Dates: July 29-31, 2022
Venue: Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel in Coraopolis, PA
Security provided by The Dorsai Irregulars
View Photo Gallery from 2022

Guest of Honor: Neil Clarke

An Appreciation for Neil Clarke

by Sean Wallace

“We are the builders of brave tomorrows,
We are the dreams at last awake.”—Lilith Lorraine

I often think back to those two lines of poetry, so powerful and promising when first discovered on the front cover of Walt Willis’ fanzine, Hyphen, especially when it comes to contemplating who are the current trailblazers in our field—though it can often be just as difficult to pinpoint as to whom that might be, being so close to the action, as it were. But it’s clear to me and to so many others that Neil Clarke certainly falls among that esteemed pantheon, having done so much for short fiction in so many ways that it almost seems incredible, even superhuman, at times. (In fact we often joke, semi-seriously, that it all too much feels like it’s all happening to someone else, which is of course a classic case of imposter syndrome!)

And to think that has been a long time coming, in that it started with a bookstore publishing Clarkesworld Magazine as a marketing tool, and now the bookstore is many years gone, but the magazine is going strong, sixteen years now (wow!), and has only grown larger, both in terms of content, staff, and more. Back then, though, it was planned and dreamt up at a convention special to both of us, but I’ll let Neil explain further:

“It all started at Readercon in 2006. At the time, I was still running Clarkesworld Books and had been experimenting with online fiction as a means of promoting some of the print magazines I was selling. Fantasy Magazine (still a print magazine at the time) was one of the publications that I had made arrangements with. After one of the evening events, Sean (Fantasy’s editor) and I started talking about how that was going. The conversation eventually turned to marketing Clarkesworld and the state of online fiction. Somewhere along the line, we started brainstorming about what it would take to build a sustainable professional rate online market. It was just a natural fit for a lot of my interests. By the end of the weekend, Clarkesworld was fully staffed and on its way.”

—interview with Charles Tan, Bibliophile Stalker

Those were heady days, and conventions, then and now, are great places for crazy inspiration, so throw into that two people who have more than enough enthusiasm and energy right into the mix, and you sometimes get immediate results. And, boy, were there results. It’s really hard to keep track of all the award nominations, the wins, the careers for all the authors Neil has launched through the magazine.^[1]

But it wasn’t just that. It also was the seismic shifts that came with an online submission system that made response rates super fast, not just for Clarkesworld but for many venues who also jumped on the bandwagon and used it for their own magazines; the shift with incorporating translations in every issue, as a natural reflection of the international reach made possible with publishing online issues, not just from China but Korea, and many more, a development that has also been successfully emulated by others; and, then, of course there was also the shift inherent in the willingness to accept some stories that maybe could not, or would not, be necessarily purchased anywhere else. Who can forget, for example, “Spar” by Kij Johnson, or even “The Things” by Peter Watts?

Neil made that all happen.

And, then, not simply content with just publishing a magazine, to top that off, with the success of Clarkesworld eventually the opportunity to edit original and reprint anthologies presented itself to Neil, like Upgraded; Galactic Empires; Touchable Unreality; More Human Than Human; The Final Frontier; Not One of Us; The Eagle Has Landed; never mind all the annual Clarkesworld compilations and, of course, one mustn’t forget The Best Science Fiction of the Year series, now in its sixth year!

The funny thing, in all this, in his own words, is that:

“This was never a course that I expected my life to take.

Lost in Space had its influence. What young boy wouldn’t want to have Will Robinson’s adventures, complete with a faithful Robot and the antics of Dr. Smith? As I grew up, that sense of wonder stayed with me. When I could, I bought the show on DVD and I’ve since rewatched it straight through with my own children. Seeing that wonder through their eyes has added more fond memories to the pile.

But there is more. Lost in Space may have played a role, but it was ultimately my family that set me on this course. My father likes to tell the tale of how he held toddler-me up to the TV so I could see Armstrong walk on the Moon. They read to me—The Lorax comes to mind—and encouraged me to read on my own. I never had to worry about the availability of books. They were always there.

In my tween years, my cousin introduced me to the works of Heinlein and Clarke and gave me a copy of the classic anthology Adventures in Space and Time[2].  Well-read copies of these books still sit on my shelf. I remember our family outing to see Star Wars shortly after its release and looking to the stars as we walked back to our car that night. 

