupp is a short story writer from west Texas. His stories frequently feature one or more of the following: a mythological Eest, talking animals, horror, horny toads, cattle, fantasy elements, magic, mystery, and general weirdness. He writes too infrequently. He is married to the amazing Sandi and, as an impending move indicates, has way too much stuff.
Dominick D'Aunno Dominick D’Aunno, MD, writer of speculative fiction, is an Internal Medicine physician with a subspecialty in Space Medicine and Physiology. His NASA research includes cardiovascular adaptation to microgravity, immune system alterations in extreme environments, and musculoskeletal alterations to variable gravities. Dr. D’Aunno’s clinical practice focuses on the medical needs of patients with psychiatric illnesses, autism, developmental disabilities, and adolescents in Child Protective Services. He is also Board Certified in Addiction Medicine and conduct clinical research trials. Dominick works with writers to increase the use of medicine and physiology in speculative fiction.
Chris Donahue Chris Donahue is an electrical engineer living in the Dallas area with his wife and fellow-author, Linda. A former member of a Joe Bob Briggs' Drive In Review committee, he served the public by counting rolling heads, types of Fu, and exposed breasts in committee films. Outside of that, he has been a Navy Avionics tech, brewer, and writes sci-fi, military fiction, horror, humor, and combinations of those themes. His first novel, Death's Paladin, is now available.
Linda L. Donahue Linda has degrees in computer science, Russian studies, Earth science education, and electrical engineering. Additionally, she teaches tai chi and belly dancing, can borrow moon rock samples, and is a certified commercial instrument pilot, advanced ground instructor, and SCUBA diver. Her latest short stories have appeared in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #25 and Chicks and Balances. Her novel, Jaguar Moon, is available from Yard Dog Press. She lives with her husband and pet rabbits, sugar gliders, and cats in Garland, Texas.
Dennis Donigan Dennis Donigan lives in Boulder, Colorado with his life partner, Cheryl Hogan. A retired teacher, he has embraced helping with the grandkids. What an adventure that is! His musical interests are diverse. Recently, he's been exploring Celtic pagan music, mythology and folklore. A common thread is appreciation of nature and its changing seasons. His concert will feature these themes, plus Damh the Bard and Leslie Fish. Come join to hear and singalong with songs about Two Magicians, a Wanderer, a Winter King, John Barleycorn, and many others!
Rhonda Eudaly (Rhonda Eudaly) Rhonda Eudaly lives in Arlington, Texas where she's ventured into several industries and occupations for a wide variety of experience. She's married with dogs and a rapidly growing Minion© army. Her two passions are writing and music, which is evident in her increasing horde of writing instruments. Rhonda has a well-rounded publication history in fiction, non-fiction, and script writing. Check out her website for her latest publications and downloads. (Photo by Bobby Hitt)
Sara Felix (Sara Felix) Sara Felix is a mixed media artist working in resin and inks, a four-time Hugo nominee, and a Chesley nominee. In 2021 she won a FAAn award for her cover for the fanzine BEAM. She has designed two Hugo bases (one with Vincent Villafranca), two lodestar awards, and is working on this year's Lodestar for Discon. She is the president of ASFA, the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists, and is a big promoter of the fanatical arts.
Mark Finn (Mark Finn) (The Gentlemen Nerds) (Twitter) Mark Finn is an author, editor, game designer and pop culture critic. His writing can be found in various RPG zines, comics, books, anthologies, and elsewhere online courtesy of his fictitious North Texas Apocalypse Bunker. When he’s not waxing passionate about popular culture or Robert E. Howard, Finn writes stories, publishes cool stuff, and performs community theater. He lives in North Texas over a historic movie theater with his high school sweetheart and an embarrassing excess of books. style="text-decoration: none; color: #000000;">
Melanie Fletcher (Melanie Fletcher) (Twitter)Melanie Fletcher writes SF as herself and romantasy as Nicola M. Cameron. Her most recent Melanie publication is the alternate history mystery novel A Most Malicious Murder, and her most recent Nicola publication (and 20th book) is the Victorian paranormal romance novel To Love a Wild Swan. Her somewhat lopsided smile is the result of recent surgery for oral cancer (the surgeon got it all and she’s fine) so don’t take it personally.
Dene Foye Dene began playing guitar and singing folk music as a teen in Ohio. Little did he know that he would become irreversibly blind from seeing Selina Rosen in a mini-skirt and high-heeled boots!!! (So she says). However, he has persevered and is getting over his PTSD by playing his guitar and learning to play the Irish whistle.
Bill Frank (Website) Bill Frank is an evildoer at NASA's Johnson Space Center. He is a Chief Training Officer--he leads the team that creates problems for astronauts and mission controllers during training events. His short story, 'Moon Unit,' was published in Analog Magazine.
RJ Hanson (Website) (Facebook) (Twitter) R.J. Hanson's saga, Bloodlines Reforged, spans (and continues to span) generations of knights, wizards, vampires, and more in this epic fantasy.
C. Stuart Hardwick (C. Stuart Hardwick) (Facebook) (Twitter) (Amazon) (Pinterest) (YouTube) Stuart is a regular in Analog Magazine and has won multiple awards including the Writers of the Future contest, the Jim Baen Memorial Award, and Analog’s Analab reader poll. He’s also a Quora Top Science Writer and has a science channel on YouTube. For free stories and information about his “Open Source Space” series, visit his website.
Teddy Harvia Teddy Harvia is the well-known pen name of David Thayer. He has drawn scores of wild beasts, strange BEMs, and big-nosed whiz kids from a world far from Earth who use short words to make fun of all kinds of things in scores of toons and fan art for flyers, zines, and con pubs since 1967. He lives with wife, Diana, and five fat cats in Dallas, Texas. To earn his keep, he works with words at a high-tech firm.
Kissin' the Blarney Stone Imagine, if you will, a small redneck town in Texas...the favorite music of the area, Country.... a most unlikely place for a singer of Celtic music...and even more unlikely for two...but Dennis and Dene met one morning in Columbus and started talking... The rest is history... As Donigan & Foye, they played their first gig on St. Patrick's Day 2014. In 2018, as Kissin' the Blarney Stone, they performed several gigs for the Irish in Boulder, Colorado.
William Ledbetter (William Ledbetter) William Ledbetter is a Nebula Award winning author with three novels and more than seventy speculative fiction stories and non-fiction articles published in five languages, in publications such as Asimov's, Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Analog. He's been a space and technology geek since childhood and spent most of his non-writing career in the aerospace industry. His Killday novel series is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Audible and Interstellar Flight Press.
Jim Mahaffey James Mahaffey is a native Midwesterner who is a transplanted "Texan-by-marriage". His introduction to filk began when he worked the first FenCon convention. He spent ten years as ConOps before volunteering as "the sound guy" and Con Co-Chair. He serves on the Board of Directors for Dallas Future Society and was Con Chair for the first two WhoFest conventions, organized by DFS. James works as an architectural services consultant. He is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and bassist. In 2017, he released his first CD, Transit, with his project band, The Scrap Merchants.
