Cat Rambo’s 300+ fiction publications include stories in Asimov’s, Clarkesworld Magazine, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. In 2020 they won the Nebula Award for fantasy novelette Carpe Glitter. They are a former two-term President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Their most recent works are space opera Devil’s Gun (Tor Macmillan, 2023) and anthology The Reinvented Detective (Arc Manor, 2023), co-edited with Jennifer Brozek. For more about Cat’s popular online school, visit The Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers. They are represented by Seth Fishman of the Gernert Agency.
Marie Vibbert Hugo- and Nebula nominated author Marie Vibbert’s short fiction has appeared over 90 times in top magazines like Nature, Analog, and Clarkesworld, and been translated into Czech, Chinese and Vietnamese. Her debut novel, Galactic Hellcats, was long listed by the British Science Fiction Award and her work has been called “everything science fiction should be” by the Oxford Culture Review. She also writes poetry, comics, and computer games. By day she is a computer programmer in Cleveland, Ohio.
Michael Swanwick was part of a remarkable group of writers including William Gibson, Connie Willis, Bruce Sterling, Nancy Kress and many others who entered the field in the early 1980s. He has won the Nebula Award, World Fantasy Award, Hugo Award and many other honors. His fiction has been translated and published around the world. He has published ten novels, an equal number of short story collections, and countless flash fictions. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, Marianne Porter. They are both longtime supporters of Confluence.
Darrell Schweitzer is the author of about 375 published stories and 4 novels, including THE MASK OF THE SORCERER and THE SHATTERED GODDESS. He is also an interviewer, poet, critic, essayist, etc. He is also an active anthologist. His most recent books are two anthologies, THE BEST OF WEIRD TALES, the 1920s (Centipede Press), COLD WAR CTHULHU (PS Publishing), and a collection of his own stories, THE CHILDREN OF CHORAZIN (Hippocampus Press). Hippocampus also promises an omnibus of his new and selected poetry soon.
Schereéya is a multi-disciplinary artist, advocate, and fulltime fae running the business development department of a tech company. Currently based in Pittsburgh, Schereeya’s practice focuses on freedom: Freedom of play, of joy, of magic and whimsy, of the ability to know oneself. “The act of Knowing myself helps me liberate myself from others’ expectations. Knowing is an ongoing process, and it takes practice and exploration. That’s what my work is- the practice of self-exploration.” Pronouns: he/they. social: @schereeya
Buy Schereeya’s poetry collection Prayers & Pixies.
Susan Kaye Quinn has designed aircraft engines and researched global warming, but now she uses her PhD to invent cool stuff in books. She’s been a full-time self-published author since 2011, and her works range from hopeful climate fiction to gritty cyberpunk. Sue believes being gentle and healing is radical and disruptive. Her short fiction can be found in Grist, Solarpunk Magazine, Reckoning, and all her novels and short stories can be found on her website: SusanKayeQuinn.com. She is the host of the Bright Green Futures podcast.
Nelson W Pyles is a writer, podcast creator and voice actor living in Pittsburgh PA. He has written two novels and several dozen short stories, essays and articles. He is the creator and original host of The Wicked Library. He is currently working on a rather long novel. He is a member of the HWA.
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 short fiction has appeared in various magazines and anthologies. He also produces and hosts The History of the Twentieth Century podcast, which has been downloaded over 4,000,000 times. He is married, with four sons and two grandchildren.
Marianne Porter spent her professional career with the Pennsylvania Department of Health, trying to keep all of you alive, dealing with bioterorism and infectious disease response. After 35 years with an office, a brief case, and a clip board, she now operates Dragonstairs Press, the world’s smallest nanopress.
Amabilis O’Hara writes speculative fiction & poetry inspired by emotional connection and eir experiences as a geoscientist. Find em at @AmabilisOHara on social media.
