Arisia 2023 Program Participant Bios
Generated: Sun Jan 15 15:10:31 2023
Daniel Reuben Abraham—Daniel R. Abraham is keenly aware of the other Daniel Abrahams, whom he is not, and maintains a disambiguation page on his website. The Dan Abraham of the Expanse (not DRA) is aware that he was accidentally signed up to run Gaming until 4am at Noreascon 4 until they got their packets switched back. At any convention, Dan often is found in the Gaming rooms, helping out with Gaming (or weddings, or parties, or work). He has the usual ADHD plethora of hobbies, in order of skill: Cook, GameRunner, Chocolatier, Minecraft Architect, mask-maker, Micromosaic jeweler, and hammered dulcimer player,
Vivian Abraham (any pronouns are fine) is a game designer, professional editor, attorney, and community organizer.
Wendee Abramo—Wendee is a life long dabbler. In 2008 she discovered belly dance and finally found her favorite thing to geek out about. As half of Ki-Ra Luna, she's performed at Arisia as an ewok, an evil clown, a chicken, and a Ghostbuster and now co-produces the Geeky BellyDance Show. She can also be found dancing at local faires and festivals, ranting about cat cafes, and recording the occasional podcast for earth-2.net. She lives in Brighton with her husband, a very sweet dog, and a nigh immortal cat. http://facebook.com/KiRaLunaDance">facebook.com/KiRaLunaDance
Alastor (Mar Hammitt-McDonald) is a primary-care physician with an academic background in medieval studies and rare books and special collections librarianship. They also write speculative fiction (yet to be published) and enjoy hiking, bicycling, paddling a kayak or dragonboat, acting, and of course reading. They enjoy life on the Oregon Coast with their spouse, 10-year-old son, and eight feline household gods.
- Polyamory Basics
- Polyamory: Expectations vs. Reality
- Sunday Christian Services
- Self-Care at Conventions
Athena School of Arms is a Boston-based Modern School of Historical Fencing and Martial Arts. We have two primary programs: the Longsword tradition of Johannes Lichtenauer, and a rotating schedule of Rapier, Broadsword, Sabre, Smallsword, Dagger, Sword & Buckler, and Grappling arts. Training includes free play, drills, test cutting, and physical fitness; together, these elements help students to understand and recreate combat on the battlefield, the list, and in personal defense. https://youtu.be/G_St2MOehgo
Zareh Artinian, Jr. is an experienced editor, writer, and producer in a variety of media. His works include writing the book for the original musical The Glassblower’s Daughter: An American Fairy Tale, an original fairy tale inspired by elements of classical European fairy tales but set in a fictional, early North American colony. He also wrote the book for Beneath the Skin, a musical that focuses on de-stigmatizing mental health issues faced by young adults. He’s also written an original translation and adaptation of The Canterbury Tales as a piece of children’s theatre. He has published over a dozen short stories, including science fiction stories, like "Emily's Smart New Clothes," which contain elements of classic fairy tales, and the retelling of a Native American folktale that are relevant to a contemporary audience, as well as non-fiction articles and a book for middle-schoolers, and a novel for young adults. Zareh has taught various writing and media courses at Emerson College, Sacred Heart University, and Eastern Nazarene College. He holds a B.S. from St. Joseph’s College and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Emerson College and is a member of the Dramatist Guild and SCBWI. Zareh believes that the old tales contain wisdom that can still inspire us and speak to modern audiences in fresh, new ways.
Michael Bailey is a professional writer from Falmouth, Massachusetts who kind of hates writing bios.
Michael has been a working writer since 1998. In 2013, Michael ended his tenure as a reporter at the Falmouth Enterprise to focus on his creative writing.
In September 2013, Michael released his debut YA novel "Action Figures." Every book in the series has landed on Kindle top ten best-seller lists, and "Secret Origins" was the number one book on two Amazon best-seller lists (June/July 2016). His first adult novel, "The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot," a humorous fantasy adventure, was released in 2015. His urban fantasy trilogy, "Well-Behaved Women," debuted in September 2018.
Over the years Michael has contributed several articles to Renaissance Magazine and other local publications, and has since 2004 worked on the writing staff of two New England-based renaissance faire production companies: Pastimes Entertainment and the Connecticut Renaissance Faire. He is also a part-time theatrical fight director and choreographer.
E. J. Barnes is a cartoonist, and writer, illustrator, and editor of comics, many of them on historical topics including history of science. She is a longtime member of the Boston Comics Roundtable. She works in a variety of media, including ink wash, colored pencil, scratchboard, and watercolor. She self-publishes as Drowned Town Press.
Reuben Baron is a member of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics and a writer for Looper, Paste Magazine, and Anime News Network among other sites. Their webcomic "Con Job: Revenge of the SamurAlchemist" is available to read on Tapas. This is Reuben's first year as co-head of the media programming track at Arisia following many years as a panelist.
Trowa Barton—Santiago Rivas is celebrating over 40 years as a sci-fi enthusiast. It was his time at MIT that he became an avid film, theater, poly, and gamer geek. He has been involved with @email for seventeen years and the Heinlein Society Naughty Nurses for over ten years, writing, directing, and starring in skits for the annual Blood Drive. In his copious spare time, he's blogging, updating tropes pages, becoming part of Section 31, spending time with redheads, and raising an advanced prototype.
A lover of karaoke, a patron of community theater, and an event planner extrordinaire, Bey identifies as Bisexual, Polyamorous, and Queer. She is married to gaming book author, Jonathan Woodward and is the mother of Roo.
Logan Biscornet—I am Logan Jacob Maxwell Tyler Brodie Biscornet. I love travel, professional wrestling, animation in all forms, the paranormal, generally weird stuff and of course parties! I have been involved in convention orginizing since 2012 and love to be in a room full of nerds!
Moniquill Blackgoose—Monique Poirier is an enrolled member of the Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe and a lineal descendant of Ousamequin Massasoit. She is an avid costumer, and an active member of the steampunk community. Her work in steampunk has been featured at Beyond Victoriana, Silver Goggles, and in the books Anatomy of Steampunk: The Fashion of Victorian Futurism, Steampunk III: Steampunk Revolution, Speculative Imperialisms: Monstrosity and Masquerade in Postracial Times, and Steaming Into a Victorian Future: A Steampunk Anthology. She has blogged, essayed, and discussed extensively across many platforms the depictions of NDN and NDN-coded characters in sci-fi and fantasy, and would like to help other authors better understand how to produce respectful and well-thought-out indigenous characters and what the common pitfalls are in doing so. Her upcoming novel, To Shape A Dragon’s Breath will be released May 9, 2023 from Del Rey Press.
David Brahm—David E. Brahm holds an S.B. in physics and math from MIT, and a Ph.D. in theoretical particle physics from U.C. Berkeley. Following six years of postdoctoral physics research at Caltech and Carnegie Mellon, he joined Fidelity Investments in 1996, and became one of the founders of Geode Capital Management in 2001. He has recently retired.
James Bredt—James F. Bredt, Ph.D. is a veteran inventor, scintist, and entepreneur. He worked on some of the earliest 3D printers in the 1990's and developed the first commercial full-color 3D printer at Z Corporation (a company he cofounded) in the early 2000's. Later he developed large-format 3D printers. For over two decades he appeared, in full-body makeup, as a human spotlight in the Ig Nobel Awards Ceremony. He has taught freshman chemistry, materials science, and moldmaking at MIT. Presently he is semi-retired and teaches figure drawing at Artisans Asylum in Allston.
Steven D. Brewer teaches scientific writing and scientific instrument creation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His series "Better Angels" and "Revin's Heart" are being published by Water Dragon Publishing. As an author, Brewer identifies diverse obsessions that underlie his writing: deep interests in natural history, life science, and environmentalism; an abiding passion for languages; a fascination with Japanese culture; and a mania for information technology and the Internet. Brewer lives in Amherst, Massachusetts with his extended family.
Marc Brunco—Marc is a volunteer with Arisia and has served as Access head since 2019. An avid science fiction fan, he's been attending conventions regularly since 2011 and has hosted panels across the country.
Rachel served five years as a combat journalist, including two tours in Iraq, and a brief stint as a columnist for her hometown newspaper. After her second tour, she attended graduate school at the University at Albany in NY, where she earned her MA in Political Communication, and her commission as a second lieutenant in the military police corps. She returned to the Army Reserve in November 2014.
Rachel continues to write and publish short stories, novellas, and full-length novels, including her most recent work, Cold Run, a werewolf secret agent thriller published by Falstaff Books. She is the founder and editor of Crone Girls Press, an indie micro-press specializing in horror anthologies and earned her MFA in Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University in 2022.
