Aug. 28 – Sep. 1, 2025 in Atlanta, GA Buy

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Have a once-in-a-lifetime experience with us!

Grab your cape, because you won’t want to miss this!

Don’t miss this fandom-filled weekend as we showcase an incomparable assembly of humans and their gifts at Dragon Con.

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For a list of guests, performers, and attending professionals ordered by confirmation date:

Want to be the first to know when new professionals are announced? Follow Dragon Con on social media.

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A

  • Brent Abell

    Brent Abell has written or co-written over 13 books and has been featured in over 30 publications. Brent has a screenplay currently in development and recently launched his travel website.

  • Mary Abreu

    Mary Abreu is a film and television costume fabricator with IATSE Local 479, with credits on a variety of big-budget, indie, and streaming productions, and has authored several books.

  • Stephen Adams

    Stephen Adams is the host of the podcasts Horseshoes and Hand Grenades and Those Were The Days, and is a founder of the 2Dorks network of podcasts and live streams.

  • Becky Albertalli

    Becky Albertalli is the award winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author of YA fiction, including Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Imogen, Obviously, and Amelia, If Only.

  • Jer Luke Alford

    Jer Alford owns Mini-Komix, plus writes, edits, and publishes comics. He founded the Atlanime anime club and does reviews for Anime Anyway plus Obscure OVAs fanzine, also Stupid Comics.

  • amberthysts cosplay

    Amber Satterfield works in her spare time as a professional character entertainer. For the past few years, she has portrayed Bluey and organized the Character Encounter for the Kids Track!

  • Jess L. M. Anderson

    Jess L. M. Anderson is a content creator with over two million followers and the author behind the fantasy series The Source Keepers.

  • Sean Anderson

    Sean is a professional opera singer, storyteller with Storyteller's Forge, and runs the award winning podcast Echoes of Krynn and the Twitch stream Severed Threads - Notes from the Black Ballad.

  • AnEternalEnigma

    AnEternalEnigma is a long-time, successful gaming personality on the Internet. Starting as an original JustinTV streamer since August 2011, Enigma has now been a Twitch Partner for eight years.

  • Corey Applegate

    Corey Applegate is actively involved in a wide variety of fandoms including Star Wars, Wheel of Time, sewing, D&D, fantasy literature, history, travel, and Disney.

  • Dr. April Armes

    April Armes is a microbial ecologist bridging the sectors of microbiology and systems ecology. She pits microbe against microbe in large battle royal experiments that inform predictive models.

  • AshSaidHi

    Ash is the queen of retro gaming. Think of her content's vibe as the Mr. Rogers of retro built for adults to reminisce in a familiar and comforting setting.

  • Davis Ashura

    Davis Ashura is the award winning author of four bestselling epic fantasy series, The Castes and the OutCastes, The Chronicles of William Wilde, Instrument of Omens, and The Eternal Ephemera.

  • aSwanNamedEmily

    Emily Swan is an artist and youth voices manager for a PBS affiliate, showrunner of Doodle Crew, co-host of Sketching Shakespeare!, and a contributor to many podcasts and twitch streams.

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B

  • Kevin Bachelder

    Kevin Bachelder's podcasts have won four Parsec Awards in the Best Fan Podcast category. He also leads the Dragon Con Newbies group, which puts on events to help new attendees.

  • Michael Bailey

    Michael Bailey has been a podcaster since 2007, when he launched his first show Views From The Longbox. He has hosted or co-hosted a number of podcasts over the years.

  • James Osiris Baldwin

    Dragon Award nominated James Osiris Baldwin writes expansive LitRPG and science-fantasy. He is the author of the bestselling Archemi Online Chronicles, the Brute Force series, and the upcoming Voidhunter series.

  • Sam Baltrusis

    Sam Baltrusis, author of Ghosts of Salem and featured in The Curse of Lizzie Borden shock doc, has penned 18 paranormal-themed books.

  • Griffin Barber

    Griffin has written stories across the SF&F field and has recently become an editor at Baen Books, producing the Baen Free Radio Hour.

  • Paul Barrett

    Paul Barrett is an author, script supervisor, and film producer. He has seven novels in print and produced two motion pictures and two documentaries.