Julia S. Mandala Julia S. Mandala holds a BA in history from Kansas State University and a JD in law from Tulane. In addition to being editor of The Fantasy Writers Asylum, an imprint of Yard Dog Press, she is a scuba diver and belly dancer. She lives in Plano, TX with her husband, Larry, and two demanding, but adorable cats. She is best known as a co-author of the Four Redheads of the Apocalypse series and the Corimar series.
Marshall Ryan Maresca (Marshall Ryan Maresca) Marshall Ryan Maresca is a fantasy and science-fiction writer, author of the Maradaine Saga: Four braided series set amid the bustling streets and crime-ridden districts of the exotic city called Maradaine, which includes The Thorn of Dentonhill, A Murder of Mages, The Holver Alley Crew and The Way of the Shield, as well as the dieselpunk fantasy, The Velocity of Revolution. He is also the co-host of the Hugo-nominated, Stabby-winning podcast Worldbuilding for Masochists, and has been a playwright, an actor, a delivery driver and an amateur chef. He lives in Austin, Texas with his family.
A. Lee Martinez (Website) (Facebook) (Twitter) A. Lee Martinez is best known for his sparkling wit, incredible good looks, and his ability to endlessly debate the Superman VS. Batman dilemma (Correct answer: Tarzan). Also, he's written 10 fantasy novels and managed to get paid for it. If you would like to read random thoughts from him, you can go to his website, or check him out on Twitter or Facebook.
Kip McMurray Clifford R. (Kip) McMurray is a freelance writer who’s been an sf reader and space activist practically from birth. He has served on the National Space Society Board of Directors, including a term as Executive Vice-President and Policy Committee Co-Chairman. He was a founder of the NSS Space Blitz, an annual citizen lobbyist event. He’s the CEO of an editing and manuscript coaching company for authors and public speakers. He also filks and sings Irish music at the local pub.
Iain Miller Conceived around the same time as FenCon - by some of the same people - Iain Miller is a local guitarist with folk influences. When not taking photos or playing cricket, Iain is training to be a professional hobo.
Tim Morgan Tim Morgan is an award-winning professional futurist, past president of the Dallas Future Society, and a former FenCon Con Chair He also occasionally writes essays on strategic foresight and the future on his Substack blog, The Everyday Futurist.
Michelle Muenzler (she/her) (Michelle Muenzler) (Facebook) Michelle Muenzler is an author of the weird and sometimes poet. Known at local conventions as "The Cookie Lady", she writes fiction both dark and strange to counterbalance the sweetness of her baking.
Kathleen O'Brien (Vintage Fashion Explained) (Victorian Smoking Caps) (Writers' Resources) Kathleen M. O'Brien began sewing at age four, learning traditional techniques from her mother and grandmother. She collects and studies vintage clothing to decipher mysteries of drape and fit found in previous eras. Her costumes include both original designs and reproductions, utilizing many historical techniques. She enjoys sharing both these skills and her collection with others and has published several books including Victorian Smoking Caps and her Writers' Resources series.
Ted Panella (Ted Pannella) (Facebook) (Instagram) Ted is an Oklahoma-based architect, gamer, pithy observer of the human condition, and author of the forthcoming sci-fi novel Infinity. As an architect for twenty years, he's keenly aware of layout, design, and spatial relations, which benefits him as a storyteller. With short stories published in various anthologies, Ted writes to not just entertain, but also to show the struggles of finding meaning in life, family, and love amongst those called friends and enemies. When not listening to his characters eager to be fleshed out in his writing, he fills his copious free time with woodworking, gaming, and endeavoring to create the perfect cheesecake.
Avery Parks (AveryParks) Avery Parks (she/her) is a science fiction writer, with stories at Solarpunk Magazine, Cossmass Infinities, and Infinite Worlds, among others. She lives in Texas with her family, a variety of pets, and (according to some) too many books.
Stephen Patrick (Facebook) Born in the Kentucky bluegrass, but inspired by the Lone Star state, Stephen Patrick's storytelling ranges between historical, thriller, science fiction, and horror. His most recent offerings include The Holocaust Engine trilogy with David Rike, and stories in Road Kill: Texas Horror by Texas Authors, Vol 1 and 2 and Crimson Streets. Every year, he explores new skills/disciplines to find ideas for his work. This year is yoga/breathing as a discipline and 3D design and printing, which have more in common than he cares to admit.
Teresa Patterson (Event Horizon EBooks) (Facebook) Teresa Patterson’s work includes The World of Shannara with Terry Brooks, The World of the Wheel of Time with Robert Jordan, No Quarter with Robert Asprin, Combat Corpsman with Navy SEAL Greg McPartlin, numerous short stories, and humorous history essays. When not writing, she works for the non-profit Trinity Coalition, managing the Trinity River National Water Trail.
Alan J. Porter (Alan J. Porter) (Twitter) Alan J. Porter writes about stuff and makes up stories too. Most recently he can be found Galloping Around the Cosmos for Becky's Books and regenerating in the latest volume from ATB Publishing's Outside In series celebrating 60 years of a certain Time Lord. His writing in various books, magazines, and websites covers the worlds of Pop Culture, Comics, High-Adventure fiction, Movies, Music, Business Strategy, and more.
Dusty Rainbolt (Website) In decades past, Dusty got her thrills investigating haunted locations with her EMF meters and video cameras. Those experiences later fueled her paranormal mystery, Death Under the Crescent Moon, as well as her award-winning books Ghost Cats and Ghost Cats 2 – collections of personal accounts about things that head-bump in the night! Sci-fi fans know Dusty for her hilarious sci-fi adventure, All the Marbles, and the Four Redheads of the Apocalypse series co-authored with three other redheads.
Ravenar Ravenar (Amora, Linda Donahue, and Julia Mandala) performs traditional and SF/Fantasy-themed belly dance. They have appeared at several Worldcons and at regional conventions in the Midwest and South.
Kim Redford (Kim Redford) (Goodreads) Kim Redford is the bestselling author of fantasy, horror, romance and history under several pen names. Her first novel sold a half million copies and Out of the West was optioned for a television movie. Fresh Fiction says “Tightly plotted, impeccably paced, and rich in Texan detail” about her cowboy firefighter series. She divides her time between city and country, frequently escaping to her ranch where she rides horses and plots her next novel.
M. T. Reiten (M. T. Reiten) (Facebook) M. T. Reiten comes to FenCon after relocating to the National Capitol Region after pursuing a new job during the pandemic. He is a Writers of the Future winner, Phobos award winner, and Jim Baen Memorial winner. His stories have appeared in S. M. Stirling's Change anthology and Robosoldiers: Thank You for Your Servos. His newest story is due out in June in Tales of the US Space Force, edited by C. Stuart Hardwick.
David Rike David Rike is the author of the Holocaust Engine series with Stephen Patrick. He is also the host of the YouTube channel "From the Bunker" which explores topics of literature and the possibility of societal collapse.