They set the stage.”

—Editor’s Desk, Issue 70, April 2013

So, thanks to family, friends, and a convention, the stage was indeed set, and we are certainly lucky and all the richer for this path that Neil has taken, and it has to be said, at least by me, that Neil Clarke is truly one of the great builders of a brave tomorrow, and in my eyes more than a worthy guest of honor for Confluence.

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^[1] _{Neil does keep a handy list, for some of that, which does make it a little easier, of course!}

^[2] _{In a strange coincidence, I grew up reading that same edition of Adventures in Time & Space, and fondly remember so many classic stories!}

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Featured Music Guest: Tim Griffen

A long time ago, Tim Griffin paid his way through college and graduate school by singing in some truly awful bands. For the next eighteen years, he taught elementary school in Los Angeles while writing and performing fun educational music on the side; think Schoolhouse Rock with a heavy filk slant and you’ve got a fair idea of Tim’s music. Teachers and parents noticed their kids picking up the key vocabulary and concepts of science, history, and math through Tim’s funny songs about Newton, Galileo, Al Kwarizmi, and that weird thing on your lunch tray; over the years, the music grew into a second full-time job.

In 2012, Tim gave up his tenure with LAUSD to start a small 501(c)3 educational nonprofit called GriffinEd, a team of educators, musicians, and songwriters who collaborate to research, compose, record, perform, and publish fun but rigorously educational music proven to help kids master the vocabulary and content of the K-8th curriculum, particularly science and math. Tim travels, plays music, leads songwriting workshops, tells stories, and has way more fun than anyone should be paid for. He’s got four CD’s out and a fifth coming soon; all revenue from CD sales etc. goes directly to the mission. All of Tim’s work (live shows, workshops, streaming audio, etc.) is FREE to schools, libraries, museums, and other places of learning.

In 2013, a study of 160 students in grades K-5th showed significant gains in science vocabulary after two weeks of working with Tim’s music for five minutes a day. The kids had so much fun doing it that they kept going after the study was over.

Tim is a member of the Annenberg Foundation’s Alchemy Academy for leaders of nonprofits showing exceptional promise for social change, has served as artist in residence teaching songwriting to at-risk kids for numerous organizations in Los Angeles county, and was a finalist in the 2016 Social Innovation Fast Pitch, a Shark-Tank-style competition for innovative nonprofits. He has won three Pegasus Awards including best composer and best song, and in 2020 was formally recognized as a Pretty Pretty Princess.

Tim has been a featured musical guest of the National Science Teachers’ Association, California Science Teachers’ Association, AAAS, Mensa, Interfilk, hundreds of schools, and a few dozen sci-fi and filk conventions, yet he remains totally approachable and is looking for collaborators… filkers, ask Tim how you can make a little money doing this.

Tim’s music, along with lyrics, notes on classroom use, chords, etc. is all free at GriffinEd’s website:
www.GriffinEd.org
Tax deductible donations (PayPal etc.) are always welcome but never required.

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Kathryn created artwork that was used for our program book and the t-shirt art

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Parsec short story contest winning story: It’s possible I was too sheltered, by Lucy Zhang
Sound technicians: Mark Peters and Roberta Slocumb

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Photo Gallery

The photos in this collection were taken by the attendees of Confluence 2022 and Confluence committee members Kevin M. Hayes and Karen Yun-Lutz. Thank you everyone for sharing your photos!
Click on any photo to view a larger version.

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Program Participants:

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Program Participant Bio’s

Dan R. Arman: A long time ago, in a galaxy not so far away, Dan R. Arman decided he wanted to tell stories. Stories about other worlds populated by interesting characters, because he thought these people and worlds would help him reflect on the world he was living in, its beauty, horrors and absurdity. While he was starting to pursue this dream of being a science fiction and fantasy author, he began teaching English Composition at Stark State College in Ohio. For several years, he worked as a newspaper reporter, an editor and now teaches literature and writing at an online high school. He holds a master’s degree in English literature and rhetoric from Kent State University. He currently lives in Akron, OH with his wife and cats. You can find him online at https://www.likedreamersdopress.com/.

Scott Bradley (S.A. Bradley) is the host of the 4-time Rondo Award-nominated podcast, ”Hellbent for Horror,” which explores all things horror across books, film, comics, and music. The podcast was described by director Guillermo Del Toro as ”well-researched, articulate and entirely absorbing.” Bradley is the author of the Rondo-nominated book, Screaming for Pleasure: How Horror Makes You Happy and Healthy, and he is currently working on a follow-up book. Bradley contributes articles in Medium Chill, EvilSpeak, and Horrorhound magazines as well as multiple online outlets. He has lectured at Webster University and The College of Idaho and performed his live show, “My Horror Manifesto” in NYC and various horror conventions across the USA.

Vera Brook is a neuroscientist turned science fiction & fantasy writer. She mostly writes short fiction these days, while she procrastinates on her several series & standalone novels in progress (including YA and MG). Anything from neuroscience-inspired SF to time travel & magical realism. So far, her fiction has appeared in The Colored Lens and Hyphen Punk, and is forthcoming in Cast of Wonders. She tweets at @VeraBrook1.

T.J. Burnside Clapp encountered filk music at her first convention in 1975, and was delighted to discover she’d been writing filksongs before she even knew what they were. Along with Linda Melnick and Sheila Willis, T.J. formed the group Technical Difficulties in 1985, performing wonderfully harmonized filk songs by themselves and others. An active cosplayer, TJ created a Star Wars X-wing Pilot costume in 1977 that has gone viral on the Internet multiple times, notably after being re-tweeted by Mark Hamill. T.J. is married to fellow filker Mitchell Burnside Clapp. T.J., Mitchell, and Technical Difficulties have won multiple Pegasus Awards for excellence in filking. T.J. last appeared at Confluence in 2009, along with her daughter Jessie and her friends Linda Melnick and Jean Stevenson as the Filk GoHs. T.J. is happy to be back at Confluence to perform once again!

Grant Carrington has published 40-50 short stories (mostly SF, including 1 Nebula finalist), 3 SF novels, an ST collection (all available from Brief Candle Press), 5 plays fully produced, 2 self-produced CDs of original songs (not filk). Computer programmer, Goddard Space Flight Center, Savannah River Ecology Lab. Clarion 68, 69 workshop; Tulane 1971 workshop. Associate editor Amazing/Fantastic 1971-74. BA NYU, MA UF, both math. Website.

Ken Chiacchia’s bio reads like a random sampling of events from different people’s lives. A defrocked biochemist, he has been a public relations writer, newspaper reporter, science fiction author, EMT, search-and-rescue dog handler, firefighter, radio commentator, and hobby farmer. He’s now science writer at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC). Ken’s fiction credits include Cicada, Paradox, and Triangulation. He’s also won several Golden Quill Awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, as well as the Carnegie Science Center’s 2008 science journalism award. Much to his surprise, he’s started doing research again, publishing several peer-reviewed papers since 2010 on search theory and measuring the effectiveness of search-and-rescue efforts.

Lawrence C. Connolly’s stories have appeared in Amazing Stories, Cemetery Dance, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Twilight Zone, Year’s Best Horror, and other top publications of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. His screenplay This Way to Egress, co-authored with director David Slade (Hannibal, American Gods) and based on Connolly’s original story “Traumatic Descent” (first published in Borderlands 3, reprinted in his collections Voices and This Way to Egress) is featured in the anthology Nightmare Cinema (2019). He is also the writer of Mystery Theatre, a podcast produced by Prime Stage, which is currently in its fifth season. Current projects include a new adaptation of Frankenstein, tentatively scheduled to debut in late 2022; and The MinuteMen, a superhero franchise that he’s developing with brother Christopher Connolly and producer Jonathan Sanger (Elephant Man, Vanilla Sky). Also a musician, his music can be heard on Bandcamp and Spotify.

The Darkest Timeline is a myth, a bedtime story, a shadow in the corner. The Darkest Timeline doesn’t exist. This website doesn’t exist. Perhaps you don’t exist. Do you hear the doubt in the back of your head? That’s the sound of The Darkest Timeline.

Susan Dexter: Well, I know we need to keep these short, so…you can get the details from my website and my blog there Take Up the Quest. Or my Wikipedia page! My Pandemic achievements: I brought up the last of my Del Rey backlist paperbacks, The True Knight, to trade paperback and e-book. Then, I created a special edition trade paperback of The Wandering Duke, Book Four of The Warhorse of Esdragon. For those of you who know me as a fiber artist, last October my handwoven, hand-dyed wool needlefelt painting, Koi Pond, was accepted into the 82nd Area Artist Annual at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio.

Sarah Donner is a singer/songwriter/creative type who has embraced her inner cat lady. Her songs teeter back and forth between playful, nerd core, and ballads, all tied together with bright melodies and driving, energetic instrumentals. Sarah Donner’s music has been featured on The Oatmeal, Conan O’Brien’s blog, NPR, Buzzfeed, i09, Showtime, and CBS. After stretching her legs with musical theatre, she picked up a guitar, abandoned her classical roots, and started rocking out (with fantastic breath support). When she is not touring, Sarah Donner runs Moby Kit Rescue, teaches voice and guitar lessons, She also tours with the bands Kittens Slay Dragons and Middle Spoon. 

Barbara Doran (pen name for Deborah Brown) is a New Pulp Fantasy writer whose work draws on her Chinese heritage. Her novels include the Golden Dragon Series, the Wu Dang Series and the upcoming Book Hunters Series. She’s also written a Sherlock Holmes/Thinking Machine crossover for one of Airship 27’s Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective anthologies.

Frederic S. Durbin has been writing fantasy, dark fantasy, horror, and children’s fiction for over forty years. His short work has appeared in F&SF, Weird Tales, Black Gate, Cricket, Cicada, and various anthologies. His first novel, Dragonfly, was published by Arkham House, and his most recent, A Green and Ancient Light, received a Realm Award as well as honors from Publishers Weekly and the American Library Association. He taught ESL and writing at Japan’s Niigata University for two decades. He has served as a writing coach and is a frequent fiction workshop leader and speaker. Since 2019, he has served as a co-editor of the Cold Hard Type fiction anthology series from Loose Dog Press, currently editing its fifth volume. He lives with his wife and many vintage typewriters in western Pennsylvania.

Timons Esaias is a satirist, writer and poet living in Pittsburgh. His works, ranging from literary to genre, have been published in twenty-two languages. He has been a finalist for the British Science Fiction Award, and he won both the Winter Anthology Contest and the Asimov’s Readers Award (twice). People who know him are not surprised to learn that he lived in a museum for eight years.

Stephen C. Fisher began absorbing and emitting stories well before he could read or write himself, and found his gateway drug into science fiction in the Space Cat books about 1954. He has been observing the SF scene (while publishing the occasional story in some obscure market) ever since, and he wants all you young whippersnappers to know that you’ll never know what it was like to have to walk ten miles uphill each way in a blizzard just to get one new Heinlein book because now there is more good stuff of more different kinds in more different media produced by more different people than most of those old-time guys could have imagined. Don’t let anyone tell you differently: this is the Golden Age. Now get off my lawn.

Clif Flynt‘s “magic year” was when he was ten. That’s the year when he graduated from “Space Cat” and “The Lost Race of Mars” to Madeline L’Engle’s Wrinkle In Time, A. E. Van Vogt’s Destination Universe and Arthur Conan Doyle’s Hound of the Baskervilles. In Jr. High, his school library got the full collection of Heinlein juveniles. His love affair with music began about this time as well. A battered and ignored learner guitar got a full set of strings and a lot of use. Clif has gone on to two decades-long careers: one professional, as a computer programmer, and one amateur, as a writer and performer of filk music. He likes to think that both careers have been successful, but opinions vary.

Phil Getz is a former AI researcher / cryptologist / game developer / beltway bandit / bioinformatician / fan-fiction writer, who is now trying to rescue art from continental philosophy.

Elektra Hammond emulates her multi-sided idol Buckaroo Banzai by going in several directions at once. She’s been involved in publishing since the 1990s— now she writes, concocts anthologies & edits science fiction for various and sundry. When not freelancing or appearing at science fiction conventions, she travels the world judging cat shows. Her latest story “O-Rings,” appears in Alternate Peace edited by Joshua Palmatier and Steven H. Silver. Elektra is a graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop and an associate member of SFWA. She lives in Delaware with her husband, Mike, and more than the usual allotment of felines.

Sara Henya is a singer-songwriter and harpist based in Philadelphia, PA. Her music might best be described as Indie-Pop, combining the fun of pop music and the ethereal sound of the harp. Sara incorporates imaginative, fairy fashions and visuals that allow her audience to feel completely immersed in her colorful fantasy world. Though passionate, Sara Henya never takes herself too seriously, incorporating humor into her music and performances. 

John (J.F.) Holmes is a retired Army Senior Noncommissioned Officer, having served for 22 years in both the Regular Army and Army National Guard. During that time, he served as everything from an artillery section leader to a member of a Division level planning staff, with tours in Cuba and Iraq, as well as responding to the terrorists attacks in NYC on 9-11. His books range from Military Sci-Fi to Space Opera to Detective to Fantasy, with a lot in between, and in 2017 two were finalists for the prestigious Dragon Awards. In 2018, he launched Cannon Publishing, specializing in anthologies and works from up and coming authors.

Alan Irvine is a Pittsburgh-based Storyteller, performing ghost stories, folk tales, and Arthurian legends throughout Pennsylvania. He also plays in the theater world where he is a director, playwright, and co-founder of Brawling Bard Theater, which has been pushing the envelop on Zoom based performances. Sometimes he even teaches classes in Sociology, as well as various folk lore, literature, and Shakespeare related topics. You can read his thoughts on, and reactions to, stories in many forms at his blog.

Alan Katerinsky was born into SF fandom as the son of First Fandom’s Rickey Slavin. He’s had an extraordinary number of jobs, covering the range from infantryman to computer professor with stopovers as encyclopedia salesman and working in pipe organ construction. Al has had genre poetry and short stories published, and sometimes writes about fandom and conventions. As he says: “I can’t help it. It’s in my blood.”

Herb Kauderer is an English professor at Hilbert College. His doctoral dissertation, and both masters’ theses, involved speculative fiction. He wrote the indie feature film Beyond the Mainstream (2013), and over 2000 published poems, many collected into twenty-one books and chapbooks, one of which, Fragments from the Book of the After-Dead (2019), received third place in the Elgin Awards. Herb won a 2016 Asimov’s Readers’ Award, and his writing has been a finalist for the Analog AnLab Readers’ Award, and received Honorable Mention in The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror. Currently he has stories coming up in Erie Tales XIV: Secrets, and the anthology Cold & Crisp. His upcoming book The Age of Dragons is a true history of wyrm-kind from first to last, though it may not be set in our universe. More about Herb and his writing can be found at HerbKauderer.com.

Brandon Ketchum is a speculative fiction writer from Pittsburgh, PA who enjoys putting a weird spin or strange vibe into every story, dark or light. Brandon is a member of the Horror Writers Association. His work has been published with Air & Nothingness Press, Perihelion, Mad Scientist Journal, and many other publications. Brandon leads the Pittsburgh Writers Meetup Group and coordinated the 2019 PARSEC Short Story Contest.

For 30 years KIVA has been entertaining and enthralling audiences with their percussive, acoustic, worldbeat ensemble that celebrates the magic of nature and ancient bardic traditions with music that opens the heart and heals the spirit. The band blends strong vocal harmonies with rich and diverse acoustic and electric instrumentation, performing originals, traditionals, and covers. The musicians are inspired by many cultures, spiritual disciplines, and musical styles, including celtic-folk, folk-rock, blues, big band, traditional chants, and jazz. 

Brian Koscienski developed his love of writing from countless hours of reading comic books, losing himself in the different worlds and adventures within the colorful pages. He has teamed up with Chris Pisano and Jeff Young to form the “The Novel Guys.” To date, he has a dozen novels published with more on the way. Feel free to learn more.

