Dragon Con welcomes guests from around the globe – with new people announced all the time! Take a look at the inventive minds, luminaries, and celebrities you’ll be spending the weekend with.
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For a list of guests, performers, and attending professionals ordered by confirmation date:
Freddy Clements is currently a distinguished professor of drama/costume design at Jacksonville State University. He holds a MFA in costume design from Virginia Commonwealth University. He has designed costumes for various regional theatres and has extensive experience in early twentieth century corsetry, kilt construction, and costume technology.
Kathleen O'Shea David started working with puppets when she was two and over 50 years later she is still "wiggling dolls" for fun and profit. Along the way she picked up a few more skills and careers. She has done just about everything from cancer research to rock and roll.
Peter David is a prolific New York Times bestselling author and self proclaimed "writer of stuff." He has written in all most all forms of prose and gained followers in each. He is the proud father of four daughters and proud grandfather of two grandsons and one granddaughter.
Keith R.A. DeCandido is the author of tie-in fiction in more than 30 different licensed universes from Alien to Zorro, and also the author of original fiction set in the fictional cities of Cliff's End and Super City and the somewhat real locales of New York and Key West.
Margaret Downey created the Friggatriskaidekaphobia Treatment Nurse character in 1996. She is the only one who teaches critical thinking skills dressed in costume every Friday the 13th. Downey is a costumer, event planner, and social activist and has represented the interest of the nontheist community at several United Nations conferences.
Mike Faber is the founder and CCO of the geeky and ever expanding ESO Network. He hosts The Earth Station One and Earth Station Who podcasts. He teaches and mentors new podcasters on starting and producing new projects. The ESO Network celebrates all things sci-fi, fantasy and much, much more.
Stacey Gordon is a puppeteer in from Phoenix, Az. She operates Puppet Pie, an art studio in the heart of Phoenix, Arizona, and has the honor of performing one of Sesame Street’s newest friends, Julia, a curious 4-year-old girl with autism.
Stephen Granade is a physicist specializing in robotics and sensors. His sensors have read fingerprints from 10-feet away, tracked drones, and guided the shuttle to Hubble. He was most recently seen on NASA's Unexplained Files. If you're afraid of the robot revolution, Dr. Granade is someone to watch out for.
Dr. Robert E. Hampson is a scientist, author, editor, and educator. From developing a prosthetic for human memory to advising SF authors, from anthologies and novels for Baen Books and CKP, he turns science fiction into science, and brings real science into SF.
A.J. Hartley (AKA Andrew Hart) is the international bestselling, Dragon Award nominated author of 23 novels for kids and adults, including the Steeplejack series, Cold Bath Street, Cathedrals of Glass, and Sekret Machines (co-written with Blink 182’s Tom DeLonge). He is UNC Charlotte’s Robinson professor of Shakespeare.
John G. Hartness is an author, publisher, and podcaster from Charlotte, NC. He is the author of multiple novel series, including the award-winning Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter series. He is also the co-founder and publisher of Falstaff Books, and a member of the Authors & Dragons Live D&D podcast.
Award-winning New York Times and USAToday bestselling fantasy author Faith Hunter has 40+ books in print under the names Gary Hunter, Gwen Hunter, and Faith Hunter. As Faith, she writes the fantasy bestselling series: the Jane Yellowrock series and Soulwood series. Most recently, Audible released the SciFi Junkyard Cats series.
David B. Coe/D.B. Jackson is the award-winning author of more than two dozen books and as many short stories. As David B. Coe he writes epic, contemporary, and urban fantasy. As D.B. Jackson he writes the Thieftaker Chronicles, a blend of urban fantasy, mystery, and historical fiction.
Les Johnson is a physicist, science and science fiction author, and a NASA technologist. His books include: Stellaris (Baen 2019), Mission to Methone (Baen 2018), and Graphene (Prometheus 2018). Johnson is the lead for two NASA space robotic missions and was featured in the March 2019 issue of National Geographic.
New York Times bestselling author Alethea Kontis is a princess, a voice actress, a storm chaser, and a geek. She is the host of Princess Alethea’s Traveling Sideshow every year at Dragon Con. Alethea narrates stories for multiple award-winning online magazines, and she contributes regular book reviews to NPR.
Mari Mancusi is a former Emmy award-winning TV producer, current video game writer, and author for Disney Books. She’s published more than two dozen sci-fi/fantasy novels including The Camelot Code, Gamer Girl, Scorched, and Dragon Ops. She also works as a writer for FoxNext Games.