Rook Riley (Rook Riley) Army vet Rook Riley is a writer, game enthusiast, and linguist trained in Krav Maga. They split their time between teaching middle school in the DFW area and the family farm where the bulk of their writing is done. They are a member of Missing in America, the Horror Writers Association, and the PTA. Their hobbies include binge-watching streaming services and collecting tattoos. Their newest short story, "Joy Against the World", will appear in The Haunted Zone: A Horror Anthology by Women Military Veterans in March 2024.
Selina Rosen (Selina Rosen) (Yard Dog Press) (Castle Farms) (Facebook) (YouTube) Some of Selina Rosen’s short fiction has appeared in The Lorelei Signal, Sword and Sorceress, Turn the Other Chick, and Thieves’ World. Her most recent novel, The Territories, is the 5th in the Sword Masters series. Among her 33+ novels are the Chains trilogy, Strange Robby, The Holmes & Storm Mysteries, and How I Spent the Apocalypse. She has also written a self-help book, It’s Not Rocket Science, and non-genres including The Pit and Vanishing Fame. Visit her on YouTube.
Amber Royer (Amber Royer) (Facebook) (Instagram) (Youtube) (Amazon) (Goodreads) Amber Royer writes the Chocoverse space opera series, and the Bean to Bar Mysteries. She is also the author of Story Like a Journalist: A Workbook for Novelists and has co-authored a chocolate-related cookbook with her husband. She also teaches creative writing and is an author coach. If you are very nice to her, she might make you cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes, obviously.
Ken Ruffin (Ken Ruffin) (National Space Society of North Texas) A former Aerospace Engineering student, Ken has been either the VP or the President of the award-winning NSS of North Texas (NSS-NT) since 2011. Across the DFW Metroplex, Ken gives presentations and news interviews to inform and inspire the public about the latest information in space travel.
Patrice Sarath (Patrice Sarath) (Facebook) Patrice Sarath is an author and editor living in Austin, Texas. Her novels include the fantasy books The Sisters Mederos and Fog Season (Books I and II of the Tales of Port Saint Frey), the Gordath Wood series (Gordath Wood, Red Gold Bridge, and The Crow God’s Girl), and the romance The Unexpected Miss Bennet. She is a film student at Austin Community College and has won awards for her student film Do Over.
Adrian Simmons (Facebook) (Heroic Fantasy Quarterly) (Heroic Fantasy Quarterly Facebook) (Best of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly) Adrian Simmons writes and edits from a well-stocked location in central Oklahoma. When not working on his own writing, he hammers out Heroic Fantasy Quarterly ezine. There is backpacking in his life, and taekwondo, too. He’s helmed 49 issues of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly released and three best-of anthologies. His fiction has appeared in James Gunn's Ad Astra, Tales From the Magician’s Skull, and Giganotosaurus. His nonfiction has been published at Strange Horizons, Internet Review of Science Fiction, and Black Gate.
Brad Sinor (Brad Sinor) (Facebook) (LiveJournal) Bradley H. Sinor’s short stories have appeared in many anthologies. His collections include The Game’s Afoot: A Sherlock Holmes Miscellany and Of Two Minds, including stories by both Brad and Sue. Novels include The Hunt For The Red Cardinal, written with Sue, The Eye Of Dawn, and two new publications, The Grantville Inquisitor, written with Tracy S. Morris, and Megan Thomas, Forensic Sorceress. Check Amazon for availability of these books.
Sue Sinor (Facebook) Sue Sinor started writing at the urging of her husband, Brad. She has stories in several Yard Dog Press publications, as well as others. Sue and Brad have collaborative stories in the anthology Rotten Relations and in Grantville Gazette 4, as well as several for Yard Dog Press. Most recently they have a joint collection, Of Two Minds, and a novel in the Ring of Fire universe titled The Hunt For The Red Cardinal, both available on Amazon.
Amy Sisson (Amy Sisson) (LibraryThing) Amy Sisson is a writer, reviewer, librarian, Trekkie, and crazy cat lady. Her recent short story publications include "Places We Call Home" in Perihelion and "Jackpot Time" in Devilfish Review.
Libby A. Smith Libby A. Smith’s short stories have appeared in Avast, Ye Airships and Haunted Holidays, online at 4 Star Stories, and in small press comics. Her adaptation of ‘Rainbow Bridge’ was designed for cross-stitch by Sue Hillis. A member of the filk pirate group Bad Bards & Beyond, she has been known to burst into songs at inappropriate times. Libby lives in Central Arkansas with Oscar Wilde and Dolly Parton, her cats.
Mike Stewart (Victorious Website) (Facebook) Mike Stewart is a writer of fiction and games in the tabletop RPG industry for 20 years, including an award-winning Steampunk RPG, Victorious. His fiction has appeared in several anthologies for various publishers. Mike is a prolific podcaster and is a founding host of the Save For Half podcast, a show about Old School games and their modern inspirations for the past seven years. In his secret identity, Mike is a professor of US history, but don't tell anyone!
Kathryn Sullivan (Kathryn Sullivan) (Facebook) Kathryn Sullivan writes young adult science fiction and fantasy. Any place and any object is at risk of appearing in her stories--the river bluffs surrounding Winona, MN, where she lives, can become the windswept cliffs of an alien planet or the deep mysterious woods of a fantasy tale. She is owned by a large cockatoo, who graciously allows her to write about other animals, as well as birdlike aliens.
Jess Tucker (Website) (Instagram) (BigCartel) Jess Tucker is an archivist, avid reader, pop culture critic, and artist. She curates the Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection at the University of North Texas, collecting the papers of Texas authors (past and present) as well as documenting the history of fandom and SFF conventions in Texas. Jess has presented for CUNY on the evolution of Red Sonja and coauthored a chapter on Wonder Woman's Historia. In her art, she explores the whimsical macabre through jewelry, paper art, and her award-winning skeleton tableaus.
Mel. White (Facebook) (Twitter) Known to her kids as "Indiana Mom", Mel. has gone back to school to become "Dr. Indiana Mom." She still works on fossils for the Museum of Nature and Science and is now a volunteer educator at Trinity River Audubon Center as well as a Texas Master Naturalist. She's also a proud member of the Yard Dog Press gang, with a story in A Bubba in Time Saves None.
Ben Yalow Ben has been to 800+ cons, including the last 51 Worldcons, and worked on about a third of them, including most of the Worldcons on four continents. He was Fan GoH at the last Worldcon and co-chaired the 2023 Worldcon in Chengdu, China. He’s edited four books for NESFA Press – the Hugo nominations were for the excellence of the author, not the editor. He moved to Texas from New York.
John Yarrow (John Yarrow) (Facebook) (TikTok) John and Leanne Yarrow have released a striking debut novel, Future's Dark Past, launching their series, the Time Forward Trilogy. Their writing appeals to fans of science fiction and speculative fiction, blending scientific concepts with human emotion to transform their work into a journey through “future” possibilities. They enjoy travel, hiking in the great outdoors, experiencing new places, and relishing a good meal and bottle of wine with family and friends. Book two, Future Unfolds comes out in June 2024
D.L. Young (Facebook) (Instagram) (TikTok) D.L. Young is a Pushcart Prize nominee and winner of the Independent Press Award. He’s also much less serious than his author photo implies. A lifelong science fiction fan, his intense, fast-paced novels echo his many influences from books and movies, including Star Wars, the Mad Max films, Dune, Blade Runner, Star Trek, Harlan Ellison, and the novels of William Gibson. If you like page-turning, edgy science fiction, you’re definitely his kind of reader.