- Creeping Sense of Doom
- Identifying Markets For Your Work
- Writing as a Military Veteran (18+)
- Writing Military Sci-Fi and Fantasy
- Tinkers, Sailors, and Traveling Players
- Grunts and Ground-Pounders: The Private's Eye View in Military SF
Michael A. Burstein, winner of the 1997 Campbell/Astounding Award for Best New Writer, has earned ten Hugo nominations and four Nebula nominations for his short fiction, collected in I Remember the Future. He is the editor of the upcoming anthology Jewish Futures. Burstein lives with his wife Nomi and their twin daughters in the town of Brookline, Massachusetts, where he is an elected Town Meeting Member and chair of the Library Trustees. When not writing, he edits Science textbooks. He has two degrees in Physics and attended the Clarion Workshop. More information on Burstein and his work can be found on his webpage, http://www.mabfan.com. He spends far too much time on Facebook.
Nomi S. Burstein is a technical writer, freelance editor, and fiction writer. Her debut novel, Flying Without a Net, was published in November 2016 under the name EM Ben Shaul, and she has a short story that will appear in "Jewish Futures." When she is not involved in professional word-nerditry, Nomi knits, sews, and performs amateur word-nerditry. She lives in Brookline, MA, with her husband, Michael A. Burstein, and their twin daughters.
Isaac C.—I am a teen working on building a wildlife pond, I've been to around 10 science fiction cons before, but this is my first Arisia - I'm excited to be here!
Jess C.—Jess (they/she) is a parent, educator, artist, and writer living in Massachusetts with their wife and child. They enjoy podcasts about bad books, pop culture video essayists, dabbling in languages, writing poetry and personal essays, and seeking out fun and interesting creative projects to contribute to. Her art has been a part of The Fat Folks Tarot Deck, Fat Craft Vol. III: Death & The Divine, Fandom for Choice, Project Choice and an upcoming campaign for the Mass Coalition for Suicide Prevention.
Mildred Cady—Mildred is a gamer, geek, actor, costumer, crafter, nerd, fan, and a writer. She's always been interested in how people spent their time in long ago and far away cultures, leading to the development of various panels on historical gaming & lifestyles. She's also participated in panels revolving around gaming and genre fiction, as well as navigating fandom/geekdom in a way that's true and kind to oneself without ignoring the past.
Kevin Cafferty (he/him) is a documentary filmmaker and podcaster. His punk rock documentary "It's a Bash!" was given four stars by The Providence Journal and aired on New England PBS affiliates. His podcast, "Gleaming the Tube", is about skateboarding and movies. He has been nominated for four Emmy awards and has performed in the acclaimed comedy/variety show "Kevin Geeks Out."
Rob Cameron is a teacher, linguist, and writer. Among other publications, he has poetry, stories, and essays in Star*Line, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Tor.com, Foreign Policy Magazine. One of his stories is curricula material for the Carterhaugh School of Folklore. He's been a guest lecturer at NYC on solarpunk science fiction. His debut middle grade novel Daydreamer is forthcoming from Labyrinth Road, Summer '24.
Rob is a lead organizer for the Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers, a former guest host and curator for the New York Review of Science Fiction Reading Series, and executive producer of Kaleidocast.nyc.
Kim Carter is a writer and YouTuber creating audio dramas, a Zumba instructor, and a married mother of one from New Hampshire. She's been attending Arisia for over 10 years, and this is the first time attending as a panelist! Her fondness for the golden era of radio combined with coming age during the early days of fanfiction.net and LiveJournal combined in perfect harmony when she discovered her true passion: writing and creating audio dramas. Kim is a skilled, concise script writer with a knack for effortless dialog and comforting, engaging content.
Melissa Carubia—Mel Carubia (they/she) is an actor, teacher, writer and composer based in the Boston area. They wrote the music and lyrics for the award-winning T: An MBTA Musical, a lampoon of our nation's first public transit system (playing through 2023 at the Rockwell), and Beneath the Skin, a musical breaking down the stigma of mental illness. They are currently working on Born To Do This: The Joan of Arc Rock Opera, premiering summer 2023. Recent performance credits include Bea Bottom (Something Rotten), Fun Home (Joan), Rock of Ages (Regina), Evita (Eva Perón u/s, performance) and Ragtime (Emma Goldman) with The Company Theatre. They sing and play keytar in synth-rock band Minusworld, whose EP, Dancing In the Ashes, is available on all major music platforms. They have a degree in Physics from Boston College, a masters in Composition from The Longy School of Music, and over a decade of experience working as a professional improviser with both ImprovBoston and Urban Improv. They love telling stories through RPGs, writing novels about queer teens, and can't get enough hot sauce, ever.
Jeanne Cavelos (jeannecavelos.com) went from NASA astrophysicist to World Fantasy Award-winning senior editor at Bantam Doubleday Dell to bestselling author of science fiction novels and science nonfiction. She's the director of the Odyssey Writing Workshops Charitable Trust, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to helping writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror improve their work (odysseyworkshop.org). Odyssey offers Your Personal Odyssey Writing Workshop, an intensive, one-on-one online workshop experience customized for each writer; online classes; and numerous free resources. Jeanne has been nominated for a World Fantasy Award for her work at Odyssey.
Benjamin Chicka—Dr. Benjamin J. Chicka is Lecturer of Philosophy and Religion at Curry College. His work connects classical American pragmatism, religion and science, and the value of religious pluralism. Those interested in more abstract metaphysics can read God the Created: Pragmatic Constructive Realism in Philosophy and Theology (SUNY Press), though his most recent work touches upon media criticism and popular culture, which has led to speaking in front of audiences of hundreds of video game fans at places like PAX East and Arisia more than fellow academics in recent years. Playing as Others: Theology and Ethical Responsibility in Video Games (Baylor University Press) represents the culmination of his research on the video game industry to date and describes how moves toward greater diversity and inclusion in that industry can inform ethics and academic conversations about pluralism.
Chad is an internationally recognized cybersecurity evangelist who builds security into automotive modules, connectivity, fleet, autonomous & electric vehicles, cloud & IoT solutions. Survivors of the Big Bang (SOB²) in NOLA, Stilyagi Air Corps in MI, ConFusion and DetCon1 ConCom, founded the Stilyagi book discussion group, con calendar, webgod, AASFA and SFOHA boards, letterhack, printer's devil and accomplice of Big Hearted Howard DeVore. Gafiated with children, FIJAGH.
- Disinformation Self-Defense
- Good Story Songs
- Kid-Friendly Maker Projects
- Techies of Arisia Meetup
- Nerdy Vacation Planning
Bob Chipman—Film Critic, Video Producer, Writer, Independent Filmmaker
MovieBobCentral
Freelance Writing Staff - Theorist Inc
Amy Chused—I am a hospitalist, a CMIO and a mother, with a long standing fondness for SF & F, Arisia, and the cool things that can be acquired at Arisia. My household includes my partner (a woman), our 5 children and our 6 pets.
Sara Codair is a queer, neurodivergent author of fantasy and science fiction stories, including The Evanstar Chronicles and Earth Reclaimed. They partially owe their success to their faithful feline writing partner, Goose the Meowditor-In-Chief, who likes to “edit” their work by deleting entire pages. Find them online @shatteredsmooth and saracodair.com.
LJ Cohen is a novelist, poet, fiber artist, potter, and relentless optimist. After almost twenty-five years as a physical therapist, LJ now uses her anatomical knowledge and clinical skills to injure characters in her science fiction and fantasy novels. Her most recent book, A STAR IN THE VOID, (book 5 of the SF/Space Opera series Halcyone Space) represents her eighth novel and was published summer of 2018. DERELICT, the 1st book in the series, was named a Library Journal self-e select title and book of the year in 2014. LJ is active in SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) and Broad Universe and splits her time between the Boston area and a homestead farm in Central Massachusetts.
- Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading
- Creating Authentic Characters with Disabilities
- Writing Series, Sequels, and Spin-Offs
Patterner Cosplay—Lillian is a theatrical costume technician from New York City, specializing in hand embroidery, fine vintage repairs, historical costuming, and cosplay, with a master’s degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Find Lillian on Instagram @patternermage
Donald Crankshaw has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from MIT, which was more useful for writing fantasy than he had expected, though less helpful for writing science fiction than he had hoped. He has previously published stories in Nature Futures, Intergalactic Medicine Show, and Black Gate. He and his wife, Kristin Janz, edit and publish the online magazine Mysterion.
Morgan Crooks—Morgan lives in Ipswich, MA - a town full of bridges, breweries, and that particular type of New England history that makes for excellent Lovecraft stories. He has published many dark fiction stories in anthologies and online and occasionally reviews books and movies on his blog: ancientlogic.blogspot.com.
Since attending the 2011 Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshop, Gillian Daniels' poetry and short fiction have appeared in Nightmare Magazine, Strange Horizons, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies, among more than thirty other publications. She was born in Des Moines, Iowa, grew up in Greater Cleveland, Ohio, and she now writes, works, and haunts the streets in the Boston area of Massachusetts. She also makes comics and zines, searches out little-known horror and indie movies, and definitely wants to see pictures of your cat.
Scott Marchand Davis—Scott is Co-Creator at Happy Monster Press, an indie publisher of setting books and supplements for the Savage Worlds role playing game. He also produces and hosts The Happy MonsterCast, a biweekly actual play podcast currently featuring a playthrough of Deadlands Noir: Chicago, and played on the Foundry Virtual Tabletop.