Charles Oberndorf has been a regular Confluence guest since 1993. He is the author of three novels and six works of short fiction. His story “Another Life” appeared in Hartwell and Cramer’s “Year’s Best SF #15” and Horton and Wallace’s “War and Space: Recent Combat.” The novella, “A Cottage in Omena,” appeared in Kaster’s “The Year’s Best Science Fiction on Earth.” Along with numerous sf projects, Charlie is also working on a biographical novel about Abraham Lincoln Brigade vet, Abe Osheroff. Charlie taught seventh grade English for 40 years. He lives with his wife in Cleveland, Ohio. He’s a graduate of the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshop (East Lansing, 1987).
Scot Noel is a winner of L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future contest (Vol VI) and the SciFidea Contest, with stories in Algis Budry’s Tomorrow Magazine, two Eden Studios’ zombie anthologies, Space & Time Magazine, and various small press venues. He has written novellas and interaction text for a variety of computer games, as well as being a project manager of game development in the late 90’s at DreamForge Intertainment. These days he works with his wife Jane at their digital marketing agency Chroma Studios, and in his spare time has fun as the editor and publisher of DreamForge Magazine, now in its 6th year of publication. In all worlds and times, DreamForge tales revolve around those individuals and groups who bring meaning and value to the world, whose actions are of consequence, and whose dreams are the vanguard of things to come.
Brandon McNulty grew up loving monsters, demons, and the thrill of a great scare. Now he writes supernatural thrillers, horror, and other dark fiction. He is a graduate of Taos Toolbox Writers Workshop and a winner of both Pitch Wars and RevPit. He runs the popular YouTube channel Writer Brandon McNulty.
Jim Mann is a fan.
Dr. Susan Linville received a PhD in biology from the University of Dayton and has lectured as adjunct faculty. She has administrative experience as an assistant editor for a science journal, university outreach coordinator and museum assistant administrator. As a freelance writer, she has published short fiction (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. She is a graduate of the Climate Reality Project, Pittsburgh 2017.
Mary Soon Lee is a Grand Master of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, and winner of the AnLab Readers’ Award, Dwarf Stars Award, Elgin Award, Rhysling Award, and Utopia Award. An illustrated edition of her epic fantasy The Sign of the Dragon was published in 2025.
Dr. Geoffrey A. Landis is a science-fiction writer, a scientist, a poet, and a swordsman. He has won the Hugo, Nebula, and Heinlein awards for science fiction, the Rhysling award for poetry, and the AIAA Power Systems award for designing power systems for spacecraft. He works for NASA on developing advanced technologies for spaceflight, including recently conceptual designs for a mission to Saturn’s moon Titan. More information can be seen on his out-of-date website or just look him up on Wikipedia.
Jamie Lackey lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and their cats. She has had over 200 short stories published in places like Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Apex Magazine, and Escape Pod. She has a novella and two short story collections available from Air and Nothingness Press, and she’s created six successful crowdfunding campaigns to self-publish a novel, two novellas, a novelette, and three short story collections. In addition to writing, she spends her time reading, playing tabletop RPGs, baking, mushroom hunting, and hiking.
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 had minor successes early in his career by getting a few short stories published in independent ‘zines before teaming up with Chris Pisano and Jeff Young to form The Novel Guys. Together under the pen names Viktor Bloodstone, Apollo Harrison, and Jordan Corvis, they have logged many hours writing novels, stories, articles, comic books, reviews, and the occasional ridiculous haiku. To find out where they may be skulking next, visit them at http://www.novelguys.com. If you happen to see Brian at one of the various conventions he participates in, feel free to stop by the table and say, “Hi.” He’s harmless!
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 and Nothingness Press, Perihelion, Mad Scientist Journal, and many other publications, including the short story collections Legio Damnati and its sequel Civili Bellum.
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), the Sycamore Award (1992), and received many other accolades including 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 the poetry editor of Triangulations: Habitats (2021). One of his favorite hobbies is getting scientists drunk so he can understand them.