  • Aretta Baumgartner

    Aretta Baumgartner has been a professional puppeteer since 1992 and has served multiple terms as President of Puppeteers of America and as Education Director at Atlanta's Center for Puppetry Arts.

  • Davey Beauchamp

    Davey Beauchamp is a librarian and a freelance artist with a variety of different companies including the BBC, BBCA, Penguin UK, Falstaff Books, Tavern Publishing, and more.

  • Jamie Bernstein

    Jamie Bernstein is a data scientist who specializes in building statistical models and the co-host of EnterpriseSplaining, a comedy podcast about Star Trek: Enterprise.

  • Kaitlin Bevis

    Kaitlin Bevis is the author of the Daughters of Zeus series. She has also written a young adult horror novel called Blood and Other Matter and several short stories.

  • April Billingsley

    Award winning actress seen in Resurrection, Last Vegas, The Dark Red, Will Trent, A Man in Full, The Summer I Turned Pretty, and upcoming films Elijah Peel and The Juggler.

  • Faydra Black

    Faydra Black is a content creator, community builder, and frequent convention moderator/panelist. She is involved with several organizations helping to enrich the livestream community, including Stream Atlanta & Momocon.

  • Judy Black

    Judy Black is a writer who makes her home in Atlanta. She loves games, books, cats, things with caffeine, and is an Ennie-nominated writer of Dungeons and Dragons modules.

  • J.D. Blackrose

    J.D. Blackrose writes The Summoner's Mark series for Bell Bridge Books. She has published The Soul Wars, The Devil's Been Busy, and the Zombie Cosmetologist novellas through Falstaff Books.

  • Jennifer Blackstream

    Jennifer Blackstream is a USA Today bestselling author of urban fantasy and fantasy romance. She is amazed to have made a writing career out of a master's degree in psychology.

  • Bobby Blackwolf

    Bobby Blackwolf is the co-owner of the VOG (Voice of Geeks) podcast network and Twitch channel, and has hosted a live internet show and podcast about video games since 2005.

  • Brandy Blanton

    Brandy Blanton is an academic known for combining popular culture with current events. As a terrorism expert, she loves to help people learn about preparing for emergencies.

  • D.J. Bodden

    D.J. Bodden is a sci-fi and fantasy author of 15 books and counting. He has written in the LitRPG Viridian Gate Online universe and created the science fiction FiveFold universe.

  • David Boop

    David Boop is an author, editor, and screenwriter. His novels include sci-fi/noir, weird western, and dark fantasy. He has written for Predator, The Green Hornet, Kolchak, Shadowrun, and Veronica Mars.

  • Jay Boyce

    Winner of the 2019 Warriors and Wizards award for best new LitRPG author, Jay Boyce is the bestselling author of A Touch of Power and Rise of the Mystic Mage series.

  • Brad Bradley

    Robert "Brad" Bradley is a former industrial chemist, utilizing these skills in the pursuit of the "paranormal", and is the research director for Center for Paranormal Research and Investigation (CPRI).

  • Mark Braught

    Mark Braught is an award winning artist that notably created the full-color scenic art for the merchandising of Warner Brothers Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

  • Jonathan Brazee

    Jonathan Brazee is a retired Marine colonel, a full-time hybrid writer, and a USA Today bestseller. He is the current Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association's CFO.

  • Bill Bridges

    Bill Bridges is a writer and game designer most known for developing White Wolf's World of Darkness horror RPG setting and the Fading Suns science-fiction universe.

  • Bethany Brookshire

    Bethany Brookshire is an award winning science writer and former neuroscientist. She is the author of the book Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains.

  • Matthew J. Brown

    Matthew Brown, PhD, is a scholar of comics and pop culture. He is co-editor of More Critical Approaches to Comics: Theories and Methods and has organized panels at Dragon Con.

  • Rachel A. Brune

    Rachel A. Brune is an Army veteran, former military journalist, novelist, and editor of the creepy and macabre. She is the senior editor of Falstaff Books's new horror imprint, Falstaff Dread.

  • Doug Burbey

    Doug Burbey is the author of the Blood War military urban fantasy series. In addition to writing, he is a DoD program manager for advanced military technology development efforts.