Justin du Coeur—Mark "Justin" Waks is a multidimensional butterfly, flitting from SCA to programming to LARP to comics to board games. He is understandably phobic about pins.
Jan Dumas—Jan is the curent clerk on the Eboard for Arisia Corporate. Ask us about joining the Arisia Corporation!
We are severly allergic to apples and tree nuts.
Our Service Dog Neelix is very friendly, but will be working during the convention. Please do not interfere with his duties. Co-Divhead of Fast Track. No pictures please!
Kevin Eldridge hosts The Flopcast, a pop culture comedy podcast. He has performed at clubs, coffeehouses, and conventions throughout America, both as a podcaster and with his comedy band The Sponge Awareness Foundation, as heard on the Doctor Demento Show. Kevin has also hosted skeptic events promoting science and critical thinking, and is a published author of science fiction short stories.
Lyndsay Ely (pronounced “eel-y”, as in those eels are looking very eel-y today) is the author of GUNSLINGER GIRL (her debut novel) and DEADLOCK REBELS: An Overwatch Novel. She spent her teenage years wanting to be a comic book artist but as it turned out, she couldn’t draw very well, so she began writing instead. She is a geek, a foodie, former publishing minion, and has never met an antique shop or flea market she didn’t like. Boston is the place she currently calls home, though she wouldn’t mind giving Paris a try someday.
Griffin Ess—I have am a professional commission illustrator with a psych background used for assessment creation, qualitative research, and counter malice tactics. I consult for some start ups. I've produced some audio podcasts using DnD and gneral media to deliver psychologically healthy information to listeners. I've written a couple of novels I haven't managed to find publishing for. I've done some stage work in improve and live story telling, won a few Moth competitions. I play in multiple D&D live stream games for Records of the Realms & Sparabel (and have DMed for a number of short run campagins, some live streamed). I'm a little all over the place but if it's about the creative process and/or a psychological perspective can hep.... or you just need someone to babble about media in general.... I'm a good option.
A glittery disabled transmasculine femme non-binary fat queerio, etana digs fat liberation and dogs. They are a counselor, training their own service dog, always trying new crochet tricks, and happy to be of service. Life is messy, they try to make peace with also being messy. Catch them on social media or your local dog park.
etana is a member of the Arisia, Inc eboard and service as treasurer. They are also the Arisia 2023 communications division head.
Professor Fizzle—I am licensed as a middle and high school math and science teacher with more than 15 years of experience. I teach kids math and science by having kids build toys and play with them.
Forest Handford is an author from Fitchburg, MA. While not at work, she's bringing her family on wacky adventures. Her website is http://eastcoastgames.com/">EastCoastGames.com where she publishes videos and writings about various topics. Forest also founded http://empemp.org/">EmpEmp.org, the site for empowering employees. She recently finished her memoir A Trans Feminist's Past and before that wrote a Sci-Fi trans romance called Flipping.
Jaime Garmendia is a career public servant and project manager. When he is not building transportation infrastructure, he dabbles in tabletop game design and comic books. Jaime is a past Chair of Arisia and remains active in incident response and code of conduct management. He also manages day job conferences such as TransportationCamp New England and Modernizing Rail.
Pamela Gay—As an astronomer, technologist, and creative focused on using new media to engage people in learning and doing science, Gay splits her time between communicating science and developing technology to advance science. Join her as we map our Solar System in unprecedented detail through citizen science projects at https://cosmoquest.org/" target="_blank">CosmoQuest.org, and learn astronomy through media productions like http://astronomycast.com/" target="_blank">Astronomy Cast. Gay was inducted into the podcasting Hall of Fame in 2018 and the received the American Humanist Association's Asimov Science Award in 2019.
Greer Gilman’s mythic fantasies are Cloud & Ashes: Three Winter's Tales and Moonwise. Her Ben Jonson mysteries, set in 1600s London, are Cry Murder! In a Small Voice and Exit, Pursued by a Bear. She has written on the languages of the fantastic, on archetypes of girls in fantasy, and on Sylvia Townsend Warner. Her works have won the Otherwise (Tiptree), World Fantasy, Shirley Jackson, and Crawford awards. She likes to say she does everything James Joyce ever did, only backward and in high heels.
https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/the-matter-of-cloud-an-interview-with-greer-gilman/
Tanya Gold (they/she) is a book editor, writing coach, translator, and literary omnivore. They have been in publishing for over 20 years, and have worked on all kinds of cool books. These days, they work on and devour SFF, horror, contemporary fiction, graphic novels, and interactive stories. They also provide coaching and courses for editors.
It has been suggested that they read too much for their own good. This might be true. http://www.tanyagold.com">www.TanyaGold.com
Lore Graham is a reader, writer, and creator who lives in greater Boston with zir chosen family.
Grim is a member of the Society of Creative Anarchism as Grim the Skald; at this point pretty much just his family and co-workers call him “Dan.” He considers himself knowledgeable in the following things, in order of how much he knows: Norse Poetry, Norse Culture, Alliterative Poetry in general (particularly Old English and 14th Century), Medieval (particularly English) poetry in general, Medieval costuming, and Medieval/Renaissance combat. Yes, he likes to fight, but he likes poetry a lot.
A lifelong gamer, with a score of interests ranging from wargaming, TTRPGs and especially LARPs, NERF is one of her obsessions along with LARP gaming, so running the NERFWar at Arisia has come along quite naturally.
Transgender and out as of two summers ago. The woman who is Gunny is now called Maeve.
Agatha Luz is an artist, movie podcaster, and resident Hag. If you bring her coffee, she will regale you with tall tales about her childhood.
She is co-host of CinemaSpection, a film analysis podcast. Agatha has guest hosted on other podcasts such as the critically acclaimed movie podcast The Projection Booth.
Agatha is also the artist Hagatha. In her art life she crochets, cross stitches, and creates digital paintings of film-related portraits, as well as original characters.
Agatha lives in Salem, MA with her husband Tim and about 500,000 tourists.
Jeff Hecht makes his living writing about science and technology for New Scientist, IEEE Spectrum, Sky & Telescope, Optics & Photonics News and other magazines. He also writes short science fiction, with over three dozen stories published in Nature Futures, Daily Science Fiction, Little Blue Marble, Analog, Interzone and other magazines and anthologies. His most recent book is Lasers, Death Rays, and the Long Strange Race to Make the Ultimate Weapon. He lives in the Boston area with his wife Lois.
Andy Hicks is an Emmy-winning PBS producer who grew up out in Westford but now lives in Pennsylvania and makes a TV show about cool businesses in the Lehigh Valley. He makes Doctor Who-related parody songs, essays, and rap battles on his YouTube channel, SycoraxRock, and mashups and quirky electro-pop on his other channel, REDKANG, and makes weird little game worlds on Tower Unite that you should check out sometime. He is currently composing the score for an investigative podcast and hoping the pipes back home don't freeze.
Naomi Hinchen lives in Cambridge. In her day job she is a game developer, but at various other times she has been known to be a writer, singer, ukulele player, and podcaster. Her music can be found at naomihinchen.bandcamp.com.
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 are finalists for the prestigious Dragon Awards. In 2018, he launched Cannon Publishing, www.cannonpublishing.us specializing in military science fiction and military fantasy.
- Dungeons, Dragons, and Writers: A Live Event
- Identifying Markets For Your Work
- Shop Talk: So You Want to Be A Writer?
- Military Influence on Costuming
- Grunts and Ground-Pounders: The Private's Eye View in Military SF
Melissa Honig is the lead organizer for the Watch City Steampunk Festival in Waltham, MA. She enjoys steampunk, costuming, weird crafts, and playing with the stuff she finds while trying to clean up the craft room so she doesn't have to finish cleaning up.
Walter H. Hunt is a science fiction and historical fiction writer. His first four books (the Dark Wing series) are military science fiction, originally published by Tor, presently part of the Baen Books e-library. He has written two 1632 series books with the late Eric Flint, and a third will appear in 2023. He has also written historical fiction and alternate history (most recently City by the Bay, soon to be republished by Prince of Cats). He is the librarian for the Grand Lodge of Freemasons in Boston, and was Arisia's Author GOH in 2009.
Naomi Ibasitas—I am an actor, stage manager, and director within the Boston fringe theatre community. Most recently I have directed with Post Meridian Radio Players for their Halloween show this year, Tomes of Terror: Spirits of Suspense. This summer I have also performed in the Asian Americans Playwrights Collective Annual Playfest, presented at the Starlight Square in Cambridge. Additionally, I have performed in the various Mrs. Hawking plays performed at Arisia in the past years. Off the stage, I also work as a character performer with Spark a Dream Princess parties as various characters, namely Moana, Raya, Mulan, and Mirabel!
This year you'll also be able to find me at the post-screening panels of Mrs. Hawking, and in the spin off, Gentlemen Never Tell! Don't forget to also check out Gender-Swapped Star Trek this year where I'll be playing as Lieutenant Sulu!
K. Ibura—K Ibura is a writer, editor, and artist from New Orleans—the original home of the Chitimacha Tribe. She writes essays about identity and gender, and fantastical fiction about ancient histories and future imaginings. She is the author of two speculative fiction collections: Ancient, Ancient—winner of the James Tiptree Award, and When the World Wounds; and a novel for children When the World Turns Upside Down. Her ebooks examine the emotional underpinnings of the writing life. Learn more about her at https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fkiburabooks.com%2F&data=05%7C01%7Cwaterman%40uapress.ua.edu%7C7717fb6d2af5406f13a508da81fac8ca%7C2a00728ef0d040b4a4e8ce433f3fbca7%7C0%7C0%7C637965211445898833%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=88ztMIafeHtFnWINcabMaNQFuW53NEBolnlmQN%2BR%2B0s%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank">kiburabooks.com and https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fkibura.com%2F&data=05%7C01%7Cwaterman%40uapress.ua.edu%7C7717fb6d2af5406f13a508da81fac8ca%7C2a00728ef0d040b4a4e8ce433f3fbca7%7C0%7C0%7C637965211445898833%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=mvu5YzzcuUMMnmPbaqhIeGbCgVpzkOwKtzi2vjN%2FcYo%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank">kibura.com.
Elaine Isaak writes knowledge-inspired adventure fiction, often as by E. C. Ambrose, including http://www.guardbridgebooks.co.uk/books/Drakemaster.html">DRAKEMASTER (Guardbridge, April 2022) about a clockwork doomsday device based on Su Song's astronomical clock of 1090 CE, the https://books2read.com/u/mqvRW9">Dark Apostle series about medieval surgery, and the http://www.boneguardbooks.com/">Bone Guard archaeological thrillers. Her latest adventure is Skystrike: Wings of Justice, an interactive superhero novel from Choice of Games, and young adult science fiction novel, A WRECK OF DRAGONS is forthcoming from WaterDragon Books.
She is a graduate of, and sometime instructor for, the Odyssey Speculative Fiction Workshop, and lives in the blustery Granite State where she thinks of plot twists from the bench of her floor loom. Find her on https://www.facebook.com/e.c.ambroseauthor">Facebook or visit http://www.rocinantebooks.com/">her website to learn about all of her work.
Alexander Jablokov is the author of six science fiction novels and numerous short stories. He has the reputation of being difficult, but really is quite sweet. His literary position has been described as anarcho-Byzantine…actually it hasn’t, except here.. He has been accused of writing architectural magic realism, which is totally true.
Claire Light is a Bay Area writer, cultural worker, and activist. She has worked since 1997 in nonprofit administration, particularly in arts and social justice, and was a cofounder of Hyphen magazine. Her activism has turned most recently to disability justice, and she is co-founder of the Disability Justice League-Bay Area. You can read her fiction in McSweeney's, Hyphen, and The Encyclopedia Project, among others. A short collection of her stories, SLIGHTLY BEHIND AND TO THE LEFT, was published by Aqueduct Press in 2009. Her fantasy novel MONKEY AROUND, written under the pen name Jadie Jang, was published by Solaris in 2021. You can find out more at clairelight.org or @seelight on Twitter.
Kristin Janz—Since 2018, Kristin has co-edited/published the online speculative fiction magazine Mysterion (MysterionOnline.com). Mysterion stories have been finalists for the WSFA Small Press and Realm Awards, and are about Christianity but not always Christian. Kristin is also an author whose short fiction has appeared in Escape Pod, Daily Science Fiction, On Spec, and other venues; and a graduate of the Clarion West Writers Workshop. Despite--or because of--having spent thirteen years as a medicinal chemist in pharmaceutical research, she prefers writing fantasy over science fiction. She and her husband live in the Boston suburbs with two cats named after famous scientists. Find out more about her own fiction at KristinJanz.com, or follow her on Twitter @KristinJanz for more frequent but less relevant updates and cocktail recipes.
Jim—Dr. James Prego is a naturopathic doctor from Long Island, NY. He is currently an adjunct professor of Biology at LIU Post, Molloy College, and Nassau Community College. He had a private medical practice for 9 years and is a past recipient of the NYANP’s Physician of the Year award.
Dr. Prego is a longtime fan of science fiction and enjoys discussing xenobiology, health in space, life extension, fusions of biology and technology, how natural ways of healing fit in a sci-fi/high-tech world, and many other topics both science-related and non-science related.
He spent 10 years as the New York Delegate to the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and spent 6 years as a board member of the New York Association of Naturopathic Physicians. Dr. Prego has given talks, written articles, and been a guest on radio and television shows.
He also has interests in acting/shadowcasting, EMT volunteering, alternative lifestyles, LARPing, gaming, and more.
Megan Kearns is a writer, film critic, and podcaster. She is the co-host of weekly film podcast Spoilerpiece Theatre. She writes film reviews for EDGE Media Network. She's a queer feminist vegan and a life-long sci-fi and horror fan.
Catt Kingsgrave-Ernstein
Ken Kingsgrave-Ernstein—While Ken works his day job in IT and Engineering, his real passions lie outside of his 9-5 work. His interests are varied, from theater to photography, vegetable gardening to cooking and baking, travel to pursuits one does not discuss beyond closed doors. He loves to share his experiences on panels or in the lobby.
Hannah Prum (Kirkette) is a cosplayer
and part-time human being based out of Boston Massachusetts.
She enjoys reading frankly ludicrous amounts of fanfiction and
falling asleep every night on silk sheets in a pile of dogs. She
thinks Batman Forever is the best Batman movie of all time and
she WILL fight you about it.
Ellen Kranzer is a long-time fan who started going to science fiction conventions when she was in high school. She was thrilled to discover filk at one of her first conventions and has been involved in the filk community ever since. She is a founder and the current treasurer of MASSFILC, a group that hosts monthly filk sings mostly on line these days, but also sometimes in person in the greater Massachusetts area. She has been on the concomm for multiple filk conventions over the years and was inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame in 2011. In her day job, Ellen is an IT generalist who works for Laspau, an organization that focuses on higher education in Latin American and the Caribbean. She is also a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) and an brother of Alpha Phi Omega.
Matthew Kressel is a writer and a software developer. He is a three time Nebula Award Finalist, a World Fantasy Award Finalist, and a Eugie Award Finalist. NPR Books called his first novel King of Shards, “Majestic, resonant reality-twisting madness.” His short fiction has appeared in Lightspeed, Clarkesworld, Analog Science Fiction & Fact, io9, Nightmare, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy, and The Best Science Fiction of the Year, as well as many other places. His work has been translated into French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Czech, Romanian, Polish, and Japanese. As a software developer, he created the Moksha submissions system, in use by many of the largest fiction publishers today. And he is the co-host of Fantastic Fiction at KGB reading series in New York with Ellen Datlow. You can find him talking about writing at outerdeep.substack.com, on Twitter at @mattkressel, and at his website www.matthewkressel.net.
Felicity Kusinitz—Felicity is a lifelong fan of fantasy and science fiction whose primary fandom is Doctor Who. She is affiliated with The Flopcast, a silly, geeky pop culture podcast hosted by her husband Kevin and their friend Kornflake.
Adria Kyne—Avid reader of science fiction and fantasy. D&D player. Contestant in the original ABC 2014 season of The Quest. Guild leader at Le Duché de Bicolline. Spock in PMRP's annual gender-swapped Star Trek TOS performances. Cosplayer and maker of historical costumes. LARPer. Voice of Reason.
LB Lee are a multivarious cyborg who make mental health comics and write about reality melting. You should talk to them!
Scott Lefton makes and sells artwork in media including metal, wood, glass, and Photoshop, is occasionally serious about photography, and works as a freelance mechanical designer and patent agent. He built the 2004 Hugo trophies and the half-scale model of the Hugo rocket that was shown on the ISS in 2015. He lives in a big old Victorian house in Melrose, MA with his wife Rachel.
Michelle C. Light—Autistic semi-Professional Storyteller, Roleplayer, Voice Over Actor, and Published Tabletop RPG Contributor/Author. A bundle of energy for any pannel/workshop.
I make content focused on gaming, writing/creating characters, with a minor focus on horror and fantasy themes.
Gordon Linzner is founder and former editor of Space and Time Magazine, and author of three published novels and scores of short stories in F&SF, Twilight Zone, Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, and numerous other magazines and anthologies. He is a full member of the Horror Writers Association and a lifetime member of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association.
LJ-Baptiste is an art educator and cartoonist from Boston. He has collaborated with media giants such as Google, Hasbro, and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c5q2dosG2g" target="_blank">PBS to produce essential works of art. He is best known for his ongoing comic book series, http://www.comixscape.net/" target="_blank">COMIXSCAPE, which features the adventures of a bright-eyed, perpetually preteen boy and his raccoon sidekick. In addition, he works as part of the team that makes up http://comicsincolor.org/" target="_blank">Comics in Color, a Boston-based comic collective and now annual festival centered on stories by and about people of color.
