Date: July 21, 22 and 23.
Location: Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport Hotel. 1160 Thorn Run Road. Coraopolis, PA 15108.
Security provided by The Dorsai Irregulars
Guest of Honor: Ada Palmer
Ada Palmer‘s Terra Ignota series (Tor Books) explores a future of borderless nations and globally commixing populations. The first volume Too Like the Lightning was a Best Novel Hugo finalist, and won the Compton Crook Award, while Ada received the Campbell Award. Terra Ignota is a finalist for the 2022 Hugo Award for Best Series. She teaches history at the University of Chicago, studying the Renaissance, Enlightenment, heresy, atheism, and censorship. She composes music including the Viking mythology cycle Sundown: Whispers of Ragnarok, and performs with the group Sassafrass. She studies anime/manga, especially Osamu Tezuka, post-WWII manga and feminist manga, and consults for anime and manga publishers. She blogs and podcasts at ExUrbe.com.
Read more about Ada Palmer
Ada Palmer
by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
My career has brought me into contact with a lot of impressive people, but Ada Palmer is in a class by herself. Scholar, teacher, novelist, composer, librettist, performer, travel journalist, gamerunner, historian of the Renaissance and of subjects as diverse as skepticism, Norse mythology, censorship, and (yes) manga, she’s an utterly original thinker and writer on every subject to which she turns.
To quote the profile of her that appeared in Wired last year:
She is fond of saying that we know less than 1 percent of what happened 500 years ago, and at least two-thirds of what we know is wrong. To someone whose sense of history is like a topiary garden, full of shapely epochs and manicured heroes, she is the sound of an approaching chain saw. “The message people don’t want is that the ideas that changed the world were not advanced by people who were trying to advance them,” she says. “This means surrendering the illusion that we will have control over what people believe 100 years from now.” [Wired.com, 10 February 2022, “Ada Palmer and the Weird Hand of
Progress” by Gregory Barber.]
Ada and I were in the same rooms at various conventions as early as 2008, with multiple friends in common, but for whatever reason I didn’t really track on her until Jo Walton absolutely insisted I look at the manuscript of Ada’s then-unpublished novel Too Like the Lightning, the first of the four novels that make up Terra Ignota. Famously, Too Like the Lightning begins with a series of nihil obstats:
A narrative of events of the year 2454
Written by Mycroft Canner, at the request of certain parties.
Published with the permissions of:
The Romanova Seven-Hive Council Stability Committee
The Five-Hive Committee on Dangerous Literature
Ordo Quiritum Imperatorisque Masonicorum
The Cousins’ Commission for the Humane Treatment of Servicers
The Mitsubishi Executive Directorate
His Majesty Isabel Carlos II of Spain
This is a dizzying amount of science-fictional exposition in just a few lines of frontmatter (the pages that precede a book’s actual body text) . It’s the year 2454. Evidently you need a bunch of permissions to publish things — okay, the future is a strange place, got it. There are “Hives” and they seem to be an important social form – also okay. There’s a “Committee on Dangerous Literature”, gotcha. And a “Mitsubishi Executive Directorate”, check. Then: “His Majesty Isabel Carlos II of Spain.” Here my head
exploded.
Nine lines into this manuscript, I knew that this was going to be a science-fictional future like nothing I’d ever read before. Right from the start, Ada Palmer was playing at the highest level, building a future that includes survivals from the distant past that one would never expect – an ingredient missing from so much of even the best SF set in times to come. This is a future in which nation-states have been superseded, personal global travel happens at many-times-supersonic speed, attitudes to religion and gender and crime and punishment have been transformed again and again…and, oh yeah, there’s still a King of Spain. Because of course there is. (Just as in the 2023 where we live, there’s still a guy in Rome with the title “pontiff”, and he’s kind of a big deal.)
The science-fictional future portrayed in Terra Ignota is also one of the only SF milieus I know of in which the people contained therein generally consider the 20 th and 21 st centuries to be among the least interesting periods of human history. Just as the framers of the US constitution couldn’t have been less interested in the Middle Ages, but were hot to trot with the things they believed about classical antiquity, the people of Terra Ignota almost never burst out into as-you-know-Bob dialogue about the eras in which you and I live, but man do they ever get excited about 18 th -century France, particularly Diderot and Voltaire. Again, this is so totally different from SF’s standard range of futures that it achieves a kind of luminous hyperrealism, a sense of “of course, this is how a real world feels”, full of contradiction and oddity and anachronism and historical misprision, just like life.