Larry Atchley

(Website) Larry Atchley Jr writes poetry, fantasy, science fiction and horror. In addition to his short stories and poetry appearing in a multitude of anthologies, he has stories in volumes of the shared universe series Heroes in Hell, and Sha'Daa. He performs with The Sea Dog Slam as Lars Shortshanks, the Pirate Poet. He likes watching Britcoms with his wife Ali, bicycling, nature hiking, reading and collecting books.

Kathleen Baldwin

(Website) (Facebook) (Instagram) (GoodReads) (Youtube) “Master of the unexpected,” Kathleen Baldwin, is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author who enchants readers around the globe with over 650,000 copies sold. A Japanese publisher adapted one of her books into a manga. Ian Bryce, producer of Transformers, optioned her series for film. In real life, Kathleen loves adventure. She taught rock climbing, enjoyed survival camping in the desert and mountains, and inadvertently slept beside a mountain lion. Sanctuary for Seers, an Alternate History Spy Romantasy, was released 6/2023.

Julie Barrett

(Stately Barrett Manor) (Steamcat) (Facebook) Julie Barrett is a writer, photographer, and maker of interesting things from Plano, TX. She is also a founding member of The Generic Radio Workshop, member of the Dallas Future Society board, and sells photography, fiber art, and hats through SteamCat.net. Julie writes short stories, radio plays, and whatever else helps pay the bills. She hates the bills. Find her at Stately Barrett Manor or on Facebook.

Paul Barrett

Amongst Paul's many pastimes, a favorite is creating, finding, and programming the sound effects for Generic Radio Workshop productions. As with the other GRW founders, he's done so many of these shows that he's no longer sure if this is reality or if he's living in an episode of Dimension X. Other hobbies are prop-building and 3D printing. He has been known to demonstrate all the ways this can go wrong.

Jon Black

(Jon Black) (Facebook) (Twitter) (blueSky) (Instagram) Jon is an award-winning author, game designer, and musical journalist. His blend of historical fiction with pulp, supernatural, or horror twists has been called "historical fan service." Jon's publications include ther series combining 6th-century Arthurian fantasy with 21st-century pulp and the Jazz Age supernatural mystery, Gabriel's Trumpet. Look for Chupacabra vs. Rougarou and Hill Country Supernatural out soon!