Whether it’s work in animation, graphic apparel designs, or COMIXSCAPE, LJ’s art can be described as distinctive, masterful, and captivating. When it comes to visual communication, LJ prioritizes authenticity, details, and positive messages.
Timothy Luz—From countless hours spent working in video stores to long nights at the theater surviving movie marathons, Tim Luz has spent his life surrounded by movies. A former film critic and occasional short filmmaker, he possesses a mind full of useless film trivia and a tendency to talk movies with anyone in earshot, qualities that led him to create CinemaSpection, a film discussion podcast he co-hosts with his lovely and very patient wife Agatha.
Justine Manzano is the geeky author of the geeky YA series Keys & Guardians, and geeky YA novel Never Say Never. Known as a Professional-Life-Ruiner-By-Antagonist, Justine’s fiction is tough on the outside and sweet on the inside, like an M&M or a hard candy with a gooey center, delivered with sass and snark. A freelance editor, she also serves as an Editor-in-Residence at WriteHive. She lives in Bronx, NY with her husband, teenage son, and giant puppy, and can usually be found at her website, http://www.justinemanzano.com">www.justinemanzano.com or all the usual social media haunts. If you’ve looked in all these places and can’t find her, she’s probably off reading fanfiction. She’ll be back soon.
- Representing Trauma in Speculative Fiction
- Crafting Memorable Villains
- Saturday Afternoon Readings
- The Mushy Middle: Conquering the Midpoint Swamp
- Neurodivergent Meetup
- Speculative Fiction Writers Cafe
Aaron Marks—Aaron has lived in Boston for well over a decade, but began to make his mark on the RPG scene in 2016 when he founded Cannibal Halfling Gaming with a friend and fellow Bostonian. Since then, Aaron has been active in the gaming community both local and abroad, running intro games for Board Game Empire and helping to snag Cannibal Halfling an ENnie nomination in 2019. In his not-spare time he works in energy storage research, helping to advance our power grid to the next level as we work for resiliency and fight climate change.
Shelley Marsh—Rocket scientist by day; cook, knitter, spinner, seamstress, actress, model, singer, aerialist, and weaver by night. Yes, she sleeps; she just has a messy house.
Marianna Martin PhD—A PhD in Cinema and Media Studies, Marianna’s lifelong fascination with the structures of genre storytelling led to a dissertation framing Genre theory in contexts like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After an interlude working in Development in the US film and television industry, she left to pursue her own projects. She is currently at work completing her lo-fi cyberpunk novel, serving on the executive board of Broad Universe, and appearing on con panels whenever the pandemic permits.
Donna Martinez is a freelance cartoonist, tarot reader, former Arisia staffer and all-around cool guy. Originally from New Mexico, she's been a resident of Boston for 23 years. Donna is affiliated with the Boston Comics Roundtable, contributing stories to Inbound, Hellbound, The Greatest Comics Anthology of All Time, and issues #1 and #3 of In A Single Bound. She's also been a featured cartoonist with the Boston Compass. She dreams of houses and places yet unseen, but are waiting to be revealed.
- Everything Everywhere All at Once: Grab Your Googly Eyes!
- The Vilification and Fear of Fat Bodies
- How Toxic Fandom Took Over Everything
- Enter Sandman: Neil Gaiman Comes to Netflix
Rebecca Maxfield is a fantasy fan, theatre director, LARPer, and game writer living in Providence, RI. Rebecca is interested in how media/narrative form serves or affects the stories we tell (and especially in liveness in theatre), in the ways real-life history was more diverse than you think, and in stories about women crossdressing to do epic stuff (and possibly become involved with other women).
Marlin May—I’m no scientist, but I’ve consumed a steady diet of science books/media as long as I can recall. The first book I remember reading was Man in Space about Mercury 7. My favorite kids’ t.v. show? Mr. Wizard. Lately I’ve been exploring the promise/problems of transhumanism/post-humanism. I’ve been reading/watching genre fiction a long, long time. My first convention was in Feb. 1979; a tiny gathering in Southern California called “Science Fiction Weekend.” I wandered into a room where they were screening episodes of Commando Cody. I was transfixed, hooked, captured... doomed. Since then I’ve attended many a Westercon, Worldcon, NASFic, Galacticon, Gaylaxicon, Balticon, Equicon, Filmcon, Albacon, Fantasmacon, Boskone and Arisia.
John G. McDaid is a science fiction writer, folk/filk singer-songwriter, and freelance journalist from Rhode Island. A 1993 Clarion grad, he sold his first short story, the Sturgeon Award-winning "Jigoku no mokushiroku" to Asimov's in 1995. Since retiring in 2016 from a career in corporate communications, he's been writing full time and playing at venues around the Northeast. He was a finalist for the writer/composer Pegasus for filk in 2020 and 2021; his debut studio album, Trail of Mars, won the 2021 John Culkin Award from the Media Ecology Association. He's currently working on a WWII alternate history novel and another filk album. On the web at Web at http://johnmcdaid.com.
Multiple USA Today bestselling author Kevin McLaughlin has written more than ninety science fiction and fantasy novels, along with more short stories than he can easily count. Kevin can be found most days near Boston, working on the next novel. Swordsman and scientist, Kevin brings a host of varied experiences to his work, including backgrounds in the US military, medicine, and professional martial arts.
Michael Meissner—Professionally, I am a computer programmer and I work on enhancing the Gnu compiler collection.
I do digital photography and video as a hobby. I've been the official photographer/videographer for some of the small renaissance faires in the area.
My big hobby project is creating various steampunk shells around my modern cameras. I also tinker with programming micro-controllers (particularly Teensys).
Dale Meyer-Curley—Dale has been a member of the Arisia community since the early 2000s. Her fannish interests span many genres including comics, fantasy novels, sci-fi shows, crafting, and board games. Dale credits her mother as her main geeky influence, introducing her to Star Trek and Doctor Who early in life. Along with sharing her love of all things geeky, Dale wants all that attend Arisia to consider how their fandom can become a place of diversity, equity, and inclusivity,
Danny Miller is a local attorney, budding law librarian, and all-around SF/F fan since high school who's been coming to Arisia for more than a decade. He's had several pieces printed in a now-defunct Boston newspaper, some even relating to SF/F, and most even paying; he's also a terrific cribbage player. He once turned the tap dance into his crusade, and enjoys (gently) introducing the uninitiated to the many worlds of assorted geekery. (Or, at least enjoys inviting them to a pub trivia event.)
Mark Millman is a long-time student of historical movement disciplines, including personal combat, military drill, and dance; an experienced fight choreographer and stunt co-ordinator for film, theater, and educational institutions; and an enthusiast of the historical clothing styles requisite for those activities.
Troy Minkowsky is an artist who resides in the Boston area. He is one half of the comic writing duo "The Minks" with his daughter Lavinia who is currently working on "Worm-Man" with artist Mark Borok.
Besides comicbook writing Mr. Minkowsky a photographer and filmmaker. His latest short "The Forbidden Book of Sharks" can be viewed on Youtube and he is currently working on his next short "The Werewolf Bride"
Reiko Murakami is a U.S. based concept artist and illustrator specializing in surreal fantasy and horror art. With her expressive gesture drawings she focuses on capturing moments filled with unspeakable emotions. Her illustrations have appeared on many projects such as Tor.com, Magic: the Gathering, and Basketful of Heads (DC Black Label), and Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country (DC Black Label). Her work has been exhibited at Nucleus Portland, Helikon Gallery, WOW x WOW and published in art annuals Spectrum, Infected by Art, Exposé, and many others.
Amy J. Murphy is a two-time Dragon Award finalist for Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel for her Allies and Enemies series. The last book in the series is due any day now... promise. Murphy is a regular panelist for DragonCon, Arisia, Vermont Sci-Fi & Fantasy Expo, and WorldCon. She's also a submissions reader for Apex Magazine. When not doing author-ish things, she is a registered nurse. Learn more at www.amyjmurphy.com or on Instagram @amyjmurphyauthor.
By day an engineer and technology analyst at MIT, Chris Murphy has probably too many areas of interest, including science fiction, making (with a bent to electronics), mixology, dogs, photography, cosplay, cooking, to name just a few. He's lost track of the number of Arisias he's attended.
Gautam Nagaraj—Gautam is a rocket scientist who loves Disney, board games, sports, and generically doing the impossible. As a passionate young person, Gautam has spoken as part of the Rackham King Talks, for the TMA LA Speaker Series, as well as numerous engagements at the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania. This is Gautam's first Arisia convention and he hopes it will be his first of many!
Allison Neff—Allison has a background in town administration, education, museums, program/event coordination, and trivia hosting. She loves to talk, read, bake, and force affection on her cats who pretend to hate it but actually love it.
Allison has opinions about pretty much everything and will absolutely tell you about them....in detail......at length.
Kate Nepveu (pronounced "NEHV-you", the "p" is silent) is a reader, fan, and reviewer. She was born in South Korea, grew up in Massachusetts, and now lives in upstate New York. There, she practices law, is raising a family, and (in her copious free time) posts to Dreamwidth (kate-nepveu) and Tumblr (katenepveu). She founded Con or Bust, which helps fans of color/non-white fans attend SFF cons, and ran it for ten years before stepping down in 2019. For Tor.com, she reread The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, and Naomi Novik's Temeraire series. She's got an overdeveloped sense of responsibility. It's going to get her into trouble someday.