  • Raychelle Burks

    Dr. Raychelle Burks is a forensic chemist by day, a true crime writer at night, and a fandom scientist 24/7.

  • Andrew Burn

    Andrew Burn is an award winning film director known for the sci-fi indie blockbuster Venus Effect and has worked on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, MacGyver, and more.

  • Tyra Burton

    Tyra Burton is the host and producer of the Geek Meets Social podcast. She writes sci-fi romance, cozy fantasy, and digital marketing books. Burton also co-hosts the Be Awesome Together livestream.

  • Darin M. Bush

    Darin M. Bush is an award winning science-fiction and fantasy short-story author. He is the founder and executive producer of Tables of Content, a virtual sci-fi convention.

  • James J. Butcher

    James J. Butcher is a new urban fantasy writer and author of Dead Man's Hand, the first book in The Unorthodox Chronicles series. He is the son of Jim Butcher.

  • D.J. Butler

    D.J. (Dave) Butler has been a lawyer, a consultant, a corporate trainer, and a registered investment banking representative, and he is now a senior editor for Ark Press.

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C

  • Kevin Cafferty

    Kevin Cafferty is an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker, head of brand and creative at a Fortune 500 company, DJ, and podcaster.

  • Ryan Cahill

    Ryan Cahill is the award winning author of the bestselling epic fantasy series The Bound and the Broken.

  • Jessica Cail

    Featured on NOVA's Secret Life of Scientists for her dual life as psychopharmacologist and stuntwoman, Dr. Cail serves as science advisor for Hollywood; including projects for Marvel, Disney, and Netflix.

  • Barrett S Caldwell

    Barrett S. Caldwell, PhD is professor of industrial engineering, aeronautics, and astronautics at Purdue. His PhD is in social psychology (UC Davis) with BS degrees in aero/astro and humanities (MIT).

  • R. E. Carr

    R.E. Carr is the award winning author of the Rules Undying series, as well as exploring horror comedy and science fiction over her 20+ year book career.

  • Alison Carrier

    Alison Carrier is a design director at Scopely, building an AdventureCraft AAA MMO. As a seasoned developer, she has worked on Star Wars: Hunters, Halo Infinite, and other titles.

  • Wendy Carson

    Wendy Carson, founder of the Chattanooga Vintage Dancers, teaches sewing, hair and makeup, dance, history, and etiquette workshops from the late 1700's to the 1960's.

  • Nat Cassidy

    Nat Cassidy is the author of acclaimed horror novels including Mary, Nestlings, and When the Wolf Comes Home, and numerous off-off-Broadway plays.

  • Cathalson

    Cathalson is an American author and screenwriter of over 50 publications. He is a fiction developer for Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. and AntiMatter Games.

  • Jamie Chambers

    Jamie Chambers is a tabletop game designer, podcaster, and the creator of the Cortex System RPG. His work on tabletop games including Serenity, Battlestar Galactica, Supernatural, and Dragonlance.

  • Robert Chapin

    Robert Chapin is a visual effects artist, fight choreographer, actor, writer, and director. He wrote and starred in Ring of Steel and The Hunted.

  • Michael Chatfield

    Michael Chatfield is an international bestselling author of sci-fi, fantasy, and LitRPG. With over three million books sold, Chatfield is story director for an upcoming FPS video game.

  • Luke Chmilenko

    Luke Chmilenko is best known for a variety of blockbuster series such as Ascend Online, Starbreaker, Savage Dominion, and Hat Trick!

  • Paige L. Christie

    Paige L. Christie is best known for the Legacies of Arnanepic fantasy series. Her work can also be found in Galactic Stew, Witches, Warriors, and Wise Women, and more.

  • Richard J Chwedyk

    Nebula winner, Hugo, Rhysling, and Sturgeon Award nominee, Richard Chwedyk currently teaches various writing and lit courses at Columbia College Chicago and is best known for his Saur series.

  • Crystal Cleveland

    Crystal Cleveland is an award winning actress, model, YouTuber, podcaster, and horror film aficionado. She has been a co-host with Decades of Horror: 1980's for the past six years.