Paul Black

(Paul Black) (Wikipedia) (Facebook) Paul Black always wanted to make movies, but a career in advertising sidetracked him. He's the international award-winning author of The Tels, Soulware, Nexus Point, The Presence, The Samsara Effect, Cool Brain, and Dark Slide. He has twice won the Independent Publishers Book Award, London and the New York Book Festival. He has also been on the Barnes & Noble Regional Best Seller list, has won the Writer’s Digest Book Award for Genre Fiction, and was optioned for television.

K.B. Bogen

(Facebook)

A cat-loving native of Texas, K.B. Bogen is a self-confessed knit-/yarn-aholic. She spends much time knitting (with the help of her three cats), inventorying her stash (also with the help of the cats), or fondling yarn anywhere within driving range (the cats don’t like road trips). She likes to cook and enjoys reading forensic anthropology books. Occasionally simultaneously. For nearly 30 years, she has lurked behind the scenes editing, copy editing and manuscript repairing. Her most recent publication, Everything Works in Theory, is available on Amazon, Baen, and Barnes & Noble. The first two books of the Quest series are also available. Coming soon Surely, You Quest—book three of the Quest.

R. Cat Conrad

(Facebook) R. Cat Conrad is a jack of all trades …especially if casting calls for someone named Jack. He’s an artist of note who doesn’t sing, but writes song parodies, an illustrator who paints, but has been known to draw to an inside straight, and an actor who campaigns for silent films where his non-speaking roles stand out. A dark ale lover, vintage comic historian, celebrated auctioneer and more…Cat's leather trousers have been active in the SF community for decades!

Scott Cupp

Scott A. Cupp is a short story writer from west Texas. His stories frequently feature one or more of the following: a mythological Eest, talking animals, horror, horny toads, cattle, fantasy elements, magic, mystery, and general weirdness. He writes too infrequently. He is married to the amazing Sandi and, as an impending move indicates, has way too much stuff.

Dominick D'Aunno

Dominick D’Aunno, MD, writer of speculative fiction, is an Internal Medicine physician with a subspecialty in Space Medicine and Physiology. His NASA research includes cardiovascular adaptation to microgravity, immune system alterations in extreme environments, and musculoskeletal alterations to variable gravities. Dr. D’Aunno’s clinical practice focuses on the medical needs of patients with psychiatric illnesses, autism, developmental disabilities, and adolescents in Child Protective Services. He is also Board Certified in Addiction Medicine and conduct clinical research trials. Dominick works with writers to increase the use of medicine and physiology in speculative fiction.

Chris Donahue

Chris Donahue is an electrical engineer living in the Dallas area with his wife and fellow-author, Linda. A former member of a Joe Bob Briggs' Drive In Review committee, he served the public by counting rolling heads, types of Fu, and exposed breasts in committee films. Outside of that, he has been a Navy Avionics tech, brewer, and writes sci-fi, military fiction, horror, humor, and combinations of those themes. His first novel, Death's Paladin, is now available.

Linda L. Donahue

Linda has degrees in computer science, Russian studies, Earth science education, and electrical engineering. Additionally, she teaches tai chi and belly dancing, can borrow moon rock samples, and is a certified commercial instrument pilot, advanced ground instructor, and SCUBA diver. Her latest short stories have appeared in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #25 and Chicks and Balances. Her novel, Jaguar Moon, is available from Yard Dog Press. She lives with her husband and pet rabbits, sugar gliders, and cats in Garland, Texas.

Dennis Donigan

Dennis Donigan lives in Boulder, Colorado with his life partner, Cheryl Hogan. A retired teacher, he has embraced helping with the grandkids. What an adventure that is! His musical interests are diverse. Recently, he's been exploring Celtic pagan music, mythology and folklore. A common thread is appreciation of nature and its changing seasons. His concert will feature these themes, plus Damh the Bard and Leslie Fish. Come join to hear and singalong with songs about Two Magicians, a Wanderer, a Winter King, John Barleycorn, and many others!

Rhonda Eudaly

(Rhonda Eudaly) Rhonda Eudaly lives in Arlington, Texas where she's ventured into several industries and occupations for a wide variety of experience. She's married with dogs and a rapidly growing Minion© army. Her two passions are writing and music, which is evident in her increasing horde of writing instruments. Rhonda has a well-rounded publication history in fiction, non-fiction, and script writing. Check out her website for her latest publications and downloads.
(Photo by Bobby Hitt)

Sara Felix

(Sara Felix) Sara Felix is a mixed media artist working in resin and inks, a four-time Hugo nominee, and a Chesley nominee. In 2021 she won a FAAn award for her cover for the fanzine BEAM. She has designed two Hugo bases (one with Vincent Villafranca), two lodestar awards, and is working on this year's Lodestar for Discon. She is the president of ASFA, the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists, and is a big promoter of the fanatical arts.

Mark Finn

(Mark Finn) (The Gentlemen Nerds) (Twitter) Mark Finn is an author, editor, game designer and pop culture critic. His writing can be found in various RPG zines, comics, books, anthologies, and elsewhere online courtesy of his fictitious North Texas Apocalypse Bunker. When he’s not waxing passionate about popular culture or Robert E. Howard, Finn writes stories, publishes cool stuff, and performs community theater. He lives in North Texas over a historic movie theater with his high school sweetheart and an embarrassing excess of books. style="text-decoration: none; color: #000000;">

Melanie Fletcher

(Melanie Fletcher) (Twitter)Melanie Fletcher writes SF as herself and romantasy as Nicola M. Cameron. Her most recent Melanie publication is the alternate history mystery novel A Most Malicious Murder, and her most recent Nicola publication (and 20th book) is the Victorian paranormal romance novel To Love a Wild Swan. Her somewhat lopsided smile is the result of recent surgery for oral cancer (the surgeon got it all and she’s fine) so don’t take it personally.

Dene Foye

Dene began playing guitar and singing folk music as a teen in Ohio. Little did he know that he would become irreversibly blind from seeing Selina Rosen in a mini-skirt and high-heeled boots!!! (So she says). However, he has persevered and is getting over his PTSD by playing his guitar and learning to play the Irish whistle.