Nixon—Producer and Veteran LARPer. Professional Live Play and Online "DM"
35 years in D&D, 20 in LARPing, Guild Leader @Bicolline(CA-LARP)
AA Sport, and Game/Martial Arts enthusiast
Rare Jock-Nerd hybrid and Person with "Opinions"
Radical and visible-bi-type gay
Volunteer, Actor, and Professional NPC;
and I paint own minis.
Nomi—Naomi Sipple is a writer, crafter, and mother of twins (one of which is a self-proclaimed dragon). She resides in Maryland where she fills her crazy life with work, too many crafting projects, reading, and writing.
Anne E.G. Nydam has been creating imaginary worlds since she could hold a crayon, bringing them to life in both art and writing. She makes relief block prints, and writes short stories, poems, and books celebrating curiosity and wonder. With an undergraduate degree in linguistics, a background teaching middle school art, and an enthusiastic interest in history, natural history, and art history, she can’t go far without encountering something fascinating. See more at nydamprints.com.
AJ Odasso is an editor, educator, and writer currently living in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest. They have been editing and writing for over twenty years and working in higher education internationally and in the US for over a decade.
AJ's full-length poetry collection, The Sting of It, was published by Tolsun Books in 2019 and won Best LGBT Book in the New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards. Their novel, The Pursued and the Pursuing, was published by DartFrog Blue in 2021 and won second place in the Adult Historical Fiction category of the Reads Rainbow Awards. They have served as Senior Poetry Editor at Strange Horizons magazine since 2012, for which they are a six-time Hugo Award Finalist (2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022).
AJ holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Boston University and is a member of the full-time English faculty at San Juan College. They are also a current PhD Candidate in Rhetoric & Writing in the Department of Language and Literature at University of New Mexico. Their research is focused around support for LGBTQIA2S+ students and implementation of disability accommodations in the composition classroom.
AJ is a member of the Reform Jewish movement. An Autistic and intersex activist, they also identify as a nonbinary member of the trans community. They have published work and served as a speaker on issues relevant to these communities.
Jennifer Old-d'Entremont—Jennifer is a hobbyist costumer from Kansas City who works in the blood bank at an academic medical center to support her fabric-buying habit. She loves the study and recreation of garments from history and non-Western cultures. Jennifer usually takes the stage in group presentations and has taken home Best in Show awards at both Arisia and Costume-Con, as well as Best in Master Class at World Con. Off stage, you often find her leading workshops and panels, or judging for the masquerade.
Mark Painter has worked as an 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. He also produces and hosts The History of the Twentieth Century podcast.
Carson Pavao—Carson is an actor, a writer, and a voracious consumer of audio drama. They love discussing the intricacies of the media they consume and exploring those intricacies through fanfiction. They live in Rhode Island with a lovely round cat, and they will show you photos of her at the slightest provocation.
Joey Peters—Joey P is an activist and organizer from Boston. Since 2017 he has been involved in community safety projects across the North East.
Nicholas "phi" Shectman has been President of Arisia, Inc since November 2018. He has a wide range of organizing experience in fandom and in mainstream art events. He's excited to finally have genre art to bring to the Arisia art show.
Steven Popkes—Steve Popkes, his wife, son, dog, and cat, breed turtles on two acres in Massachusetts. He has been publishing science fiction and fantasy since 1986. His many novels, novellas, and stories are available from his website, www.stevenpopkes.com.
When he's disguised as a normal person, he is an aerospace software engineer.
Julia Pugliese—A second generation nerd, Julia has been involved with fandom (and Arisia) for most of her lifetime. Her focus is on the intersection of fandom and fashion with a history of cosplay, historical costuming, and general nerdy attire elevated beyond the printed tee-shirts and jeans.
Tori Queeno—Tori is a Boston-area writer, cosplayer, streamer, and foley artist. They are the president and founder of The Boston Whovians, New England's largest Doctor Who fan group and have been a panelist and cat herder at numerous conventions around New England. In 2018 they were the recipient of the Kurt Brown Fellowship for Diverse Voices from the Solstice MFA in Creative Writing program. They can be regularly seen performing as a live foley arist and voice actor with the Post Meridian Radio Players of Somerville. Recently, they've also been making appearances in the world of streamed TTRPG actual plays, performing on shows by Gehenna Gaming and HaVanaRama on Twitch. In their spare time they do too many crafts and enjoy spending time with their dear partner, cat, and crested gecko. They hope to someday become a professional nerd.
Richard Ralston has been a fan of science fiction and anime since the late 60's. Rick has been staffing conventions the past 20 years on the local and regional level. Rick is also the organizer of the local anime group in Albany, NY. Rick brings a unique point of view to the fandom community.
During the day, Roxanne Reddington-Wilde has been doing low-income public policy work at ABCD, Boston's anti-poverty agency, for the past 25+ years. She fell into the job after finishing her PhD in Celtic Studies while working at Harvard's Anthropology & Archaeology Museum. In the evening, she teaches Anthropology, Art History, Advocacy (and more) at Cambridge College, calling herself the Sesame Street Professor, brought to you by the letter A (and lately "G" for Geology & Geography). In the wee hours in between, she is writing her 2nd novel in an historical fantasy series set in early 16th C. Scotland... and Heaven, Hell, the Celtic Otherworld and a few other places her heroine stumbles into.
Calais Reed—Calais is an archives management student at Simmons University and a cast member of Manapot Studios's "Flights of Fandom" actual-play ttrpg streams. She writes fantasy, though she is as yet unpublished, and spends her spare time rambling about Judaism and playing video games.
Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert writes short fiction and poetry in the science fiction, horror, and dark fantasy genres. Her short stories have appeared in the anthologies Dastardly Damsels (forthcoming), Wicked Women, The Final Summons, Killing It Softly (Vol.1), and The Deep Dark Woods. Read her poetry in the HWA Poetry Showcase Vol. VI, the anthologies Beneath Strange Stars and Wicked Witches, and in The Wayfarer: A Journal of Contemplative Literature.
She published a short collection of poetry, Interview with the Faerie (Part One) and Other Poems of Darkness and Light in 2013. Suzanne is a technical services librarian, freelance writer and editor, and has been exploring mixed media art. She has degrees in communication and Sociology. When she's not working, reading, or arting, she's busy meeting the incessant demands of her feline overlords.- Expression and Oppression in the SFF Universe
- Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading
- Cancel Culture in Sci-Fi and Fantasy Spaces
A. Joseph Ross—Joe Ross has been in fandom since the 1960s. In 1964, he founded the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) Science Fiction Society, then later became a member of MITSFS and NESFA, serving as Vice President of NESFA from 1970-72. He edited Volume I of the NESFA Hymnal in the late 1970s. He was Clerk of Arisia, Inc. from 1990-92 and President from 1992-94. He is a practicing attorney and figures that if he practices long enough, he may get good at it. At 77, he still hasn't retired, but he's thinking about it.
Tigira (Joan Ruland)—I am a witch, insurance professional, mother, crafter, wanna-be artist, clergy, and teacher with far too many other hats to name.
I am a third-degree priestess in the Blue Star tradition of Wicca. I have officiated rites of passage and numerous public circles, including a few at Arisia.
I love to crochet, cross-stitch, and paint. I struggle to knit and sketch.
If you have a dog with you, I might end up conversing with them, too, so please don't be alarmed.
I am not sure how many balls I'm juggling right now - I lost count. Has anyone seen my ducks? I'd like to at least get them in the same room.
Mark Sabalauskas is the Indie-Groundbreaker nominated designer of Return to the Stars, an optimistic SciFi tabletop RPG that mashes up sci-fi exploration with fan culture. They publish The Stellar Beacon zine, which features fiction, adventures and essays by noted SFF writers and game designers
Carol has worked over 40 years in theatrical and convention costuming competing in the master division and receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Costumers Guild. She is a medical massage therapist and also works with lots of rhinestones that can be seen on TLC's "My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding" and in a book titled “Bling: the Uncommon Crystal Couture World of Sandra Celli”. Be sure to check out her work in the ArtShow
Dianna Sanchez is the not-so-secret identity of Jenise Aminoff, whose superpower is cooking with small children. She is the author of the Enchanted Kitchen middle-grade fantasy series, including A Witch's Kitchen, A Pixie's Promise, and An Elf's Equations, as well as several short stories, most recently "Dulce," published as Jenise Aminoff in Witches of a Certain Age. An MIT alumna, graduate of the 1995 Clarion Workshop and http://www.sff.net/odyssey/online.html" target="_blank">Odyssey Online, active member of http://www.scbwi.org/" target="_blank">SCBWI, and former editor at http://www.newmyths.com/" target="_blank">New Myths magazine. She has worked over 20 years as a technical and science writer at universities and high-tech companies. A Hispanic geek originally from New Mexico, she now lives in the Boston area with her husband and two daughters.