Ada has written her side of the story of how Terra Ignota sold to me at Tor (“How I Sold Too Like the Lightning”, in The Usual Path to Publication, edited by Shannon Page, BookView Cafe, 2016). Her essay is a little hard for me to read, partly because Ada writes with such clarity about what it’s like to be an acquiring editor (me) for a major house, the focus of so much ambient longing-to-be-published energy from so many of the people around me in my everyday social life. But below is the passage from Ada’s piece that really sticks with me. The 2013 Worldcon in San Antonio is where matters came to a head – I told Jo Walton that, yes, I absolutely meant to make an offer on Ada’s novel and its sequels. And Jo told Ada. And:
After Jo’s signing, we found Patrick in the concessions area, and there ensued perhaps the most absurd conversation I shall ever have. I was still paralyzed by the aftereffects of Scylla and Charybdis, so shy and overwhelmed that I could barely force myself to look directly at the legendary Patrick. But Patrick is himself a naturally shy person, and skittish after so many years carrying the Keys to Heaven, so he couldn’t look at me either. And there we were, both trying to hide behind Jo (who is a head shorter than both of us), unable to make eye contact while trying to talk about how we wanted to work together for the rest of our careers. That was when I started to see the absurd flip side of it: all the while that I had been terrified of approaching this incredibly important editor who had power over everything I ever wanted, in his world I had been the intimidating one, this distant Harvard Ph.D., with all these impressive publications, this learned and authoritative tone on my blog, and I had everything he wanted, great science fiction that would be a pleasure to publish. In Settlers of Catan terms, I had bricks, he had wood, but we were so mutually overwhelmed neither of us could get the words out: “Shall we make this road?” We had dinner with Jo and Teresa at one of those Brazilian barbeque places, where they hunt the great beasts of the plains and serve them to you on spits carried by excessively statuesque young men—at least that’s what Jo says, because bliss amnesia has erased everything except a vague memory of asparagus and a beige tablecloth. I remember Patrick said he and Teresa wanted to audition to edit and shape my career. Audition? I would have begged!
I remember this conversation well, and allowing for our divergent subjectivities (I do not feel and have never felt “legendary”), Ada’s portrayal of it is fair.
I will note that my other strongest memory of that Worldcon is of me and Teresa chatting in the exhibition area with Ada’s charming and erudite father Doug (Doug and Ada came into fandom together, attending Balticons as father and daughter when she was in her teens). Suddenly, Ada and her Sassafrass crew, fully costumed for performance, came dashing across the hall at about a thousand miles per hour like some kind of superhero team from a better timeline. We all blinked. Doug dropped his voice a notch and said “Sometimes I feel I know what it was like to be Philip of Macedon.”
Yes.
I referred at the beginning of this to my and Teresa’s having, over the years, known some people whose intelligence and talent is so overwhelming that to be around them is to enter a kind of supercharged space where one’s own thoughts sharpen and speed up, pulled along by the force of theirs. The late John M. Ford was one of these. Cory Doctorow is another. (Some years after the San Antonio worldcon, at another Texas convention, Teresa and I had the privilege of introducing Cory and Ada to one another. We took them out to dinner together and sat back as their conversation warped time and space itself.) What I want to say in conclusion, though, is that the characteristic shared by all these improbably smart people is that, contrary to stereotype, they’re all actually extra-good at dealing with other human beings. It would appear that true superintelligence, the real thing, includes being intensely interested in other people – and that this kind of intensity tends naturally to kindness, thoughtfulness, and sympathy. Ada Palmer excels at these things just as she excels at so much else. You’re lucky to have her as your guest of honor. I wish I was going to be there!
Featured Music Guest: Sassafrass!
Sassafrass is a singing group performing original a cappella folk music, mostly with fantasy, mythology and science fiction themes. Our pieces are set in close harmony, with a somewhat Renaissance feel, and for women’s voices or mixed. Our songs usually tell stories, and have a lot of lyrical complexity, often with multiple different lines of lyrics woven together to communicate different characters or aspects of a story. We perform mainly at science fiction and fantasy conventions, but also at clubs and other venues.
Writing Workshops with Timons Esaias
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 the Winter Anthology Contest, the SFPA Poetry Contest, and the Asimov’s Readers Award (twice). He taught writing in Seton Hill’s Writing Popular Fiction graduate program for twenty years, and now teaches freelance.
People who know him are not surprised to learn that he lived in a museum for eight years.
Writing Exercises were facilitated by M. Christine Benner Dixon and Joshua David Bellin
Saturday 9-10am: If You Build It, They Will Come (and Go): Exercises for Writing about Place.
In this one-hour interactive writing workshop, attendees will focus on strategies for constructing physical and emotional spaces in speculative worlds. Exercises will include world-mapping and developing the connection to place so important to character development.