Bill Frank

(Website) Bill Frank is an evildoer at NASA's Johnson Space Center. He is a Chief Training Officer--he leads the team that creates problems for astronauts and mission controllers during training events. His short story, 'Moon Unit,' was published in Analog Magazine.

RJ Hanson

(Website) (Facebook) (Twitter) R.J. Hanson's saga, Bloodlines Reforged, spans (and continues to span) generations of knights, wizards, vampires, and more in this epic fantasy.

C. Stuart Hardwick

(C. Stuart Hardwick) (Facebook) (Twitter) (Amazon) (Pinterest) (YouTube) Stuart is a regular in Analog Magazine and has won multiple awards including the Writers of the Future contest, the Jim Baen Memorial Award, and Analog’s Analab reader poll. He’s also a Quora Top Science Writer and has a science channel on YouTube. For free stories and information about his “Open Source Space” series, visit his website.

Teddy Harvia

Teddy Harvia is the well-known pen name of David Thayer. He has drawn scores of wild beasts, strange BEMs, and big-nosed whiz kids from a world far from Earth who use short words to make fun of all kinds of things in scores of toons and fan art for flyers, zines, and con pubs since 1967. He lives with wife, Diana, and five fat cats in Dallas, Texas. To earn his keep, he works with words at a high-tech firm.

Kissin' the Blarney Stone

Imagine, if you will, a small redneck town in Texas...the favorite music of the area, Country.... a most unlikely place for a singer of Celtic music...and even more unlikely for two...but Dennis and Dene met one morning in Columbus and started talking... The rest is history... As Donigan & Foye, they played their first gig on St. Patrick's Day 2014. In 2018, as Kissin' the Blarney Stone, they performed several gigs for the Irish in Boulder, Colorado.

William Ledbetter

(William Ledbetter) William Ledbetter is a Nebula Award winning author with three novels and more than seventy speculative fiction stories and non-fiction articles published in five languages, in publications such as Asimov's, Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Analog. He's been a space and technology geek since childhood and spent most of his non-writing career in the aerospace industry. His Killday novel series is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Audible and Interstellar Flight Press.

Jim Mahaffey

James Mahaffey is a native Midwesterner who is a transplanted "Texan-by-marriage". His introduction to filk began when he worked the first FenCon convention. He spent ten years as ConOps before volunteering as "the sound guy" and Con Co-Chair. He serves on the Board of Directors for Dallas Future Society and was Con Chair for the first two WhoFest conventions, organized by DFS. James works as an architectural services consultant. He is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and bassist. In 2017, he released his first CD, Transit, with his project band, The Scrap Merchants.

Julia S. Mandala

Julia S. Mandala holds a BA in history from Kansas State University and a JD in law from Tulane. In addition to being editor of The Fantasy Writers Asylum, an imprint of Yard Dog Press, she is a scuba diver and belly dancer. She lives in Plano, TX with her husband, Larry, and two demanding, but adorable cats. She is best known as a co-author of the Four Redheads of the Apocalypse series and the Corimar series.

Marshall Ryan Maresca

(Marshall Ryan Maresca) Marshall Ryan Maresca is a fantasy and science-fiction writer, author of the Maradaine Saga: Four braided series set amid the bustling streets and crime-ridden districts of the exotic city called Maradaine, which includes The Thorn of Dentonhill, A Murder of Mages, The Holver Alley Crew and The Way of the Shield, as well as the dieselpunk fantasy, The Velocity of Revolution. He is also the co-host of the Hugo-nominated, Stabby-winning podcast Worldbuilding for Masochists, and has been a playwright, an actor, a delivery driver and an amateur chef. He lives in Austin, Texas with his family.

A. Lee Martinez

(Website) (Facebook) (Twitter) A. Lee Martinez is best known for his sparkling wit, incredible good looks, and his ability to endlessly debate the Superman VS. Batman dilemma (Correct answer: Tarzan). Also, he's written 10 fantasy novels and managed to get paid for it. If you would like to read random thoughts from him, you can go to his website, or check him out on Twitter or Facebook.

Kip McMurray

Clifford R. (Kip) McMurray is a freelance writer who’s been an sf reader and space activist practically from birth. He has served on the National Space Society Board of Directors, including a term as Executive Vice-President and Policy Committee Co-Chairman. He was a founder of the NSS Space Blitz, an annual citizen lobbyist event. He’s the CEO of an editing and manuscript coaching company for authors and public speakers. He also filks and sings Irish music at the local pub.

Iain Miller

Conceived around the same time as FenCon - by some of the same people - Iain Miller is a local guitarist with folk influences. When not taking photos or playing cricket, Iain is training to be a professional hobo.

Tim Morgan

Tim Morgan is an award-winning professional futurist, past president of the Dallas Future Society, and a former FenCon Con Chair He also occasionally writes essays on strategic foresight and the future on his Substack blog, The Everyday Futurist.

Michelle Muenzler (she/her)

(Michelle Muenzler) (Facebook) Michelle Muenzler is an author of the weird and sometimes poet. Known at local conventions as "The Cookie Lady", she writes fiction both dark and strange to counterbalance the sweetness of her baking.

Kathleen O'Brien

(Vintage Fashion Explained) (Victorian Smoking Caps) (Writers' Resources)

Kathleen M. O'Brien began sewing at age four, learning traditional techniques from her mother and grandmother. She collects and studies vintage clothing to decipher mysteries of drape and fit found in previous eras. Her costumes include both original designs and reproductions, utilizing many historical techniques. She enjoys sharing both these skills and her collection with others and has published several books including Victorian Smoking Caps and her Writers' Resources series.

Ted Panella

(Ted Pannella) (Facebook) (Instagram) Ted is an Oklahoma-based architect, gamer, pithy observer of the human condition, and author of the forthcoming sci-fi novel Infinity. As an architect for twenty years, he's keenly aware of layout, design, and spatial relations, which benefits him as a storyteller. With short stories published in various anthologies, Ted writes to not just entertain, but also to show the struggles of finding meaning in life, family, and love amongst those called friends and enemies. When not listening to his characters eager to be fleshed out in his writing, he fills his copious free time with woodworking, gaming, and endeavoring to create the perfect cheesecake.