Karen Sarao—Part-time amateur voice actor, podcaster, and writer of ridiculous fannish fictions. Full-time fanboy dork with a particular fondness for cartoons, blooper reels, and turtles of the ninja variety. The current Property Manager of the Post Meridian Radio Players and can be seen reprising her role as Captain Jane T. Kirk in the Post Meridian Radio Players' productions of Gender Swapped Star Trek.
Sharon Sbarsky was Fan Guest of Honor at Arisia 2000, chaired Smofcon 15, Boskone 40, 49 & 59, ran the Masquerade at Arisias and Sasquan, ran the Hugo Ceremony at Renovation, was Events Division Head at Worldcon 76 and co-chaired Costume-Con 37 in 2019 in Danvers, MA. She creates web sites for fun and work.
Cate Schneiderman—As a geriactric millennial, Cate has all the trappings of her generation: a defunct podcast, too many board games, and multiple recession stories. She is a knowledgeable fan of Shakespeare, Outlander, and libraries. She knows less but is still enthusiastic about superheroes, sewing, and her new baby.
Jason Schneiderman is an editor and proofreader. He's been active in the tabletop and adventure games hobby since 1987 and worked at various times as a creator, a journalist, and a retailer. You might have seen him on a game show or two.
Kenneth (Ken) Schneyer is a Nebula-nominated author whose short fiction has appeared in Uncanny, Lightspeed, Strange Horizons, Analog, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, the Clockwork Phoenix anthologies, Daily Science Fiction, and multiple podcasts. His second collection, Anthems Outside Time and Other Strange Voices, was published by Fairwood Press in 2020. Ken is also Professor of Humanities & Legal Studies at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI, where he has taught such varied courses as constitutional law, introductory logic, science fiction literature, the honors Shakespeare seminar, American government, and criminal procedure. He has published peer-reviewed articles on the constitutive rhetoric of legal texts, with a focus on employment discrimination issues. He is a lifelong student of astronomy, presidential history, feminist theory, and theater, and has worked as a practicing attorney, a professional actor, a judicial clerk, and a dishwasher, among other things. Born in Detroit, he now lives in Rhode Island with his wife and occasionally his grown children.
- Creeping Sense of Doom
- Saturday Night Readings
- Murdock v Spencer: Lawyers in Comics/Superheroes and the Law
- Plural Perspectives
Meredith Schwartz is a nonfiction periodicals editor. She has also committed fanfiction, screenwriting, and conrunning, published a handful of short stories, and edited an urban fantasy anthology. She has been a fan since she could hold the book. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and a spoiled floofy cat.
A professional performer from the age of 4, Scratch grew up in New York City, and is the definitive Jack-of-all-Trades. He attended the acting program at Boston University, and was the first Capo Comico of "i Sebastiani, the Greatest Commedia dell' Arte troupe in the entire world". His checkered and varigated career includes playtesting Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the late 1970s, freelancing as a writer for Marvel comics, running the comic merchandising company Mindgame, working as a professional magician, and years of scenic carpentry work around Boston. He is currently hard at work on Defenders of Albion, a cooperative card game set in a mythic Victorian England.
He is the founder of BeauTease Burlesque (originally 'The Boston Babydolls') and the founding chair of The Great Burlesque Exposition. In 2019 he opened the American Burlesque Collection in Salem, a boutique museum dedicated to the preservation and promotion of American burlesque.
Cat Scully writes horror and dark fantasy for all ages. Most recently, her work appears in the vampire anthology AN UNHOLY THIRST, and she is the author-illustrator of young adult horror series JENNIFER STRANGE. She's best known for her illustrations and world maps, including her picture book THE MAYOR OF HALLOWEEN IS MISSING, written by Emily S. Sullivan. When she’s not writing and illustrating books, Cat works in video game development for the Deep End Games on their next title Romancelvania.
Daniela Sharma—Animal scientist with interest in social behavior and the human-animal bond. Gamer and anime fan, now sharing those interests with my F1.
Sid is an android from the future sent back in time to serve food to two spoiled, lazy cats.
Hildy Silverman's short stories have been published in numerous anthologies of fantasy, horror and science fiction. Her story, “The Six Million Dollar Mermaid,” was a finalist for the WSFA Small Press award. She is also a member of the Crazy 8 Press authors collective.
Hildy was the publisher and editor-in-chief of http://www.spaceandtimemagazine.com/" target="_blank">Space and Time, a five-decade-old magazine of fantasy, horror, and science fiction for almost 12 years. She is also a past president of the Garden State Speculative Fiction Writers. For more information about Hildy and her publications, please visit hildysilverman.com.
- TV Year in Review
- Overt and Covert Antagonists: Who's More Evil?
- A New Doctor Who Era Begins
- Monday Morning Readings
Jamila Sisco is an award-winning costumer with a specialization in anime, video game, and original costumes. She has worked on costumes for over 15 years, usually working on making the big and elaborate come to life. She is the former President of the Northern Lights chapter of the International Costumers' Guild.
Kris "Nchanter" Snyder—Nchanter stumbled sideways into fandom in their early 20’s for lack of anything else to keep them out of trouble. With a background in theater, the visual arts, and a love for SFF fostered by their father from a young age, it soon became obvious that this was where they, and their colorful curls, belonged. Nchanter now helps make fandom go by volunteering for several conventions with a focus on addressing harassment and creating more inclusive spaces within fandom and was most recently the Head of Program and Diversity Advisor to the Chair for Chicon 8: The 80th Worldcon.
Watertown, Massachusetts
Member since 2020CONTACT CHARITY
Charity Southworth holds a B.A. in Physics and a M.A. in Critical and Creative Thinking. She started off in art school studying ceramics where she had to take a science credit. She chose to take astronomy and instantly fell in love. She then switched majors, studying astrophysics and physics. She conducted research in radio astronomy as well as volcanology before moving into the world of science communication. Having an extensive theater background, science communication felt like home. She has worked professionally as a science communicator for more than ten years and has a business based in Boston where she makes science themed jewelry, accessories and homewares. Charity's goals in science communication are to forge a better relationship between science and the public through accessibility. She strives to bring science to communities that do not have easy access to it, such as the art community. She firmly believes science can be communicated to everyone in a fun way and continues to explore that idea in her post-graduate work.
- When Science Fiction was Science Factual
- Our Favorite Fictional Scientists
- What's so Amazing that Keeps Us Stargazing
- The Year in Science 2022
- How We Know: Dinosaurs
A widow, disabled, and a member of the queer community, Rue Sparks traverses the equally harsh and cathartic landscape where trauma and healing align to create stories that burrow into the hearts and minds of their readers. In addition to The Stars Will Guide Us Back, Sparks has authored the novella Daylight Chasers, and released the magical realism mystery novel The Fable of Wren in 2021. They volunteer with Lost Boys Press as a designer and illustrator, and The Gal’s Guide Library as Communications Coordinator.
Lisa J Steele— Lisa J. Steele is a criminal defense attorney and author based in Massachusetts. She represents clients accused of crimes ranging from minor traffic offenses to capital murder. She writes and teaches about forensics and eyewitness identification, and is a member of the Supreme Judicial Court’s Standing Committee on Eyewitness Identification.
Ms. Steele is the author of The Defense Counsel Playbook for Eyewitness Identification Cases (NACDL Press, 2020), numerous legal articles about criminal defense, a co-author of Evil Hat’s award-winning Bubblegumshoe; a Contributor to Evil Hat’s Worlds in Shadow; author of two Cumberland Games source books: Fief and Town (available from DriveThruRPG), and of GURPS: Cops and GURPS: Mysteries (both available from e23.sjgames.com). She was also a contributing author to White Wolf’s Dark Ages: Europe and Dark Ages: Spoils of War.
Raven Stern—Raven (she/her) is happiest when reconstructing food from literature (of the 19th century or space variety), constructing fantastical garments (of the 19th century or space variety), and finding ways to combine the two. This year she was AH for Costuming & Cosplay programming, which continues her quick slide down a steep slope into con staffing (and regrets nothing!).
Ian Randal Strock (http://www.ianrandalstrock.com/">www.IanRandalStrock.com) is the editor and publisher of Fantastic Books (http://www.fantasticbooks.biz/">www.FantasticBooks.biz) and an author of science fiction and non-fiction. He has written three books on the presidency of the US (published by Random House and Carrel Books) and had stories in Analog, Nature, and several anthologies. He was previously an editor with Artemis, Asimov’s, Analog, The Daily Free Press, and Science Fiction Chronicle. He is also the Secretary of American Mensa.