Dr. Geoffrey A. Landis has been attending ConFluence from the very first one, so you probably don’t need a bio. You already know that he is a science-fiction writer and a scientist. He has won the Hugo and Nebula awards for science fiction. He is the author of the novel Mars Crossing and the story collection Impact Parameter (and Other Quantum Realities), and has published over eighty SF stories. He spends more time writing science papers than science fiction these days, but still writes an occasional story now and then. As a scientist, he works for NASA on developing advanced technologies for space. He was a member of the Mars Exploration Rovers Science team, and is a fellow of the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. He was the 2014 recipient of the Robert A. Heinlein Award ”for outstanding published works in science fiction and technical writings that inspire the human exploration of space.” More can be found at his very out-of-date web page, http://www.geoffreylandis.com.

Mary Soon Lee was born and raised in London, but has lived in Pittsburgh for over twenty years. Her latest books are from opposite ends of the poetry spectrum: Elemental Haiku, containing haiku for the periodic table, and The Sign of the Dragon, an epic fantasy with Chinese elements, winner of the 2021 Elgin Award. She hides her online presence with a cryptically named website and an equally cryptic Twitter account.

Barton Paul Levenson has a degree in physics. Happily married to poet Elizabeth Penrose, his being both a liberal Democrat and a born-again Christian just confuses everybody. He has 69 published short stories and ten published novels.

Michael Mammay is a science fiction author. His Planetside trilogy was published with Harper Voyager from 2018 to 2020. His most recent novel is The Misfit Soldier. Michael is a former army officer, and lives with his wife in Georgia.

Brandon McNulty grew up loving monsters, demons, and the thrill of a great scare. Now he writes supernatural thrillers, horror, and other dark fiction. His novel Bad Parts won both Pitch Wars and RevPit, and his short fiction has appeared on the NoSleep Podcast. He offers weekly writing advice on his YouTube channel Writer Brandon McNulty.

Middle Spoon is a super cute queer and poly positive band from New Bedford Massachusetts. It’s members include Sarah Donner (Sarah Donner, Kittens Slay Dragons), Kim Smith (Kim’s Myth) and Michael McLean (Kittens Slay Dragons). As the world locked down for the pandemic they found themselves quarantined together in the same house, where they fell in love and started this band. Middle Spoon is creating punk tinged indie rock music about their love for eachother, the struggles of polyamory, and cats. Their first single “Drown” is about queer sexy sex during a weather event, and is available wherever you listen to music. IG Bandcamp

Muggle Snuggle. Equipped with autoharps, accordions, and amortentia, this acoustic duo brings you songs about the Harry Potter series that they have written over the last 7 years. Hear also a few songs from the Kingkiller Chronicle books and Steven Universe!

Night Watch Paradox: The musical equivalent of reading “Treasure Island,” Night Watch Paradox brings the audience along on a participatory journey of musical performance and storytelling as they travel in their imaginary, steam-powered airship through time and space.

Chuck Parker: A performer for more than 35 years, Chuck Parker has filled many musical roles: heavy metal guitarist, singer/songwriter, jazz sideman, open mic host, filk circle regular, and World’s Okayest Bassist™. A regular on the con circuit, both as a solo performer and as the bassist for wizard rock icons The Blibbering Humdingers. He plays slice of life, confessional geek tunes that are often kind of funny, and his lyrics have been called “sensitive”, “literate”, and “hard to sing…”. Find his music on your favorite streaming service, or on Bandcamp!

Scot Noel’s story “Riches Like Dust,” was selected for the Writers of the Future anthology, Volume VI in 1990, becoming the springboard for a career in computer game development as writer, project manager and voice director for several award winning games. He has also been published in Tomorrow Magazine, Strategy Plus, and Eden Books’ Zombie anthologies. He is now a content developer for Chroma Studios and Publisher and Editor-in-Chief for DreamForge Magazine.

Charles Oberndorf is the author of three novels and five stories. His novella, “The Cottage in Omena,” will appear later this year in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The novella is the offspring of a marriage between Alice Munro and Stephen King. He is also working on a biographical novel about Abe Osheroff, who fought in the Spanish Civil War in 1937. Charles has taught seventh grade English for 38 years. He lives in Cleveland with his wife and two finches, Atticus and Harper.

Mark Painter has worked as an electrical engineer and has practiced law in the field of disability rights. He served in elected office for 17 years, culminating in a stint in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. After retiring from politics, he returned to his first love, writing fantasy and science fiction, and sometimes nonfiction. His work has appeared in Weird Tales and Aliterate. He also produces and hosts The History of the Twentieth Century podcast, which has been downloaded more than two million times.