Avery Parks

(AveryParks) Avery Parks (she/her) is a science fiction writer, with stories at Solarpunk Magazine, Cossmass Infinities, and Infinite Worlds, among others. She lives in Texas with her family, a variety of pets, and (according to some) too many books.

Stephen Patrick

(Facebook) Born in the Kentucky bluegrass, but inspired by the Lone Star state, Stephen Patrick's storytelling ranges between historical, thriller, science fiction, and horror. His most recent offerings include The Holocaust Engine trilogy with David Rike, and stories in Road Kill: Texas Horror by Texas Authors, Vol 1 and 2 and Crimson Streets. Every year, he explores new skills/disciplines to find ideas for his work. This year is yoga/breathing as a discipline and 3D design and printing, which have more in common than he cares to admit.

Teresa Patterson

(Event Horizon EBooks) (Facebook) Teresa Patterson’s work includes The World of Shannara with Terry Brooks, The World of the Wheel of Time with Robert Jordan, No Quarter with Robert Asprin, Combat Corpsman with Navy SEAL Greg McPartlin, numerous short stories, and humorous history essays. When not writing, she works for the non-profit Trinity Coalition, managing the Trinity River National Water Trail.

Alan J. Porter

(Alan J. Porter) (Twitter) Alan J. Porter writes about stuff and makes up stories too. Most recently he can be found Galloping Around the Cosmos for Becky's Books and regenerating in the latest volume from ATB Publishing's Outside In series celebrating 60 years of a certain Time Lord. His writing in various books, magazines, and websites covers the worlds of Pop Culture, Comics, High-Adventure fiction, Movies, Music, Business Strategy, and more.

Dusty Rainbolt

(Website) In decades past, Dusty got her thrills investigating haunted locations with her EMF meters and video cameras. Those experiences later fueled her paranormal mystery, Death Under the Crescent Moon, as well as her award-winning books Ghost Cats and Ghost Cats 2 – collections of personal accounts about things that head-bump in the night! Sci-fi fans know Dusty for her hilarious sci-fi adventure, All the Marbles, and the Four Redheads of the Apocalypse series co-authored with three other redheads.

Ravenar

Ravenar (Amora, Linda Donahue, and Julia Mandala) performs traditional and SF/Fantasy-themed belly dance. They have appeared at several Worldcons and at regional conventions in the Midwest and South.

Kim Redford

(Kim Redford) (Goodreads) Kim Redford is the bestselling author of fantasy, horror, romance and history under several pen names. Her first novel sold a half million copies and Out of the West was optioned for a television movie. Fresh Fiction says “Tightly plotted, impeccably paced, and rich in Texan detail” about her cowboy firefighter series. She divides her time between city and country, frequently escaping to her ranch where she rides horses and plots her next novel.

M. T. Reiten

(M. T. Reiten) (Facebook) M. T. Reiten comes to FenCon after relocating to the National Capitol Region after pursuing a new job during the pandemic. He is a Writers of the Future winner, Phobos award winner, and Jim Baen Memorial winner. His stories have appeared in S. M. Stirling's Change anthology and Robosoldiers: Thank You for Your Servos. His newest story is due out in June in Tales of the US Space Force, edited by C. Stuart Hardwick.

David Rike

David Rike is the author of the Holocaust Engine series with Stephen Patrick. He is also the host of the YouTube channel "From the Bunker" which explores topics of literature and the possibility of societal collapse.

Rook Riley

(Rook Riley) Army vet Rook Riley is a writer, game enthusiast, and linguist trained in Krav Maga. They split their time between teaching middle school in the DFW area and the family farm where the bulk of their writing is done. They are a member of Missing in America, the Horror Writers Association, and the PTA. Their hobbies include binge-watching streaming services and collecting tattoos. Their newest short story, "Joy Against the World", will appear in The Haunted Zone: A Horror Anthology by Women Military Veterans in March 2024.

Selina Rosen

(Selina Rosen) (Yard Dog Press) (Castle Farms) (Facebook) (YouTube) Some of Selina Rosen’s short fiction has appeared in The Lorelei Signal, Sword and Sorceress, Turn the Other Chick, and Thieves’ World. Her most recent novel, The Territories, is the 5th in the Sword Masters series. Among her 33+ novels are the Chains trilogy, Strange Robby, The Holmes & Storm Mysteries, and How I Spent the Apocalypse. She has also written a self-help book, It’s Not Rocket Science, and non-genres including The Pit and Vanishing Fame. Visit her on YouTube.

Amber Royer

(Amber Royer) (Facebook) (Instagram) (Youtube) (Amazon) (Goodreads) Amber Royer writes the Chocoverse space opera series, and the Bean to Bar Mysteries. She is also the author of Story Like a Journalist: A Workbook for Novelists and has co-authored a chocolate-related cookbook with her husband. She also teaches creative writing and is an author coach. If you are very nice to her, she might make you cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes, obviously.

Ken Ruffin

(Ken Ruffin) (National Space Society of North Texas) A former Aerospace Engineering student, Ken has been either the VP or the President of the award-winning NSS of North Texas (NSS-NT) since 2011. Across the DFW Metroplex, Ken gives presentations and news interviews to inform and inspire the public about the latest information in space travel.

Patrice Sarath

(Patrice Sarath) (Facebook) Patrice Sarath is an author and editor living in Austin, Texas. Her novels include the fantasy books The Sisters Mederos and Fog Season (Books I and II of the Tales of Port Saint Frey), the Gordath Wood series (Gordath Wood, Red Gold Bridge, and The Crow God’s Girl), and the romance The Unexpected Miss Bennet. She is a film student at Austin Community College and has won awards for her student film Do Over.