Kathryn Sullivan writes young adult science fiction and fantasy, including fantasy novel THE CRYSTAL THRONE and short story collection AGENTS, ADEPTS & APPRENTICES. Her Doctor Who-related works include the essay, “The Fanzine Factor”, in the Hugo winning CHICKS DIG TIME LORDS and essays in CHILDREN OF TIME: COMPANIONS OF DOCTOR WHO and OUTSIDE IN: 160 NEW PERSPECTIVES ON 160 DOCTOR WHO STORIES BY 160 WRITERS. She also has reviews in the Star Trek-related OUTSIDE IN BOLDLY GOES and OUTSIDE IN MAKES IT SO and the X-Files related OUTSIDE IN TRUSTS NO ONE. She is owned by a large cockatoo, who graciously allows her to write about other animals, as well as birdlike aliens. Kathryn lives in Winona, MN, where the river bluffs along the Mississippi River double as cliffs on alien planets or the deep mysterious forests in a magical world.
Massachusetts Historical Swordsmanship began at the Higgins Armory Museum in 2009 and moved to Worcester Fencing Club and Pioneer Valley Fencing Academy (Easthampton) after the Museum’s closing. MHS is a community of men and women exploring the art, science, and spirit of the sword and other weapons as they were used in both serious combat and friendly encounters. We study knightly longsword and dagger, the Renaissance rapier, and the classical stick, staff, and dueling sabre. The class is led by Dr. Ken Mondschein, who has the unique qualifications of holding both a PhD in history and a fencing master’s certification. Dr. Mondschein is an internationally known scholar in this field.
Cecilia Tan is the author of many books and short stories, including the Magic University series, The Prince's Boy, Slow Surrender, and Daron's Guitar Chronicles. According to Susie Bright, she is "simply one of the most important writers, editors, and innovators in contemporary American erotic literature," for her pioneering combination of erotica and science fiction. The founder of Circlet Press in 1992, an indie publishing house that publishes works of erotic science fiction, Tan ran the press until 2020 while also racking up numerous awards and accolades as a fiction writer. Her ground-breaking short story collections Black Feathers (HarperCollins, 1998) and White Flames (Running Press, 2004), pushed the boundaries of erotic literature and broke barriers between genres and gender categories. Her short fiction has appeared everywhere from Ms. Magazine to Asimov's Science Fiction, from Strange Horizons to Nerve. As a novelist she has published romance, fantasy, and science fiction, including the Magic University series (listed by Autostraddle in their recommendations of “trans inclusive fantasy for adult fans of Harry Potter”) and her awards include the RT Reviewer’s Choice Award, an Independent Publisher (Ippy) award, honorable mention in the Rainbow Awards, and a Lifetime Achievement award from NLA: International. She holds a masters degree in writing and publishing from Emerson College. She was inducted in 2010 into the LGBT Writers and Editors Hall of Fame.
- Everything Everywhere All at Once: Grab Your Googly Eyes!
- The Mushy Middle: Conquering the Midpoint Swamp
Tashari—Sarah Morrison (she/her) is a fantasy illustrator and portrait artist. Working primarily with oil paint she focuses on figurative works designed to inspire narrative, with attention towards faces and fabric. Escapism through fantasy has always been a central theme to her art, and she embraces whimsy and enigmatic details. Sarah's imagery is designed to inspire a sense of wonder, encouraging viewers to develop stories about what might be going on in each piece.
Sarah also occasionally works with printmaking techniques and textiles. See more of her work at sarahmorrisonillustration.com
Ilene Tatroe—Apparently I love to help run SFF cons. When I'm not doing that, I'm a software product manager, a spouse, and a Mom to a high school junior and 3 cats and a dog.
Gail "RGB🌈🐻" Terman—Gail is taking a "year off" from being on senior staff at Arisia, so she's "only" on 6 panels. In her spare time, she works as a principal software engineer for a security company, sings for a few different choirs, and is very involved with her temple.
Noel Thingvall is a film historian, blogger, and podcaster from Minnesota, having hosted Schumacast, Greystoked, and I Hate/Love Remakes, plus appearances on Cinemaspection and The Projection Booth. He's a regular on panels at CONvergence and is excited to make his way out to Arisia for the first time.
W. A. Thomasson obtained a PhD in biochemistry but, lacking the patience required for scientific research, switched into science/medical writing. W. A. is interested in all aspects of science and the future, including societal as well as technological aspects. Interests in science fiction and fantasy are also broad and date back to the 1940s, with participation in con panels dating from the 1990s and service on con Access teams from 2014. W. A. has recently completed a first novel, a Sword and Sorcery work titled The Whip of Abadur, which has an anticipated 2023 publication date.
Tikva (aka Tikva (raycho)) is attending her bazillionth Arisia, and her umpteenth as a panelist. She is kind of like a very sweary golden retriever. She's a public health geek, disability activist, baseball addict, and member of a polyamorous family/household. She is fond of pie. You may recognize her via her trusty guide dog, who is small in size but large in swagger. Please do not pet either her or the dog without a whole lot of permission.
Dan Toland is a writer and podcaster responsible for getting his fingerprints all over programming this year as Co-Division Head. He lives in Boston with a woman of nearly limitless patience, a dog who tries REALLY HARD you guys, and also there is a cat. He chronicles his ongoing quest for B-movie glory with Channel 37's Midnight Movie Show at Earth-2.net, where you can also hear him give voice to strongly-held opinions about inexpensively made British sci-fi, Reagan-era cartoons, and Bronze Age team-up comics.
Kevin Turausky—I'm primarily a science fiction nerd but am gradually branching into fantasy. Star Trek is my favorite franchise, but am quite fond of Stargate, Star Wars, Babylon 5, or pretty much any show or film with cool spaceships. My professional background is much more down to earth: I used to be a park ranger and worked at sites across the US, teaching nature and history to visitors, and now I work in utilities.
Fae Weichsel—I work as a IATSE local 600 focus puller. I am also a National Executive Board member of Local 600, and co-chair of the young workers of the eastern region of Local 600.
I have been organizing within the film industry in New York City since 2014.
I am currently working on a Mecha RPG, World Building Game, and a Battlefleet RPG. All at various stages of development.
Susan Weiner is a Biology professor, larp writer, songwriter, and general trouble maker. They also make ridiculously complicated meals and tweet about the Talmud.
werewulf/Mom—Greykell aka werewulf. Seen often backstage at the masquerade, or working the mornings in the Goat Check. I volunteer a lot for the little jobs.
J.Z. Weston (they/them) writes short stories and reviews novellas, with a soft spot for contemporary/urban fantasy. They are particularly fascinated by the ways that stories help us figure out how to be human. You can count on them to have too many projects on their knitting needles, too many stories in process at the same time, and more ideas than any one person could ever hope to implement. www.jzwestonauthor.com
Henry M. White—H.M. White teaches children to LARP in the woods and is the creator of Whimsy's Throne and the World Seeds project, DIY scenario kits for roleplaying games of your choice. A writer and editor, they have an MFA in Writing for Children from Simmons.
Nightwing was born in 1958, the Barbie was born in 1959. So for a year Nightwing had nothing to do. She has been trying to make up for lost time ever since. She has dressed stars, politicians, and real people. Some of her favorite work is reinterpreting styles from other eras.
Nightwing's creations have been seen in plays at every level from Community to Equity, as well as several independent films.
Nightwing has her own business designing and creating what she calls costumes for life.
She is a professional full-time enigma who enjoys reading and howling at the moon.
- Arisia First Night Social
- Northern Lights Costumers Guild Meeting
- Designing Things That Don't Exist
- Making Makers Make
- The Secret Life of the Renaissance Faire
- Tinkers, Sailors, and Traveling Players
A Mild-mammered Engineer and Scientist by day, Stephen R. Wilk steps into a phone booth and emerges as a Mild-mannered Writer of Science, History, Mythology, and Genre Fiction by night. His recent books include Lost Wonderland, Sandbows and Blacklights, and the forthcoming Mystery Ship.
W.B.J. Williams—An InfoSec executive by day, I maintain a secret identity as an author. My publishing credits include: The Garden at the Roof of the World (2013) currently being shopped for a TV or Film deal, and The Reality, Mythology and Fantasies of Unicorns (2021) with Dragonwell Publishing. My short story "The InfoCoup" was published by Abyss and Apex in 2019 and featured in their The Best of Abyss & Apex: Volume Three. I am a frequent author panelist at ReaderCon, and Arisia. I’ve been a panelist at Boskone, and a panelist at the 80th World Science Fiction convention at Chicon 8 in 2022.
James Willis is a writer, artist and adventurer from Boston, Massachusetts. They've written and drawn the comic, "Elementary My Dear," and is currently working on writing and drawing "Leo in the Darkworld," as well as numerous short stories. In prose, they're currently in the write-rejection-write cycle of short story creation.
Trisha J. Wooldridge writes stuff that occasionally wins awards—child-friendly ones as T.J. Wooldridge. Find her in the Shirley Jackson Award-winning The Twisted Book of Shadows; some HWA Poetry Showcase volumes; all the NEHW anthologies (that she didn’t edit); and Don’t Turn Out the Lights. Her newest release is Heart, Wings, & Fire, the first book in The Princess and the Dragon fantasy series. She also lovingly tortures consenting authors with her editing talents. She spends mystical “free time” with a very patient Husband-of-Awesome; a tiny witch kitty; a rescued bay gelding; and a matronly calico mare. www.anovelfriend.com