Sunday 9-10am: What’s Too Painful to Remember: Forgetfulness as Narrative Strategy.
The human brain is designed to remember… and forget. In this interactive writing workshop, we’ll explore how writers of speculative fiction can use the built-in limitations of memory to enhance mystery, define character, and create convincing fictional worlds. We’ll be doing lots of writing during the one-hour workshop.
Featured Artist Susan Dexter
Some may know Susan Dexter as a writer of Fantasy, creator of Valadan, the Warhorse of Esdragon. Some may know her as the artist who uses her hand-cut stencils and metallic craft paints to make the t-shirts in the Confluence Art Show. Some know her as a pastel painter who’s been both exhibiting and demonstrating at the Canfield Fair for many years, or as the artist who designed and painted the “Agri-Cultural” rooster for Flock to the Fairgrounds, a public art project of the Canfield Fair and the Mahoning County Historical Society.
Some may know her as a fiber artist, weaving rag rugs—and more. Her 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, and her art quilt entries in Textile Tapestries at the 2022 Canfield Fair took First Place (Tristan) and Second Place (Elisena). Some know her as the handspinner who participated in the 2022 Tour de Fleece and competed in the 2022 Spin Together. (5th Place, most yarn spun on a drop spindle!) You can find out more about Susan on her website. Her blog is Take Up the Quest.
Featured Entertainers: The Confused Greenies!
The Confused Greenies performed “Difficulties in Dating” a commedia dell’arte play about time travel (or at least the belief in it) on Saturday 7pm in Ballroom 1. They also were part of two other panel items, Impressively Impromptu Improve at an Indecent Hour; after-dark improv games suitable for mature audiences with an immature sense of humor at 11:00pm and Doctor Whose Line Is It Anyway? for the first time [ever] on Sunday at 11:00am
The Confused Greenies of the Players’ Patchwork Theatre Company are a devised / improvisational comedy troupe with roots in traditional commedia dell’arte and exploits in parody productions of modern geeky fandoms and improv games! The Confused Greenies can be laughed at during many sci-fi and anime conventions as well as medieval and Renaissance events throughout the Midwest and beyond! Of course! It all makes sense now!
Opening Ceremonies were held on Friday July 21 at 7p.m and featured our con chair Kevin M. Hayes, W. Randy Hoffman, Ada Palmer and Sassafrass. AJ Smith announced the Parsec Short Story contest winners and Rhiannon’s Lark lead the singing of “Three Days Away from the Ratrace” with audience participation.
See who the the Parsec Short Story contest winners for the theme “Preserve or Purge”were in 2023.
The winning story is printed in the program book. For a copy of the program book, contact Karen: publicity@confluence-sff.org. A $5 S/H fee applies.
PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS:
A Halo Called Fred, Rigel Ailur, Bard City. Joshua David Bellin, M. Christine Benner Dixon, Vera Brook, Grant Carrington, Ken Chiacchia, Lawrence C. Connolly, Susan Dexter, Barbara Doran, Frederic S. Durbin, Robbie Ellis, Timons Esaias, Donald Firesmith. Stephen C. Fisher, Clif Flynt, Gregory Frost. GR3YS0N, Dr. Phil Getz, J.L. Gribble, H_narb! (Helen), Bernadette Harris, Sravani Hotha, Alan Irvine, Herb Kauderer, Brandon Ketchum, Dr. Geoffrey A. Landis, Becky LeJeune, Barton Paul Levenson, LEX the Lexicon Artist, Susan Urbanek Linville, Jim Mann, Laurie Mann, Brandon McNulty, Judi Miller, Scot Noel, Charles Oberndorf, Marianne Porter, Susan Kaye Quinn, Rhiannon’s Lark (Alyssa Yeager), Elyse Russell, Sassafrass, Summer Loraine Russell, Cathy Hester Seckman, A. J. Smith, Gregg Stone, Michael Swanwick, Amaya Tenshi, Mark W. Tiedemann, Tonks & the Aurors, Triforce Quartet, Mary A. Turzillo, Marie Vibbert, Albert Wendland, Jacob John White, Hazel Zorn
Photo Galleries 2023
Thank you to everyone that shared their 2023 Confluence photos!
Photos: Friday 8/21/23
Photos from Saturday 8/22/23
Photos from Sunday 8/23/23
2023 STAFF
(with Nancy Janda.)
Confluence COVID-19 Masking Policy for 2023
The Confluence Committee has decided that
😷 masking will be optional, 🙂
and vaccinations will not be required
during the 2023 Confluence conference.
We have given due consideration to this policy. There are just too many people we can’t enforce masks on; hotel staff, other hotel guests, etc. We understand that we will lose some attendees no matter which way we decide. If you choose not to attend due to the masking policy, just know we will miss you and we hope to see you during a future Confluence conference.
We encourage attendees to take precautions, especially when attending the more crowded panels and presentations or if you are not feeling well. Masks will be available at the Confluence registration table.
We also ask that if you do test positive for Covid anytime during the conference or during the week following the conference, that you use our COVID REPORTING FORM to inform our staff. Please provide as much information as we have permission to share so that people who are likely to have been exposed can decide if they want to do testing and report their results.
Thank you,
The 2023 Confluence committee
2023 Program Participants
(Alphabetically)
A Halo Called Fred has spent the last three decades making the geekiest sounds ever to spring from guitar, bass, violin, and Tupperware. Featuring songs about pirates, cavemen, and any body part or flying thing you can think of. Their latest album “Go Home Drama You’re Drunk and Other Tales of Going through Hell to Escape the Evil Monkeys” was awarded album of the year for 2020 by NJ Stage and The Aquarian Weekly’s Makin Waves Awards. They have lent their talents to Burlesque shows, motion picture soundtracks, a rock opera, and host the annual event “The Freaky Mutant Weirdo Variety Show”. Specializing in counter-cultural and geeky conventions, the Halo is proud to bring musical joy to any gathering. From Steampunks to Fairies, Bikers to Furries, our message always rings true – “We Love You All!”
Hybrid author Rigel Ailur also works as an editor, book designer, and publisher. Her credits include Star Trek, Shadowrun, and nearly a hundred other short stories as well as twenty-four novels. She also writes nonfiction, including online reviews for Sci-Fi Bulletin, and the Outside In series. Her most recent publications, out this July, are “Jupiter Joyride” for the Brave New Girls anthology; “Class Project” for the IAMTW anthology Double Trouble; and Tempest, book five in the Sorcery & Steel series.
Bard City is a band “FOR BARDS, BY BARDS” singing comical originals about the life and adventures of everyone’s favorite bards! Using inspiration from fantasy table top games the band entertains and enchants their listeners. From monsters, to mayhem, to money there is not a fantasy stone left unturned by these boisterous bards. We welcome you to Bard City!
Joshua David Bellin has been writing novels since he was eight years old (though the first few were admittedly very short). He is the author of numerous works of science fiction, including the Survival Colony novels, the Ecosystem Cycle, and the deep-space adventure Freefall. His time-travel thriller Myriad–set in Pittsburgh–will be published in May 2023 by Angry Robot Books.
M. Christine Benner Dixon is both a scholar and an artist, a grammarian and a poet. She loves the deep dive of serious research and literary criticism just as much as she loves worldbuilding for a speculative futuristic story. She does not feel compelled to choose one or the other.
Vera Brook is a neuroscientist turned science fiction & fantasy writer, and the author of the Sand Runner series. Her short fiction has appeared in Cast of Wonders, The Colored Lens, Hyphen Punk, and Radon Journal, among other places, and is forthcoming in Analog and Four Factor Magazine. She’s working on a standalone novel, several series, and a whole lot of short fiction. She also tweets about her writing journey, books she loves, and things that interest her at @VeraBrook1.
Grant Carrington is the author of 4 sf books from Brief Candle Press of Beaverton, Ore., 2 CDs of original songs, 5 plays given full productions, and 40-50 stories, mostly sf (one of which was a Nebula finalist). Member Clarion 68-69, Tulane 71. Associate editor Amazing/Fantastic 1972-74, contributing editor Eternity 1977-79. Computer programmer for Goddard Space Flight Center, Savannah River Ecology Lab, and others. BA (NYU) and MA (Univ. of Fla.) in mathematics. Most recent pub in Dreamforge 2022 and again some time in 2023.
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 books include the collections Visions, This Way to Egress, and Voices, which feature his best stories from Amazing Stories, Cemetery Dance, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Twilight Zone, Year’s Best Horror, and other top magazines and anthologies of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Voices was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. His screenplay “This Way to Egress,” co-authored with director David Slade (executive producer of Hannibal and American Gods) and based on Connolly’s original story is featured in the anthology film Nightmare Cinema , currently available on Apple TV, Amazon, and Tubi. He also writes and produces the fiction podcast Prime Stage Mystery Theatre, currently in its 8th season. Recent projects include a new adaptation of Frankenstein (which premiered at Pittsburgh’s New Hazlett Theatre in November 2022) and an upcoming play based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe.
Since bringing the last of her backlist up on KDP, Susan Dexter has been busy reading all the books recommended on the “Best of Recent Fantasy” panel last year and indulging in the guilty pleasure of following up with her characters’ lives through vignettes written for her blog “Take Up the Quest” on www.CalandraEsdragon.com—like “Honeymoon Before the Wedding: the Love Story of Leith and Kess Continues.” She is delighted to be named this year’s Featured Artist, because art takes many forms.
Barbara Doran is a New Pulp writer of SF and Fantasy with Airship 27. Her works include the Golden Dragon Series ( Claws of the Golden Dragon, Wings of the Golden Dragon and Tales of the Golden Dragon), Wu Dang: Fist of the Wanderer, and several short stories (Sinbad and the Island of the Puppet Master, Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Counterfeit Secretary and City in the Clouds).
Frederic S. Durbin has professionally written fantasy and horror for adults and children since the publication of his first novel, DRAGONFLY, by Arkham House in 1999. His most recent novel, A GREEN AND ANCIENT LIGHT, received the Realm Award in Fantasy and was named a Reading List Honor Book by the American Library Association and a Best Fantasy of the Year by PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. His work has appeared in CRICKET, F&SF, BLACK GATE, and WEIRD TALES. He is also a co-editor of the COLD HARD TYPE fiction anthology series from Loose Dog Press. He is currently at work on a weird western novel.
Robbie Ellis is a musical comedian originally from New Zealand and resident in Chicago. He’s released two albums of lushly orchestrated comedy songs, Pumpkins (2018) and Metric System (2022). He’s performed at FuMPFest and the New York Funny Songs Festival, and was the Virtual Guest of Honour at MarsCon 2021. Robbie is a music director for improv, sketch and musicals with The Second City, iO Chicago, The Annoyance Theatre and ComedySportz; and has composed and MC’d comedy classical concerts with the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago and vocal quartet Fourth Coast Ensemble. By day he is a producer and presenter on WFMT, Chicago’s classical radio station.
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 the Winter Anthology Contest, the SFPA Poetry 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. He taught writing in Seton Hill’s Writing Popular Fiction graduate program for twenty years, and now teaches freelance.
Donald Firesmith is a multi-award-winning author of speculative fiction including science fiction (alien invasion), fantasy (magical wands), horror, and modern urban paranormal novels and anthologies of short stories.Prior to retiring to devote himself full-time to his novels, Donald Firesmith earned an international reputation as a distinguished engineer, authoring seven system/software engineering books based on his 40+ years spent developing large, complex software-intensive systems. He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his wife Becky, his daughter Sera, and varying numbers of dogs and cats.
Stephen C. Fisher began reading SF with the Space Cat books about 1954 and has been consuming it ever since; he’s also published a few stories in obscure markets. Having reached the age of pontification, he wants you to know that there is more good stuff being produced of more different sorts in more different media by more different people right now than ever before: this is the Golden Age.
Gregory Frost is an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. His latest novel, RHYMER, set in 12th century Scotland, is the first in a three-book series from Baen Books (June). His collaborative SF short story with late author Bill Johnson, “Boomerang,” was featured in the May/June issue of Asimov’s Magazine. His reprinted short story collection, The Girlfriends of Dorian Gray & Other Stories, is currently available in ebook formats from the online cooperative Book View Café. His previous novel, Shadowbridge, was an ALA Best Fantasy Novel pick. Collaborating with Michael Swanwick, he won an Asimov Readers Award; he’s been a finalist for Best Novel and/or Best Short Story for the World Fantasy, Stoker, Nebula, Hugo, James Tiptree, International Horror Guild and Theodore Sturgeon Awards. He taught the Fiction Writing Workshop at Swarthmore College for eighteen years.
A unique artist to say the least, Brooklyn native now Bethlehem, PA resident GR3YS0N is blazing a trail in his own niche. Incorporating his passion for video games and anime he has developed a brand of music that goes over very well with a thus far untapped market. Uniting tech wiz’s with the culture of Hip Hop he has etched his name into the conversation of the Quaker State’s top acts. With his Gamer Not A Gangster motto, GR3YS0N is certainly acquiring fans and supporters one bar and performance at a time Not one to fear societal standards, GR3YS0N is a poster child for self esteem and individuality. Stay tuned as he continues to mark his mark. #GamerNotAGangster #OtakuGang #GNAG
Dr. Phil Goetz has worked for DARPA, NASA, NIH, NSA, and JCVI. He writes mostly fan-fiction and essays about why everything is Plato’s fault. He’s lived in every big American city that begins with ‘B’, and now lives among unsuspecting good folk in rural Pennsylvania.