  • Pamela Cole

    Pamela Cole is a costumier who graduated from Goodman Theater in Chicago over 50 years ago and continues to work with dance, opera, movies, museums, reenactors, in the Atlanta area.

  • Gerald L. Coleman

    Gerald L. Coleman is a philosopher, theologian, poet, science fiction and fantasy author, has a master's degree in Theology, and is a co-founder of the Affrilachian Poets.

  • Aaron D Colgrove

    Aaron Colgrove has been a member of the Center for Paranormal Research and Investigation since 2020. Colgrove has 12 years of experience as a computational archaeologist.

  • Joshua Colwell

    Dr. Joshua Colwell is associate dean of the College of Sciences and Pegasus professor of physics at the University of Central Florida. He hosts Walkabout the Galaxy, the fun astronomy podcast.

  • Joe Compton

    Joe Compton is an author, an indie filmmaker/producer on over 40 TV and film productions in five different countries, and a script doctor/consultant in Hollywood.

  • Ryan A Consell

    Ryan Consell is an engineering professor, costumer, prop maker, and author with particular expertise in engineering science with research focused on composite materials and bicycle destruction.

  • Sophia Corde

    Sophia Corde is a marine biologist and social scientist studying marine mammals in the Gulf of Mexico. She has studied manatees, African elephants, marine iguanas, and green sea turtles.

  • Jason Cordova

    Bestselling author Jason Cordova was a finalist for both the John W. Campbell Award and Dragon Award, and the author of Mountain of Fire (Baen Books) and 20+ other novels.

  • Tom Cravens

    Thomas Cravens is a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Kansas. His degrees are in physics from Stony Brook University and in astronomy from Harvard University.

  • Ryan Crissey

    The MuscleNerdz host with the most. You have seen him on social media, with his Superman cosplays and nerd traps. Ryan Crissey is back to bring you an amazing showdown!

  • Katie Cross

    Katie Cross really loves to write books, hike mountains, and eat cookies. You can find out more about her YA fantasy books at www.katiecrossbooks.com

  • Mike Crugnola

    Mike Crugnola can be seen on the D&D live play podcast Adventure Incorporated, on Ask the Pokedexpert, and on Twitch as a host on Swoontower Soccer and InAddition.

  • Stephanie Crugnola

    Stephanie Crugnola is a chaotic-wholesome content creator specializing in Shakespeare, collaborative storytelling, soccer, marketing, and all things niche nerd.

  • Chris Cummins

    Chris Cummins is a writer for Archie Comics and the producer/host of Sci-Fi Explosion and Music Video Book Club, and also co-DJs American Sci-Fi Classics' 120 Minutes Dance Party.

  • Paul B Currie

    Dr. Paul Currie is a health science administrator and recovering biology and chemistry professor. He has given numerous talks on the use of pop culture in teaching.

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D

  • Kaycie D.

    Kaycie D. is an illustrator and podcaster. Her main art disciplines include comics, animation, visual development, and game art. She is the author and artist of the webcomic B-SIDE You.

  • Alex Damon

    Alex Damon is the co-creator and co-host of Star Wars Explained, a YouTube channel covering all Star Wars that has gained over 800,000 subscribers.

  • Ron Daniels

    Ron Daniels is a respected attorney in middle Georgia. He served as the 76th president of the Young Lawyer's Division of the State Bar of Georgia.

  • Veronica Dashiell

    Veronica Dashiell is half of the husband and wife puppetry team Felt Nerdy. They have been performing at conventions and local theatres across the Southeast for over 10 years together.

  • Kevin A Davis

    Kevin A Davis is a fantasy author with 16 published novels in three series and one middle-grade book. The first book in his DRC Files series has won two awards.

  • Robert Davis

    Robert Davis is an editor at Tor Books, where he largely acquires fantasy and science fiction. Over the last 10 years he has worked with talented authors and major franchises.

  • Dean's Lyst

    Walter Dean is an Atlanta-based specialty costume designer who works under the business name of Dean's Lyst. Dean has been featured in several publications as a rising designer.

  • Liz Delton

    Liz Delton writes fantasy from epic to cozy, including her cozy fantasy steampunk series, Seasons of Soldark, and her YA fantasy series, Realm of Camellia.