Paul Jessup is a critically acclaimed, award winning writer of spooky stuff. Active pro member of HWA, he’s had publications in countless magazines over the years, including Nightmare, Apex Magazine, Clarkesworld, PostScripts, Interzone, Psuedopod, and tons more. His short stories have been honorable mentions in many Year’s Best collections, including Best Horror of the Year, Year’s Best Horror and Fantasy, and Best Science Fiction of the Year. In 2000 he won the Virginia Perryman award for excellence in short fiction, and in 2022 his short story (Skinless Man Counts to Five) was listed on the Recommended Reading List for the Stoker Awards. His latest books are Glass House (a haunted house novel), Skinless Man Counts to Five and Other Tales of the Macabre (a short story collection), and Daughter of the Wormwood Star (a horror novel about a satanic cult). He has been published and translated in many different countries, including England, Ireland, Poland and Japan.
Larry Ivkovitch‘s speculative fiction has been published in over twenty-five online and print publications. He’s been a finalist in the L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future contest and was the 2010 recipient of the CZP/Rannu Fund award for fiction.
His four-part urban fantasy series, The Spirit Winds Quartet, is published by IFWG Publishing. Just released from IFWG in 2024 is steampunk inspired SF novella, Hope’s Song.
Larry is a member of SFWA and lives in Coraopolis, PA with his beautiful and talented wife Martha and wonder cat Milo.
Alan Irvine is a storyteller from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, whose repertoire includes ghost stories, Celtic legends, folktales from around the world, King Arthur tales, Pittsburgh history and even Shakespeare. He leads walking tours of Pittsburgh, and is the playwright and director for Brawling Bard Theater, which he founded. He also teaches Sociology and History at Pittsburgh area colleges, but only when he has to.
Rich Horton is a Software Engineer in St. Louis, MO, working for the proverbial Major Aerospace Corporation. He was a short fiction columnist for Locus for 20 years, and edited a series of Best of the Year anthologies for Prime Books; as well as several further anthologies including an upcoming collection of “the best philosophical science fiction of all time” for MIT Press (co-edited with Eric Schwitzgebel and Helen de Cruz.) He writes extensively about science fiction (new and old) and about older popular fiction and Victoriana for places like F&SF, Black Gate, Journey Planet, and his blog, Strange at Ecbatan.
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, and edits science fiction for various and sundry. When not freelancing or appearing at science fiction conventions, she travels the world judging cat shows. Look for her new story “Looking Back, I Wouldn’t Change a Thing” – set in Jack Chalker’s Well World, appearing in Permutations: A Well World Anthology, edited by David Boop. Elektra is a graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop and a member of SFWA. She lives in Delaware with her husband, Mike, and more than the usual allotment of felines. You can find her on Mastodon (elektra@wandering.shop). Twitter. Instagram.
Kevin M. Hayes‘ first real short story, “The Thithshtach Diner” won the Parsec Short Story Contest in 2001 and he was able to sell it to an e-zine called “Speculon.” He has been published in Parsec INK’s first two Triangulation anthologies in 2003 and 2004 and even had clean limericks in a chap book. He has had stories in “The Realm Beyond” and “TV Gods” both from Fortress Publishing and also a story in WorD Publishing’s first anthology: “Knee Deep in Little Devils.” He is working on another anthology for WorD called “Beer, Because Your Friends Aren’t That Interesting” and has co-moderated the WorD writing and critique group for over ten years. He is deeply involved with Parsec and the Pittsburgh science fiction community on many levels. He has also read several stories for the podcast PseudoPod.
Douglas Gwilym is a Bram Stoker Award nominated author and editor. He has been known to compose a weird-fiction rock opera or two. His short story “Poppy’s Poppy” was a finalist for a Stoker in 2023. “Year Six” is on Ellen Datlow’s recommended reading list for Best Horror 14. With Shirley Jackson nominee Ken MacGregor, he edits The Midnight Zone—first edition, Novus Monstrum, a collection of never-before-seen monsters, featuring greats and new talent in strange, dark fiction. He reads classics of the proto-Weird on YouTube, appears on a variety of podcasts and web shows, and has been guest staff at Alpha Young Writers workshop. His short fiction has been featured in Shoreline of Infinity, LampLight, Lucent Dreaming, Dark Horses, Shelter of Daylight, Tales from the Moonlit Path, Penumbric, Creepy podcast, and Tales to Terrify, and his novels are lurking around the next corner.