J.L. Gribble writes speculative fiction with a focus on urban fantasy and alternate history. Her other jobs include medical editing, cat snuggling, and book reviewing. She lives in Ellicott City, Maryland, with her husband and three vocal Siamese cats. Find her online at jlgribble.com
Hello, my name is Helen also known on social media as H_narb! I’m just a weird human, making weird sounds, in a weird world! I am a multi-genre experimental vocalist, ukulele cover artist, and aspiring voice actor. Mostly self-taught; I have been playing music and singing since I was a young lil creature, and recently have been accompanied by ukulele. Check out my content on social medias such as Tiktok, Twitch, Instagram, Youtube, and so much more via ‘H_narb’.
Bernadette Harris is a physician specializing in internal medicine and geriatrics. She has been in practice for over 30 years and holds a clinical appointment in the University of Pittsburgh Department of Medicine.
Sravani Hotha writer South Asian fiction for adults and children with a special love for speculative fiction based on Indian mythology. Her writing has appeared in Duende Literary, Dragon Poet Review, and Fuss Class News. She juggles many universes in her brain and enjoys the sound they make when they hit the floor. She lives on the east coast where she can be spotted twirling in the rain and reading the minds of unsuspecting commuters.
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. 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: www.storystuff.blog.
Herb Kauderer is a retired factory worker/truck driver who grew up to be an associate professor of English at Hilbert College with a PhD, an MFA, and a lot of other degrees. He has written film, drama, non-fiction, and short fiction, but is most noted for his poetry. His writing has won the Critters Readers’ Award (2021), Asimov’s Readers’ Award (2017), the Ewaipanoma Sonnet Contest (2008), the WorldCon Poetry Slam (1998), and the Sycamore Award (1992), received a third place Dwarf Star Award (2021), a third place Elgin Award (2020), and placed fourth in the Analog AnLab Readers’ Awards (2017), as well as receiving honorable mention in The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror (1996). He is assistant editor (slush reader) at Amazing Stories, co-edits “SpecPo Reviews”, and was poetry editor of the 2021 Parsec Ink anthology Triangulations: Habitats. One of his favorite hobbies is getting physicists drunk so he can understand them. More about him 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. He is a member of SFWA and the Horror Writers Association, and his work has been published with Air & Nothingness Press, Perihelion, Mad Scientist Journal, and many other publications, including the short story collection Legio Damnati.
Dr. Geoffrey A. Landis is a science-fiction writer and a scientist. He has won the Hugo and Nebula awards for science fiction, and is the author of the novel Mars Crossing and the collection Impact Parameter (& Other Quantum Realities). As a scientist, he works for NASA on developing advanced technologies for spaceflight. He was a member of the Pathfinder and Mars Exploration Rovers Science teams, and is a fellow of the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts. In his spare time, he goes to fencing tournaments to stab strangers with a sword. More on his web page: http://www.geoffreylandis.com/
Barton Paul Levenson has a degree in physics. Happily married to poet Elizabeth Penrose, he confuses everybody by being both a born-again Christian and a liberal Democrat. He has 70 published short stories, poems, and essays. His novels “The Celibate Succubus,” “Another Century,” “Recovering Gretel” and “The Argo Incident” are available from amazon.com. Barton was banned from entering the Confluence Short Story Contest again after winning first prize two years in a row.
LEX the Lexicon Artist is a former academic overachiever-turned shamelessly nerdy rapper. Combining the influences of internet culture, Asian culture, cringe culture, and fandom culture, their explosive live performances explore the gamut of the human experience through a bold and irreverent lens. LEX creates weird, fun, brainy music to make you think, rage, and heal.
Susan Urbanek Linville received a PhD in biology from the University of Dayton and has worked as adjunct faculty, assistant editor for a science journal, university outreach coordinator and museum assistant administrator. As a freelance writer, she has published short science fiction and fantasy, newspaper and magazine articles, non-fiction books, and was a script writer for Indiana University’s A Moment of Science Podcast Series. Susan’s non-fiction books include an African memoir and an Underground Railroad history of Lawrence County, PA. She has recently delved into the history of Spiritualism and has co-published general books on Spiritualism, and a new novel, Blessing from Agnes, based on the lives of real Spiritualists in western PA. She is currently writing a weekly blog for the Spiritual Path Church in New Castle, PA where she lives with her husband and cats.
Jim Mann is a long-time fan and part time editor for NESFA Press. He’s married to Laurie Mann.
Laurie Mann is a long-time fan and conrunner. She was the point person for three Nebula Awards banquets in Pittsburgh and ran program for two World Science Fiction Conventions.