Marianne Porter: The first science fiction novel I ever read was The Secret of the Ninth Planet by Donald A. Wollheim. I spent 35 years in public health (Cool! Look! A new outbreak!) and I run a vanishingly small small press. I have opinions.

Todd Sanders is the director of the Air and Nothingness Press. He has been creating books since college, and has designed over 120 books for authors, poets, and organizations over the last 21+ years. Todd has four collections of his own poetry published and has translated five books of the writing of Robert Desnos. He has a wide ranging love of books, especially science fiction and fantasy, french literature, and art. He would one day like to exclusively design and publish books full time.

Robert J. Sawyer has won the Hugo, Nebula, and John W. Campbell Memorial Awards for Best Novel of the Year as well as the Robert A. Heinlein and Hal Clement Awards, plus a record-setting 17 Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Awards (“Auroras”). Rob’s 24 novels include the #1 Locus bestsellers The Oppenheimer Alternative, Quantum Night, Triggers, and Calculating God, plus FlashForward, basis for the ABC TV series of the same name. He is a member of The Order of Canada, his country’s highest honor. Website: sfwriter.com.

Darrell Charles Schweitzer is the author of four novels and about 375 stories, and is an active anthologist and former editor of Weird Tales. Among his immediately forthcoming books are a massive anthology of The Best of Weird Tales: The 1920s from Centipede Press, a new story collection from Hippocampus Press, a poetry collection, Dancing with Azathoth, from P’rea Press, an anthology, Shadows Out of Time, from PS Publishing, and Speaking of the Fantastic V, from Wildside Press, a “retro” collection of previously uncollected SF author interviews from the 1970s and ’80s.

Michael Swanwick has received the Nebula, World Fantasy, and Theodore Sturgeon Awards as well as five Hugos. His novel The Iron Dragon’s Daughter concludes with the protagonist on her way to a successful career as a chemist in Pittsburgh.

R.K. Thorne is an author of romantic fantasy and science fiction. She’s fueled by her addiction to notebooks, role-playing games, coffee, and imperial stouts. She lives in the green hills of Pennsylvania with her family, one pup, and two gray cats that may or may not pull her chariot in their spare time.

Mary A. Turzillo won a Nebula award (“Mars Is to Place for Children” 1999) and two Elgin awards (Sweet Poison, with Marge Simon, 2014, and Lovers & Killers, 2012, solo). Her novel Mars Girls (Apex) features young Martian women rescuing themselves from Face-on-Mars crazies. Victims, a poetry collection with Marge Simon, appeared last fall from Weasel Press and is on the Stoker ballot. Her story collection Cosmic Cats & Fantastic Furballs appeared March 22 from WordFire. She fenced foil, representing the US, at Veteran World Championships in Germany, 2016. She lives in Ohio, with scientist-poet-fencer Dr. Geoffrey Landis and she will not stab you unless you first say ”en garde!”

Marie Vibbert has sold over 70 short stories to places like Nature, F&SF, Analog and more. Her debut novel Galactic Hellcats was on the BSFA long list for 2021. Her work often reflects her blue-collar upbringing. By day she is a computer programmer

As an author, Daniel A. Willis writes both history and historical fiction/fantasy. His nonfiction describes the world as it was. His fiction envisions it as it could be. Additionally, he is the owner and publisher of DX Varos Publishing, based in Denver, Colorado.

Jeff Young is a bookseller first and a writer second – although he wouldn’t mind a reversal of fortune. He is an award-winning author who has contributed to the anthologies: the Defending the Future Military Science Fiction series, Fantastic Futures 13, Gaslight and Grimm, After Punk, Writers of the Future V.25, Eccentric Orbits 2, Eccentric Orbits 3, and more. Jeff’s own fiction is collected in Spirit Seeker, the Steampunk adventures of Kassandra Leyden and Written in Light and Other Futuristic Tales. He’s also edited the TV Gods and TV Gods –Summer Programming anthologies and is the managing editor for the magazine, Mendie: The Post-Apocalyptic Flower Scout. Finally, Jeff has also led the Watch the Skies SF&F Discussion Group of Camp Hill and Harrisburg for more than twenty years.

2022 Program Schedule