Adrian Simmons

(Facebook) (Heroic Fantasy Quarterly) (Heroic Fantasy Quarterly Facebook) (Best of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly) Adrian Simmons writes and edits from a well-stocked location in central Oklahoma. When not working on his own writing, he hammers out Heroic Fantasy Quarterly ezine. There is backpacking in his life, and taekwondo, too. He’s helmed 49 issues of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly released and three best-of anthologies. His fiction has appeared in James Gunn's Ad Astra, Tales From the Magician’s Skull, and Giganotosaurus. His nonfiction has been published at Strange Horizons, Internet Review of Science Fiction, and Black Gate.

Brad Sinor

(Brad Sinor) (Facebook) (LiveJournal) Bradley H. Sinor’s short stories have appeared in many anthologies. His collections include The Game’s Afoot: A Sherlock Holmes Miscellany and Of Two Minds, including stories by both Brad and Sue. Novels include The Hunt For The Red Cardinal, written with Sue, The Eye Of Dawn, and two new publications, The Grantville Inquisitor, written with Tracy S. Morris, and Megan Thomas, Forensic Sorceress. Check Amazon for availability of these books.

Sue Sinor

(Facebook) Sue Sinor started writing at the urging of her husband, Brad. She has stories in several Yard Dog Press publications, as well as others. Sue and Brad have collaborative stories in the anthology Rotten Relations and in Grantville Gazette 4, as well as several for Yard Dog Press. Most recently they have a joint collection, Of Two Minds, and a novel in the Ring of Fire universe titled The Hunt For The Red Cardinal, both available on Amazon.

Amy Sisson

(Amy Sisson) (LibraryThing) Amy Sisson is a writer, reviewer, librarian, Trekkie, and crazy cat lady. Her recent short story publications include "Places We Call Home" in Perihelion and "Jackpot Time" in Devilfish Review.

Libby A. Smith

Libby A. Smith’s short stories have appeared in Avast, Ye Airships and Haunted Holidays, online at 4 Star Stories, and in small press comics. Her adaptation of ‘Rainbow Bridge’ was designed for cross-stitch by Sue Hillis. A member of the filk pirate group Bad Bards & Beyond, she has been known to burst into songs at inappropriate times. Libby lives in Central Arkansas with Oscar Wilde and Dolly Parton, her cats.

Mike Stewart

(Victorious Website) (Facebook) Mike Stewart is a writer of fiction and games in the tabletop RPG industry for 20 years, including an award-winning Steampunk RPG, Victorious. His fiction has appeared in several anthologies for various publishers. Mike is a prolific podcaster and is a founding host of the Save For Half podcast, a show about Old School games and their modern inspirations for the past seven years. In his secret identity, Mike is a professor of US history, but don't tell anyone!

Kathryn Sullivan

(Kathryn Sullivan) (Facebook) Kathryn Sullivan writes young adult science fiction and fantasy. Any place and any object is at risk of appearing in her stories--the river bluffs surrounding Winona, MN, where she lives, can become the windswept cliffs of an alien planet or the deep mysterious woods of a fantasy tale. She is owned by a large cockatoo, who graciously allows her to write about other animals, as well as birdlike aliens.

Jess Tucker

(Website) (Instagram) (BigCartel) Jess Tucker is an archivist, avid reader, pop culture critic, and artist. She curates the Science Fiction and Fantasy Collection at the University of North Texas, collecting the papers of Texas authors (past and present) as well as documenting the history of fandom and SFF conventions in Texas. Jess has presented for CUNY on the evolution of Red Sonja and coauthored a chapter on Wonder Woman's Historia. In her art, she explores the whimsical macabre through jewelry, paper art, and her award-winning skeleton tableaus.

Mel. White

(Facebook) (Twitter) Known to her kids as "Indiana Mom", Mel. has gone back to school to become "Dr. Indiana Mom." She still works on fossils for the Museum of Nature and Science and is now a volunteer educator at Trinity River Audubon Center as well as a Texas Master Naturalist. She's also a proud member of the Yard Dog Press gang, with a story in A Bubba in Time Saves None.

Ben Yalow

Ben has been to 800+ cons, including the last 51 Worldcons, and worked on about a third of them, including most of the Worldcons on four continents. He was Fan GoH at the last Worldcon and co-chaired the 2023 Worldcon in Chengdu, China. He’s edited four books for NESFA Press – the Hugo nominations were for the excellence of the author, not the editor. He moved to Texas from New York.

John Yarrow

(John Yarrow) (Facebook) (TikTok) John and Leanne Yarrow have released a striking debut novel, Future's Dark Past, launching their series, the Time Forward Trilogy. Their writing appeals to fans of science fiction and speculative fiction, blending scientific concepts with human emotion to transform their work into a journey through “future” possibilities. They enjoy travel, hiking in the great outdoors, experiencing new places, and relishing a good meal and bottle of wine with family and friends. Book two, Future Unfolds comes out in June 2024

D.L. Young

(Facebook) (Instagram) (TikTok) D.L. Young is a Pushcart Prize nominee and winner of the Independent Press Award. He’s also much less serious than his author photo implies. A lifelong science fiction fan, his intense, fast-paced novels echo his many influences from books and movies, including Star Wars, the Mad Max films, Dune, Blade Runner, Star Trek, Harlan Ellison, and the novels of William Gibson. If you like page-turning, edgy science fiction, you’re definitely his kind of reader.

The following regret they are unable to attend FenCon this year:
Kimm Antell	Peri Charlifu	Aaron de Orive	Brad W. Foster
Bart Kemper	Tracy S. Morris	Rie Sheridan Rose	Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam
Triskelion

Our panelist list for this year is full. If you are interested in being a participant next year, please read our program participant guidelines before contacting us. We hope it will answer most of your questions. Thanks.

A Fan-Operated Science Fiction and Fantasy Literary and Filk Convention in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area

February 23-25, 2024 * Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Dallas Near the Galleria, 4099 Valley View Lane, Dallas

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Guests of Honor

Program Participants

The following regret they are unable to attend FenCon this year: