Scott Jones

Adept at a variety of both traditional and digital media, I’ve studied and engaged in commercial and fine-art applications of my creative talents through schooling and business over the last 38 years of my academic and professional life. I’ve enjoyed a career in the computer-gaming industry off and on for the last 28 years, and have become skilled in the use of 3-D programs such as Lightwave and 3DStudioMax, game engines like Unity, Havoc, and Gamebryo, and 2-D programs such as Painter, Photoshop, and Illustrator. I currently self-publish my own paper RPG called Shard.

https://robertscottjones.artstation.com/resume

https://www.artstation.com/robertscottjones

Shannon Lawrence

A fan of all things fantastical and frightening, Shannon Lawrence writes in her dungeon when her minions allow, often accompanied by her familiars. She writes primarily horror, mystery, and fantasy. Her stories can be found in over sixty anthologies and magazines. Her collections and craft book are available on online platforms, as is her debut novel, Myth Stalker: Wendigo Nights. You can also find her as a co-host of the podcast “Mysteries, Monsters, & Mayhem.” When she’s not writing, she’s hiking through the wilds of Colorado and photographing her magnificent surroundings. Though she often misses the Oregon coast, the majestic and rugged Rockies are a sight she could never part with. Besides, in Colorado there’s always a place to hide a body or birth a monster. What more could she ask for? Find her at thewarriormuse.com or mysteriesmonstersmayhem.com.

Gail Carriger

Gail Carriger writes books that are hugs, mostly comedies of manners mixed with steampunk, urban fantasy, and sci-fi (plus cozy queer joy as G. L. Carriger). These include the Parasol Protectorate, Custard Protocol, Tinkered Stars, and San Andreas Shifter series for adults, and the Finishing School and Tinkered Starsong series for young adults. Also nonfiction: The Heroine’s Journey. She is published in many languages, has over a million books in print, over a dozen New York Times and USA Today bestsellers, and starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus, and Romantic Times.

Her first book, Soulless, made Audible’s Best list, was a Publishers Weekly Best Book, an IndieBound Notable, and a Locus Recommended Read. She has received the American Library Association’s Alex Award, the Prix Julia Verlanger, the Elbakin Award, the Steampunk Chronicle‘s Reader’s Choice Award, and a Starburner Award. She was once an archaeologist and is fond of shoes, cephalopods, and tea. Get early access, specials, and exclusives via her website gailcarriger.com

Wen Spencer

Wen Spencer is an internationally best-selling American science fiction and fantasy writer born in Evans City, Pennsylvania. She attended the University of Pittsburgh, gaining a degree in Information science, and has been active in science fiction fandom.

Her first novel, Alien Taste, was published in 2001 and won the Compton Crook Award. She developed the characters in that novel into a four book arc, the Ukiah Oregon series. In 2003, she started the Elfhome series with Tinker, which won a Sapphire Award. In that same year, she was awarded the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

She has written thirteen novels, including four stand alone novels: A Brother’s PriceEndless BlueEight Million Gods, and The Black Wolves of Boston as well as numerous short stories. Several of her novels, including Alien Taste, Tinker, and A Brother’s Price have been translated and sold internationally in Europe, Japan, and Russia.

Her books are strong character-based works, where ordinary meets the extraordinary. The Ukiah Oregon series is a fast paced mystery in which our hero begins to suspect he may not be quite human. In the Tinker series our heroine, a scrappy girl genius must deal with dating, extra-dimensional bad guys, and her own unusual past.

After living in Pittsburgh, and Boston, Wen Spencer now resides in Hilo, Hawaii in a home nestled between two volcanoes and a harbor. She is well travelled, having toured through much of the US, Europe, and Asia, and living briefly in Osaka, Japan. Her fondness for Japanese folklore flavors her writing.

Tananarive Due

Author Guest of Honor: Tananarive Due

TANANARIVE DUE (tah-nah-nah-REEVE doo) is an award-winning author who teaches Black Horror and Afrofuturism at UCLA. She is an executive producer on Shudder’s groundbreaking documentary Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror. She and her husband/collaborator, Steven Barnes, wrote “A Small Town” for Season 2 of Jordan Peele’s “The Twilight Zone” on Paramount Plus, and two segments of Shudder’s anthology film Horror Noire. They also co-wrote their upcoming Black Horror graphic novel The Keeper, illustrated by Marco Finnegan. Due and Barnes co-host a podcast, “Lifewriting: Write for Your Life!”

A leading voice in Black speculative fiction for more than 20 years, Due has won an American Book Award, an NAACP Image Award, and a British Fantasy Award, and her writing has been included in best-of-the-year anthologies. Her books include Ghost Summer: Stories, My Soul to Keep, and The Good House. She and her late mother, civil rights activist Patricia Stephens Due, co-authored Freedom in the Family: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights. She and her husband live with their son, Jason. 

X: @TananriveDue

Website: https://www.tananarivedue.com/

Jason Henry Evans

MileHiCon 56 Toastmaster: Jason Henry Evans

Jason Henry Evans is dedicated to his audience of sensitive and intelligent readers. He writes extraordinarily compelling fantasy novels that are impossible to put down because they tug at your heartstrings and have profound emotional resonance. He is a writer who has a deep understanding of what makes a narrative exciting, engaging and unforgettable. Somehow his books are fresh and invigorating and also have a mood that makes one feel nostalgic. Evans is creating exciting novels that always keep his readers engaged and hoping to read more. He is a writer who has a deep understanding of what makes a narrative exciting, engaging and unforgettable.

Website: https://jasonhenryevans.com/

Annalee Newitz

Author Guest of Honor:
Annalee Newitz

Annalee Newitz writes science fiction and nonfiction. They are the author of three novels: The Terraformers, The Future of Another Timeline, and Autonomous, which won the Lambda Literary Award. As a science journalist, they are the author of Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age and Scatter, Adapt and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction, which was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize in science. They are a writer for the New York Times and elsewhere, and have a monthly column in New Scientist. They have published in The Washington Post, Slate, Popular Science, Ars Technica, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic, among others. They are the co-host of the Hugo Award-winning podcast Our Opinions Are Correct. Previously, they were the founder of io9, and served as the editor-in-chief of Gizmodo.

Website: https://www.techsploitation.com/

X: https://twitter.com/annaleen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ghidorahnotweak/

Steven Barnes

Author Guest of Honor: Steven Barnes

STEVEN BARNES is the NY Times bestselling author of over thirty novels of science fiction, horror, and suspense.  The Image, Endeavor and Cable-Ace Award winning author also writes for television, including The Twilight Zone, Stargate SG-1, Andromeda and an Emmy Award winning episode of The Outer Limits.

https://www.steven-barnes.com/