Brandon McNulty is the author of Bad Parts and Entry Wounds. His short fiction has been published in the No Sleep Podcast. He is a graduate of Taos Toolbox and has won both RevPit and Pitch Wars. He runs a YouTube writing advice channel called Writer Brandon McNulty.
Judi Miller has been active in the filk community since the 1980s. Winner of the Pegasus Award for Best Performer in 2006 and 2017 and admitted to the Filk Hall of Fame in 2017, Judi is best known for her sign-language musical interpretation, which she has done for concerts at our conference and elsewhere for many years. She was our 30th Anniversary Honors Guest in 2019 and we are very glad that she can be with us again.
Scot Noel is the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of DreamForge Anvil and DreamForge Magazine. His day job is Content Director for Chroma Studios, an award-winning web development and digital marketing company. Scot enjoyed a decade long career as a writer for Computer games at DreamForge Intertainment, his short story, “Riches Like Dust,” was selected for the Writers of the Future anthology, and he has had stories in Algis Budry’s Tomorrow Magazine, two zombie anthologies for Eden Press, and in various small press publications.
Charles Oberndorf is the author of three novels from Bantam Spectra and six works of short fiction. His novella, “A Cottage in Omena,” appeared in the Sept/Oct issue of F&SF. Along with a number of works in progress that are sf, he’s writing a biographical novel about Spanish Civil War veteran, Abe Osheroff, who also built a community center for Freedom Summer in Mississippi in 1964 and housing for a farm cooperative in Nicaragua in 1985. Charlie has taught middle school English for 39 years and lived with his wife April for just as many years.
Marianne Porter has been involved in science fiction as a reader since the Neolithic. Marriage to an award-winning writer has given her insight into the life and process of writing. She does NOT write herself. After a 36 year career in public health, she created Dragonstairs Press, a nanopublishing house that has published 3,523 copies of 48 different titles.
Susan Kaye Quinn is an environmental engineer/rocket scientist turned speculative fiction author who now uses her PhD to invent cool stuff in books. Her works range from hopepunk climate fiction to futuristic spec fic, cyberpunk, and steampunk romance. Sue believes being gentle and healing is radical and disruptive. Her short fiction can be found in DreamForge and Grist’s Imagine 2200 contest, and her cli-fi novel series (and all her works) can be found on her website: www.susankayequinn.com.
Rhiannon’s Lark (Alyssa Yeager) Have you ever wanted to hear a Disney princess singing about the things you love…board games, ninjas, and krakens? Rhiannon’s Lark is happy to make your wish come true. This geek-goddess-girl tackles everything from t-rexes to moral dilemmas with insightful lyrics, gorgeous vocals, and gentle humor.
Elyse Russell is a writer of short stories and comics. She has works published with Brigids Gate, Band of Bards, Cosmic Horror Monthly, and many others. When not writing, Elyse enjoys naps with her cat and ingesting copious amounts of cheese. Follow her on Twitter @ElyseRussell13 (BraveLittleTeapot)
Sassafras is an a cappella group founded (and composed for) by Ada Palmer at Pennsylvania’s Bryn Mawr College, has been specializing in science fiction, fantasy, and mythology-themed music for over fifteen years. Ada, Sassafrass, and their songs have been nominated for filk’s Pegasus Awards thirteen times, with Ada’s space-exploration anthem “Somebody Will” winning for Best Filk Song in 2020 and Sassafrass winning for Best Performer in 2013.
Emily Lewis (Sassafrass) has been singing for as long as she can remember. An avid sci-fi and fantasy fan, Emily found filk when she joined Sassafrass in 2008 and has been hooked ever since. After playing Baldur in the group’s 2012 debut of their song cycle Sundown at Balticon, Emily joined the music team at Balticon and has been helping run the music track ever since. She has continued singing with Sassafrass at any chance she gets. After teaching High School Latin for 15 years, Emily left the classroom, but still continues to nourish her love of languages and ancient history. In her free time, you can find Emily cooking, gaming, or playing with her dogs, Merlin and Cicero, and whichever foster schnauzer she has at the time.
Summer Loraine Russell is a singer/songwriter and wandering bard who got her start in the Society for Creative Anachronism, then discovered the magic of filk. Her music is crafted around fingerstyle acoustic guitar playing, memorable melodies, and lyrics that explore emotion and experience through the lens of her favorite stories.
Cathy Hester Seckman has been a published writer since the 1980s. Her writing credits include thousands of pieces in newspapers and magazines, plus more than 200 indexes. Her books are “Weirdo World,” a middle-grade time travel fantasy; “East Liverpool,” an Arcadia publishing Images of America title; “Ohio Day Trips,” from AdventureKEEN Publishing; and “Rightside/Wrongside,” a sci-fi dystopian novel due out this summer from The Wild Rose Press.