Clif Flynt has been active in convention fandom since the mid 1970s. He’s best known as a techie nerd and filker, but in recent years he’s sold stories to Unidentified Funny Objects, Atthis Arts and Parsec Ink anthologies. His first novel, Promised Rewards, was published by Dark Myth in 2022.
Donald Firesmith is a multi-award-winning author of speculative fiction, including science fiction, fantasy, paranormal horror, and modern urban paranormal novels and collections of short stories. Because of his strong background in software/system engineering and science, his science fiction is well-researched, and he relies on numerous science, technology, and military technical advisors to ensure that the non-speculative aspects of his stories are realistic and believable. Prior to retiring to become a full-time novelist and short story author, Donald Firesmith earned an international reputation as an authority on system and software engineering, authoring engineering books and nearly 300 technical articles and conference papers based on his 40+ years spent developing large, complex software-intensive systems. In 2015, the Association for Computing Machinery named Donald Firesmith an ACM Distinguished Member.
Gregory Feeley‘s first novel, The Oxygen Barons, was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award. His short fiction has twice been Nebula finalists and have appeared in numerous Year’s Best anthologies.
Frederic Durbin has been writing professionally since 1999, when he hold his first novel, DRAGONFLY, to Arkham House. Since then he has written novels, short stories, essays, and poetry for children and adults. His fantasy novel A GREEN AND ANCIENT LIGHT was named a Reading List Honor Book by the American Library Association and received the Realm Award in Fantasy. His latest book, the historical fantasy THE COUNTRY UNDER HEAVEN, was released in May by Melville House. He teaches creative writing to high-schoolers at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School.
Barbara Doran is a fantasy author with Airship 27. Her work draws on her Chinese background and mythology, as well as her deep love of the old pulp heroes like the Shadow and the Green Hornet.
M. C. Benner Dixon (Christine) M. C. Benner Dixon lives, writes, and grows things in Pittsburgh, PA. She is quick to make a pun and slow to cut her grass. Her books include The Height of Land, an Orison Fiction Prize winner, and Millions of Suns, a collection of craft essays. Find her online at bennerdixon.com
Susan Dexter: Some know me as a writer of Fantasy, creator of Valadan, the Warhorse of Esdragon. (And it was a real trip this year to be contacted by a researcher writing about the early days of Del Rey Books, because yes, I do still have all the original correspondence!) Some know me as the artist who uses her hand-cut stencils and metallic craft paints to make the t-shirts shown in the Confluence Art Show. Some know me as a fiber artist, weaving and competing in handspinning competitions. (Hoping to beat my personal best for a week of spinning this year!)
Eric Leif Davin, PH.D., is the author of two major books on the history of fantasy and science fiction: “Pioneers of Wonder” and “Partners in Wonder.” The latter is considered to be a foundational history of women in early science fiction. He has also published many short stories in myriad venues, including several “Year’s Best” anthologies from Baen Books. He was the First Place Winner of the first Parsec Short Story contest and the Second Place Winner in the subsequent Parsec Short Story contest. He is currently a final judge in the Parsec Short Story contest. He has also served as a past president of Parsec.
Lawrence C. Connolly’s books include the collection THIS WAY TO EGRESS, whose titular tale of psychological horror was adapted for the Mick Garris film NIGHTMARE CINEMA; and the Bram-Stoker-nominated VOICE, which features Connolly’s best stories from THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION, TWILIGHT ZONE, YEAR’S BEST HORROR, and other top genre magazines and anthologies. A third collection, VISIONS, was praised by Publishers Weekly for featuring an eclectic mix of “entertaining and satisfying” SF. His novels include the eco-thrillers VEINS, VIPERS, and VORTEX. This fall, Caezik Science Fiction will release his new novel MINUTE-MEN: EXECUTE & RUN, a globetrotting adventure that combines elements of military SF, gaming, and medical suspense in a thrilling reinvention of the superhero genre. He is collaborating with brother Christopher Connolly and Academy Award-winning producer Jonathan Sanger to develop a feature film based on EXECUTE & RUN. He is also the writer of Mystery Theatre, a podcast produced by Prime Stage Theatre, which premiered his adaptation of Frankenstein in 2022. His newest commission, a play based on the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe, opens in November 2025.
Greg Clumpner Greg Clumpner is a proud product of Wisconsin currently residing in Pittsburgh, PA. He has both a Mechanical Engineering degree and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University and works as a business consultant to early-stage companies. Greg has been published in multiple journals and is Editor of the Triangulation anthologies Seven-Day Weekend and Hospitium. When not working, writing, or playing with shelter dogs, you’ll find Greg willing to engage in any form of sport.
Ken Chiacchia is the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center’s science writer, responsible for media outreach as well as writing stories about the research enabled by PSC and about the unique technological resources that make it all possible. He also serves as science writer for a number of individual PSC projects, including the Brain Image Library, Bridges-2, HuBMAP, and SenNet. Ken is a defrocked biochemist who, surprisingly late in a PhD program, realized that he didn’t have the patience to do research. He did, however, absolutely love talking, reading and writing about just about everything from cosmology to chemistry to physics, social science, humanities and yes, even biology. He spent some years writing about biomedical science for various universities and hospitals, with side-trips to freelance reporting for publications such as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Pittsburgh City Paper, as well as a stint as a radio commentator for The Allegheny Front. In 2013, he came to PSC to enjoy the amazing diversity of research enabled by PSC’s resources and its staff. A minor speculative fiction author, Ken has published short stories in a number of professional and semiprofessional markets (search for “Kenneth B. Chiacchia”). The third hat he wears is as a volunteer search and rescue dog handler with Mountaineer Area Rescue Group of Morgantown, WV, a role in which he—irony alert—is now back to doing research, on quantifying lost-person search operations (his papers are among those listed at https://www.psc.edu/staff-publications). He’s also a volunteer firefighter with the Harmony Fire District, Butler County, Pa. Finally, he is the unskilled labor for a small homestead farm in western Pa. run by his wife, who assures him she is indeed the boss of him. Ken was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, with all that entails. Not a surprise to those who know the school and its peripatetic graduates, he is also the bearer of a bachelor of arts (!) degree in biological sciences from the University of Chicago. Through bloody-minded persistence he somehow also managed to emerge from Guido Guidotti’s lab in what was then the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Harvard University with his skin intact and a PhD in hand. He has not yet gotten to write about dinosaurs.
Alan Bailey is the co-creator, co-host, and editor of the If This Goes On (Don’t Panic) podcast. In the past he also created, edited, and co-hosted the Alan & Jeremy VS Science Fiction podcast. He has been an educator for most of his life, starting in the Pittsburgh Public Schools and moving on to write curriculum for tech companies, insurance companies, post-secondary schools, and grocery chains. He has also been the bassist for numerous Pittsburgh bands. Most recently, he has joined the board of Parsec Inc.
Rigel Ailur is the author of twenty-four novels and more than eighty short stories, Rigel Ailur writes in almost every genre, but mostly science fiction and fantasy. Her novels include the VAGABONDS’ ADVENTURES action thrillers, the SORCERY & STEEL series (with Laura Ware), the science fiction series TALES OF MIMION, and the galaxies-spanning EXPLORATION. Her short stories appear in the long-running BRAVE NEW GIRLS anthology series and several other anthologies including the IAMTW’s TURNING THE TIED. She writes for adults, teens and middle grade. In nonfiction, she contributes television reviews to the OUTSIDE IN series and to the SCIFI BULLETIN online. Most importantly, Rigel dotes on her astronomically adorable feline kids. Visit Rigel at BluetrixBooks.com for more information and a complete bibliography.