  • Ernest Dempsey

    Ernest Dempsey is a USA Today bestselling author of archaeological thrillers and urban fantasy with over 55 books published since 2011.

  • Lali DeRosier

    Science teacher, sci-fi consultant, and education researcher Lali DeRosier promotes youth involvement in science through student writing, art, and outreach.

  • Tyler Desjardins

    Tyler Desjardins is an astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, working on NASA's upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. His research background includes galaxies and supermassive black holes.

  • Steffi Diem

    Steffi Diem, PhD in plasma physics, is a nuclear engineering professor, fusion scientist, and technical consultant for The Science & Entertainment Exchange at the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

  • Matt Dinniman

    Matt Dinniman is the author of the bestselling Dungeon Crawler Carl book and manga series.

  • Beth Dolgner

    Beth Dolgner writes paranormal fiction and nonfiction, including the Nightmare, Arizona Paranormal Cozy Mysteries, and gives talks about Victorian death customs and Spiritualism.

  • Elizabeth Donald

    Elizabeth Donald is an award winning writer of speculative fiction. She is founder of the Literary Underworld small-press cooperative, president of St. Louis Society of Professional Journalists, and teaches writing.

  • Brian Doob

    Brian Doob has been a co-host of the British Invaders podcast about British television since 2007.

  • Jason Dorough

    Jason Dorough is the author of the epic fantasy Teshovar series, has worked as a voiceover artist for more than a decade, and is also a content creator on BookTok.

  • Addie Dove

    Dr. Addie Dove is a planetary scientist and professor at UCF with a passion for space and science communication. She is a cohost on the Walkabout the Galaxy podcast.

  • Hope Dugan

    Hope is a leadership consultant and success coach with 18+ years of experience helping people overcome limiting beliefs like perfectionism and imposter syndrome.

  • Patrick Dugan

    Dugan is author of the Darkest Storm series by Falstaff Books, Stone Cold Witch, Never Steal From Dragons, The ShadowBlade Chronicles, and Watchers of Astaria series from Distracted Dragon Press.

  • Jordan Duncan

    Jordan Duncan is a historian, researcher, and educator. He has been part of the Atlanta area paranormal community since 2008. He is also a podcaster and vlogger.

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E

  • Marc Alan Edelheit

    USA Today and Amazon bestselling author Edelheit has captivated millions with his Stiger's Tigers fantasy series. His passion for history and military seeps into his works, earning him multiple awards.

  • KD Edwards

    K.D. lives in North Carolina and writes LGBT+-positive urban fantasy for Pyr books and Audible. He is the author of a planned nine book series called The Tarot Sequence.

  • Kevin Eldridge

    Kevin Eldridge produces and hosts The Flopcast, a weekly pop culture comedy podcast. He is a published science fiction author, an organizer and host of skeptic events, and a comedy musician.

  • Jess Eppstein

    Jess Eppstein is a former immortal hydra wrangler who spent a year putting tiny contacts on mutant mice in the dark. She now tells scientists how to do their job.

  • Richard J Estep

    Appearing on numerous TV shows and the author of 36 books, Richard Estep writes and presents on topics ranging from the paranormal, true crime, history, and writing/publishing.

  • Christine Evans

    Christine Evans is a Broadway wig and makeup professional. Having worked on such award winning shows as Frozen, Some Like it Hot, Suffs, Aladdin, and Moulin Rouge.

  • Kacey Lyn Ezell

    Kacey Ezell is a retired helicopter pilot who writes multigenre speculative fiction. She is a two-time Dragon Award finalist for Best Alternate History and has written multiple bestselling novels.

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F

  • Todd Fahnestock

    Todd Fahnestock is an award winning, #1 bestselling author of fantasy for all ages and winner of the New York Public Library's Books for the Teen Age Award.

  • Michael Falkner

    Michael Falkner is a writer and podcaster at Creative Criticality. He is the author of the Timestamps Project and is also one of the leaders for Dragon Con Newbies.

  • Jim Farmer

    Jim Farmer has programmed Out On Film, Atlanta's LGBTQ film festival, for 17 years and the festival has become of one the most honored LGBQT film festivals in the world.

  • Richard Fierce

    Richard Fierce is an award winning fantasy author of over 40 books and is best known for his fantasy series Dragon Riders of Osnen.