Alfred (AJ) Smith is a father and rowing coach in Erie PA working on spinning writing into a full time career. He’s been published with Air and Nothingness Press, Deep Magic Ezine, and Water Dragon Publishing.
Gregg Stone is a songwriter who considers himself a storyteller, aspiring to create vivid tales similar to those of heroes like Guy Clark, John Prine and Gordon Lightfoot. Gregg recently released a collection of his songs (under the name “greggor”), called “Lovers Killers Dreamers Fools”. It can be found on any streaming service. He is co-coordinator of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Nashville Songwriters Association International and a member of the Pittsburgh Songwriters’ Circle. It was an assignment given for a “Circle” meeting that exposed him to the world of Filk Music. That experience resulted in a song he calls “Cosmic Soldier”, which he wrote with the help of ChatGPT, the popular online Artificial Intelligence (AI) generator. Since then, he has been creating more Filk songs in a continued “collaboration”, of sorts, with AI. Join him in discovering how this futuristic tool can be used to create songs, especially well-suited for the Confluence event!
Michael Swanwick has published eight novels and as many short fiction collections. He has received the Hugo, Nebula, Theodore Sturgeon, and World Fantasy Awards for his work. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Marianne Porter.
Amaya Tenshi grew up on mythology: Greek, Egyptian, Norse, and of course fairy tales from Europe and Japan. She has spent years amassing a nifty little collection of fairy tales and legends from as many different cultures around the world as she could find: China, Vietnam, India, Africa, and more. With interest in subjects like history, theology, folklore, philosophy, and humanity itself, she earned two BAs which have been entirely useless since graduating college. When not reading hard to find history books or trying to decipher a rare tome in yet another language she doesn’t speak, she writes, spends time training her two cats to do tricks, and taking them for walks. She also designs illustrations for an indie comic book.
After attending Clarion (class of 1988) Mark W. Tiedemann began selling short fiction regularly. He began publishing novels in 2000 with the Asimov Robot Mysteries. His novel Compass Reach was shortlisted for the PKD Award, the novel Remains was shortlisted for the Tiptree (Otherwise). Most of his working life was in photography. His last dayjob was with Left Bank Books (St. Louis), where he served for 9 years on the board of the Missouri Center for the Book, 5 as president, between 2002 and 2011. He was born and raised in St. Louis, MO, where he still resides. His latest novel is Granger’s Crossing—not science fiction.
Tonks & the Aurors is a wizard rock band (music about Harry Potter) created and fronted by Steph Anderson. Since 2007, Tonks & the Aurors has traveled the North America and Europe playing in libraries, bookstores, and nerd conferences and has released five full-length albums and an EP.
Triforce Quartet, a traditional string quartet that plays videogame music, began innocently enough with a short Zelda medley for an encore of a recital in early 2007. However, a video of this medley, showing string instruments being used to play classic game music, went viral later that summer. Thanks to this, founder and cellist Chad Schwartz was able to combine his love for video games, along with years of classical training, to arrange a variety of videogame themes in a way that even non-gamers can enjoy. The four members of the Triforce Quartet have taken audience members on an unforgettable musical journey in standing-room-only shows at Video Games Live, PAX events in Seattle and Boston, MAGFest in D.C., and the iDIG Music Festival in Ireland. Don’t miss their concert here at Confluence!
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’s short SF has appeared in top magazines like Nature, Analog, F&SF, and Clarkesworld, as well as being reprinted in “Best of” collections and translated into Vietnamese, Chinese, and Czech. Her debut novel, Galactic Hellcats, was long listed by the British Science Fiction Award. By day she is a computer programmer in Cleveland.
Albert Wendland teaches at Seton Hill University and co-founded its MFA in Writing Popular Fiction. His science-fiction “space-noir” novel, “The Man Who Loved Alien Landscapes,” was a starred pick-of-the-week by Publisher’s Weekly. A prequel, “In a Suspect Universe,” soon followed. He then published a collection of poetry, “Temporary Planets for Transitory Days,” supposedly written by the protagonist of both novels. “Haunted Stars,” just released this year, mixes revenge, treasure-hunting, conspiracy, and cosmic horror. He’s also published a study of science fiction and a chapter in the writing text, “Many Genres, One Craft.” He enjoys landscape photography, astronomy, geology, graphic novels, and the “sublime.”
Jacob John White is the creator of the cosmic fantasy web serial, A Many Tale, and enjoys true adventure as much as writing of it. To Jake, wandering is the basis of finding things, and A Many Tale’s foundation of new places (and the people who inhabit them!) is tied to that philosophy.