Gail Z. Martin writes epic and urban fantasy and steampunk for Solaris Books, Orbit Books, SOL Publishing, Darkwind Press, and Falstaff Books. Recent books include Reckoning, Sellsword’s Oath, Inheritance, CHARON, and Wasteland Marshals. As Morgan Brice, she writes urban fantasy paranormal romance including the Witchbane, Badlands, and Treasure Trail series.
Georgia McBride is one of Publishers Marketplace’s most prolific editors, and has spent most of 2014 through 2019 atop the editors lists in editors, young adult, digital new adult, children's, and digital deals. She’s completed over 200 publishing deals on behalf of three imprints since March 2012.
Award-winning author/artist Bobby Nash is a member of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers and International Thriller Writers. He writes novels, comic books, short fiction, and the odd short screenplay. Nash also appears in movies and TV shows, usually standing behind your favorite actor.
Diana Peterfreund has published 13 novels for adults, teens, and kids. Her latest trilogy of YA novels is based on the classic board game, Clue, and began with In the Hall With the Knife, which Kirkus called "ingeniously plotted and vastly entertaining."
2020 Literary Guest of Honor John Scalzi is the New York Times bestselling author of Old Man's War, The Collapsing Empire and Redshirts, which won the 2013 Hugo for Best Novel. Other awards include the Locus, the Seiun, the Geffen and the Governor's Award for Arts in Ohio.
Cat Scully is the writer and illustrator of YA horror comic-novel Jennifer Strange. Scully has worked with a variety of publishers as a professional illustrator. She works in video game development for the Deep End Games and is currently working on their next title.
Jeanne C. Stein is the award winning, national bestselling author of the urban fantasy series, The Anna Strong Vampire Chronicles and the Fallen Siren Series written as S. J. Harper. She has published 14 full length books, several novellas, and numerous short stories both here and in the U.K.
E.J. Stevens is the award-winning author of more than 20 books, including the Ivy Granger Psychic Detective urban fantasy series, the Hunters' Guild urban fantasy series, and the Whitechapel Paranormal Society Victorian horror series. Her novels are available worldwide in multiple languages.
Debbie Viguié is the New York Times bestselling author of 60 novels including the Wicked series co-authored with Nancy Holder. She is a screenwriter and a staff writer for several audio shows. She is also an actress working in indie genre films and audio dramas.
Dr. Scott Viguié is an archaeologist, novelist, actor, and consultant for the National Science Academy’s Science and Entertainment Exchange. He writes espionage, science fiction, and fantasy novels. He is the creator of Doctor Geek’s Laboratory, a STEM outreach series, and the creator of Doctor Geek’s Science Fair.
International bestselling author of military sci-fi, space opera, and zombie apocalypse, Mark Wandrey is also the only 4 time Dragon Award finalist! He launched his professional career in 2004 with the release of Earth Song - Overture. Now, 15 years later, he has more than 20 books out.
Jean Marie Ward writes fiction, nonfiction, and everything in between. Her credits include a multi-award nominated novel, two popular art books, and editing CrescentBlues.com. Her short stories have appeared everywhere from ASIMOV’s to the anthologies of Zombies Need Brains. Her video interviews are featured on BuzzyMag.com.
David Mark Weber is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. Many of his stories have military, and particularly naval themes, and fit into the military science genre. His most popular and enduring character is Honor Harrington, whose story, together with the Honor-verse she inhabits.
Toni Weisskopf succeeded Jim Baen as publisher of Baen Books in 2006. She has worked with such authors as David Weber, Eric Flint, Larry Correia, and many others. With Josepha Sherman, she compiled and annotated the definitive volume of subversive children’s folklore, Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts.
Michael Z. Williamson is a multiple bestselling, award-winning author and editor in science fiction and a #1 Amazon bestseller in political humor. An immigrant from the UK and Canada, he served 25 years in the US Army and USAF. Williamson also consults on TV and movie productions.
Timothy Zahn is the author of 13 Star Wars books and the Cobra, Quadrail, and Dragonback series. Recent books include Star Wars: Thrawn: Treason and Sibyl’s War 2: Knight. Upcoming books include Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Book 1 and Sibyl’s War 3: Queen.
Due to professional commitments, the following previously confirmed guests will not be able to attend Dragon Con this year.
