Rigel Ailur is the author of twenty-four novels and more than eighty short stories. She 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.
Alan Bailey is the co-creator, co-host, and editor of the Hugo long-listed podcast If This Goes On (Don’t Panic). He has had the honor to interview such Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror luminaries as Ellen Datlow, TJ Klune, Cory Doctorow, Martha Wells, James Morrow, Peter Beagle, Tananarive Due, and Charles Stross. Most recently, he has joined the board of Parsec Inc.
Ken Chiacchia’s bio reads like random events from different people’s lives. He has been a biochemist, PR writer, newspaper reporter, science fiction author, EMT, SAR dog handler, firefighter, radio commentator, and hobby farmer. He’s now science writer at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center. Ken’s fiction credits include Cicada, Paradox, and Triangulation.
Lawrence C. Connolly’s books include THIS WAY TO EGRESS, whose title story was adapted for Mick Garris’s film NIGHTMARE CINEMA; and the Bram-Stoker-nominated VOICES, which features stories from F&SF, TWILIGHT ZONE, YEAR’S BEST HORROR, and other top genre publications. A third collection, VISIONS, was praised by Publishers Weekly for its eclectic mix of “entertaining and satisfying” stories.
His latest novel, MINUTE-MEN: EXECUTE & RUN (from Caezik Science Fiction), combines military science fiction, gaming, and medical suspense in a thrilling reinvention of the superhero genre.
His latest story, “Embers,” will appear this fall in ASIMOV’S MAGAZINE. More at https://lawrencecconnolly.com/
Eric Leif Davin, Ph.D., is the author of “Pioneers of Wonder: Conversations With the Founders of Science Fiction” and “Partners in Wonder: Women and the Birth of Science Fiction: 1926-1965.” He is also the author of numerous short stories in both professional magazines and annual “best of” anthologies. Visit him at ericleifdavin.com or on Wikipedia.
Susan Dexter has, over the past year used Amazon’s AI Narrator to bring several of my books out as audio books. The best part? Choosing the voice—and I have to tell you, I love hearing The True Knight with the Australian narrator! I’m still doing my art, weaving rag rug and spinning miles of yarn on a Scottish spindle—and I just became a member of the PennOhio Clay Guild, having a blast with ceramics.
My website is http://www.CalandraEsdragon.com I also have a Wikipedia page!
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 novel, The Height of Land, was the winner of the Orison Fiction Prize. Millions of Suns, a collection of craft essays, is available from the University of Michigan Press. She also writes under the name Mir Benitz. Websites: bennerdixon.com & mirbenitz.com
Barbara Doran writes pulp stories with using Chinese folklore and myth, as well as drawing on her love of old TV series like Kung Fu and Green Hornet. She lives, works and games in a small town in Western Ohio, with her Long Suffering Husband and her sons. . https://www.sumergoscriptum.com/barbaradoran/about/
Frederic S. Durbin has been professionally writing fantasy for adults and children for over a quarter-century. His latest novel, The Country Under Heaven, was named the Best Horror Novel of the Year by the New York Public Library. His novel A Green and Ancient Light was named a Reading List Honor Book by the American Library Association. He teaches creative writing to high-schoolers at the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School. http://www.fredericsdurbin.com
Shannon Eichorn is a scifi writer and aerospace engineer who writes about body-possessing aliens, flying saucers, and a secret, underfunded government program. Her debut novel, Rights of Use, is the first in the Project Black Book contemporary space opera series. She currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. https://bsky.app/profile/shannoneichorn.bsky.social
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 the Seiun Award, twice won the Asimov’s Readers Award, and won the Winter Anthology Contest for 2020. Any responses to critics are handled by the combat cyborg Clesius IX Metallicus. https://timonsesaias.com/
Gregory Feeley‘s short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Asimov’s, Analog, and about a dozen year’s best anthologies. His first novel, “The Oxygen Barons,” was nominated for the Philip K, Dick Award. He has recently completed a new novel.https://www.facebook.com/gregory.feeley
Donald Firesmith is a multi-award-winning author of speculative fiction, including science fiction, fantasy, paranormal horror, and children’s novels and collections of short stories. Prior to retiring to become a full-time 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.
Stephen Fisher found his gateway drug to SF in the Space Cat books ca. 1954 and has been absorbing and emitting stories ever since, a few of his efforts having been published in obscure places. His primary occupation these days is serving the needs of Shelby Underfoot, the greatest-ever feline authority on the American Civil War, and his even more useless relatives, but he finds time to attend a ridiculous number of baseball games and to participate in any Gilbert & Sullivan production that comes his way. @violasteve.blusky.social
Clif Flynt has been attending SF conventions since the mid ’70s. He’s filked many a night away, pubbed his ish, and done basic fanac. He joined SFWA a few years ago with sales to Atthis Arts, Parsec Ink and
Unidentified Funny Objects. He had his first novel, Promised Rewards, published by Dark Myth in 2022. His website (and blog) hide at http://www.cflynt.com.
Douglas Gwilym is an award winning short-story author, novelist, speaker, and editor of anthologies–including Harmony & Dissonance and Novus Monstrum. As a writing mentor, he’s worked with private clients and taught at Alpha Young Writers. As a musician he fronts the perennial Pittsburgh dark art-punk band The Mandibles, even perpetrating a rock opera here and there. Check out the 50+ hours of classic weird fiction he’s read on YouTube, one of the audiobooks he’s narrated for up-and-coming talent, or his stints as guest host for Story Hour and Tales to Terrify. His short fiction appears in LampLight, Shoreline of Infinity, and Tales to Terrify.
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. 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. http://www.untilmidnight.com.
Rich Horton is recently retired software engineer from St. Louis. He was a short fiction reviewer for Locus for 20 years, edited a Best of the Year anthology for Prime books as well as several other anthologies. A new anthology of The Best Philsophical Science Fiction of all time and all the world is due in late 2026 or 2027. He writes on old and new SF and Fantasy, plus other popular fiction and Victoriana and classics, at Black Gate, and his substack (https://richhorton314252.substack.com/).
Alan Irvine is a storyteller from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, whose repertoire includes ghost stories, Celtic legends, folktales from around the world, King Athur 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. His novel From the River Below, a mystery set in Elizabethan London, has just come out. Alan also teaches Sociology and History at Pittsburgh area colleges, but only when he has to.
http://www.alanirvine.com
Paul Jessup is an award-winning writer of creepy stuff. Glass House, Skinless Man Counts to Five, Daughter of the Wormwood Star, Suicide Music and Cancer Eats the Heart out now. Rustbelt Gothic coming Oct 2026. Creator of the best selling game Bad Writer.
Richard Kadrey is the New York Times bestselling author of the Sandman Slim supernatural noir series. Sandman Slim was included in Amazon’s “100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books to Read in a Lifetime.” Some of Kadrey’s other books include The Flesh King, The Grand Dark, and The Dead Take the A Train (with Cassandra Khaw). He’s also written for comics and film.
Alan Aaron Katerinsky is a fan and speculative poet from Buffalo, NY. His poem “Gravitation is Only a Theory,” was a finalist for the 2025 Rhysling Award and appeared in the anthology. In mundane life, he is a clinical assistant professor in the Managerial Science department at the University at Buffalo.
Herb Kauderer is a Professor of English at Hilbert College. He has had over a hundred short stories, one hundred and fifty short non-fiction pieces, and three thousand poems published. His writing has won the Asimov’s Readers Award, the Critters Readers Poll, the Ewaipanoma Sonnet Contest, the WorldCon Poetry Slam, and been nominated for many other accolades. One of his hobbies is getting physicists drunk so he can understand them.
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, Flame Tree Press, and many other publications, including the short story collections Legio Damnati and its sequel Civili Bellum.
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 two novella and two short story collections available from Air and Nothingness Press. In addition to writing, she spends her time reading, playing tabletop RPGs, baking, mushroom hunting, and hiking. You can find her online at http://www.jamielackey.com.
Geoffrey A. Landis is a Hugo- and Nebula-winning science fiction writer, and a NASA scientist. He is also a nationally-ranked épée fencer. He has an out-of-date website at www,geoffreylandis.com, or just look him up on Wikipedia.
Mary Soon Lee hides behind a cryptically named website (marysoonlee.com) and BlueSky account (@marysoonlee.bsky.social). She has won the AnLab Readers’ Award, Asimov’s 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. Website: https://marysoonlee.com/ BlueSky: @marysoonlee.bsky.social
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 progressive Democrat. He has 80 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.
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.
Jim Mann is a long-time fan and con runner and sometimes editor for NESFA Press. He’s been a fan since 1975, when he first found WPSFA (the Wester Pennsylvania Science Fiction Association). He’s been married to Laurie since three days before the premier of Star Wars (which is how, he claims, he remembers their anniversary). They have one child, Leslie.
Laurie Mann has been an active fan since 1974. She was active in NESFA, worked on Boskones and Noreascons and became active online on USENET & GEnie. Laurie and Jim returned to Pittsburgh in early ’90s, worked on Confluences and Worldcons. She edited William Tenn’s nonfiction collection Dancing Naked which earned Tenn a Best Nonfiction Hugo nomination.
Brandon McNulty grew up loving monsters, demons, and the thrill of a great scare. Now he writes supernatural horror, thrillers, and other dark fiction. His novels include ENTRY WOUNDS and BAD PARTS, and he has also published the writing craft book STORY MADE SIMPLE. He runs the popular YouTube channel Writer Brandon McNulty. https://brandonmcnulty.com/
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, and Space & Time Magazine. Along with his wife Jane, they publish the award-winning DreamForge Magazine, now in its 7th year of publication. https://dreamforgemagazine.com
Charles Oberndorf 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).
Amabilis O’Hara is a Brave New Weird and Rhysling nominated author who writes speculative fiction & poetry inspired by emotional connection and eir experiences as a geoscientist. Find em at http://www.amabilisohara.com or @AmabilisOHara on social media.
Mark Painter was born in Reading, Pennsylvania and studied at the University of Pennsylvania. He has worked as an electrical engineer and practiced law in the field of disability rights. He served in elected office for seventeen years, including a term in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. After his retirement, he took up writing fantasy and science fiction, as well as producing and hosting the popular History of the Twentieth Century podcast. His wife is a retired United Methodist pastor. They have four children and two grandchildren. historyofthetwentiethcentury.com
Marianne Porter studied biology (at Chatham! [history minor]) and marine biology, and then spent 36 years in public health, focused on the full scope of laboratory testing, as well as antiterrorism and emergency preparedness planning. She now is the editor and publisher of Dragonstairs Press, the world’s smallest publishing house, specializing in flash fiction, mostly by in-house content provider Michael Swanwick. She has Opinions.
Robert J. Sawyer has won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel of the year. The ABC TV series FlashForward was based on his novel of the same name. A Guest of Honor at the 2023 Worldcon, a member of the Order of Canada, and one of the initial inductees into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, his latest novel (May 2026) is The Downloaded 2: Ghosts in the Machine. Website: https://sfwriter.com
Lawrence M. Schoen holds a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology, is a past Astounding, Hugo, and Nebula, finalist, won the Cóyotl award for best novel twice, founded the Klingon Language Institute, is a hypnotherapist specializing in authors’ issues, and writes science fiction and fantasy ranging from the humorous to the deeply philosophical. He is also a chimeric cancer survivor.
Darrell Schweitzer is the author of The Mask of the Sorcerer, The White Isle, We Are All Legends, etc, He has published in total about 375 short stories and 4 novels. He is also a poet, interviewer, critic, and former editor of WEIRD TALES. Lately he has been editing anthologies including The Best of Weird Tales: The 1920S, Shadows Out of Time, Cold War Cthlulu and Lovecraft’s Dark Dreamlands.
Michael Swanwick is one of the giants of science fiction. He has won the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards, written eight novels, including THE IRON DRAGON’S DAUGHTER and STATIONS OF THE TIDE, had eight collections of his short fictions, most recently THE UNIVERSE BOX. He can be found at http://www.mswanwick.com.
Dr. David Tucker, his life mirrors his novels, a combination of experiences as a homeless construction worker facing injury and death, a research scientist specializing in intelligent systems, a pilot and world traveler immersed in African cultures and wars, all fused together by a passion for science fiction and fantasy.
Marie Vibbert is a Hugo and Nebula finalist. Her short fiction has appeared over 100 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 is the editor of the 2026 Triangulation anthology “Bad Romance.” She also writes poetry, comics, and computer games. By day she is a computer programmer in Cleveland, Ohio.
Albert Wendland’s novels, “The Man Who Loved Alien Landscapes” (a starred pick-of-the-week for Publisher’s Weekly), “In a Suspect Universe,” “Haunted Stars,” and the collection of poems, “Temporary Planets for Transitory Days,” are classic science-fiction adventures that blend mystery, pulp, noir, and “planetary romance” with high hopes, big spaces, and cosmic fears. Interested in photography, astronomy, geology, the “sublime,” he co-founded Seton Hill’s MFA in Writing Popular Fiction.
Can be found on Facebook and Instagram. (Website under construction.)
Hazel Zorn is a horror author and oil painter. Her novella about the coral reef becoming sentient and mutating all life on earth is called Reef Mind. Available from Tenebrous Press. Hazelzorn.com