  • Emily A Finke

    A forensic anthropologist by training, but a science communicator by passion, Emily Finke has spent the past 20 years teaching in museums, nature centers, pubs, conventions, and more.

  • Larry Flaxman

    Larry Flaxman is a bestselling author, paranormal theorist, and pioneer blending fringe science with human consciousness. With groundbreaking research, including quantum physics and EEG studies, he explores reality's mysteries.

  • Scott Fleming

    Dr. Scott W. Fleming is an astrophysicist who studies exoplanets and stars of all kinds. His team supports the archive of data from missions including Hubble, JWST, TESS, and Roman.

  • Sean Fletcher

    Sean Fletcher is the Amazon bestselling, award winning author of a number of YA fantasy series. He can be found speaking, teaching writing, and working as a professional editor.

  • Noret Flood

    Noret Flood's first professional work is The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound, one of the original webserial LitRPGs, which garnered over 50 million views on Royalroad.

  • John L Flynn

    Dr. John L. Flynn is an author, screenwriter, three-time Hugo nominee, and a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America and the Mystery Writers of America.

  • Alicia Fox-Lenz

    Alicia Fox-Lenz is co-host of Queer Lodgings: A Tolkien Podcast, a steward of the Mythopoeic Society, and scholar interested in studying Tolkien through a cultural studies lens.

  • Barr Foxx

    Barr Foxx (JaBarr) is an award winning cosplay artist and television/film producer whose passion for storytelling and inclusivity has left an indelible mark.

  • Adam Friedman

    Adam Friedman is a scientist and artist exploring intersections between art and environmentalism, and also an actor, director, and writer in the theatre community, co-founding the Atlanta Green Theatre Alliance.

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G

  • Birma Gainor

    Dr. Birma Gainor is the director of counseling and psychological services at Clemson University. She has been engaged in college mental health for just over two decades.

  • J. B. Garner

    Talented author and top flight editor, Jamie Beth "J.B." Garner has written over a dozen novels from sci-fi to fantasy to super fiction and edited hundreds more.

  • Jenna Garrett

    Jenna Garrett is a proud member of Dungeons and Dracon Beams: An Animorphs AU Actual Play Podcast, Horse Girls, and Surprise Attack Book Club.

  • Rich Gatz

    Rich Gatz is the vice president, head of cyber claims for Arch Insurance Group, Inc. and a cyber insurance and data privacy subject matter expert.

  • Kyla Gibney

    Dr. Gibney is a cognitive neuroscientist who studies the underlying mechanisms related to cognition, emotion, behavior, and how cognitive control and emotional processing affect decision-making and health outcomes.

  • Clay Gilbert

    Clay Gilbert has published 14 novels since 2013, in genres ranging from science-fiction and horror to YA dystopia and urban fantasy.

  • Venessa Giunta

    Venessa Giunta is a published author, with non-fiction essays, short stories, and the Soul Cavern series, and has been a professional editor, both freelance and contract, since 2008.

  • Vandiver Elizabeth Glenn

    Vandy Beth Glenn is a comedian, screenwriter, director, public speaker, and civil rights pioneer. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Georgia.

  • Dwayne K. Goetzel

    Dwayne Goetzel is an intellectual property lawyer located in Austin, handling copyright, trademark, domain names, contracts, personality rights, and licensing matters, as well as trial work for those subjects.

  • Nicoli Gonnella

    Nicoli Gonnella is the author of the internationally bestselling fantasy LitRPG epic, Unbound.

  • Emily Goodwin

    Emily Goodwin has been involved with book publishing since 2007. She is the producer for the Writers of the Future Annual Achievement Awards.

  • John Goodwin

    John Goodwin, president of Galaxy Press, is the publisher of the fiction works of L. Ron Hubbard and the internationally acclaimed Writers of the Future anthology.

  • Laura Grabowski

    Laura Grabowski, an independent Tolkien scholar, has presented with the Mythopoeic Society and the Popular Culture Association. She holds a PhD in computer science and is a professor at SUNY.

  • Cece Grayson

    Cece Grayson aka Triforce of Procrastionation is a Los Angeles veteran of cosplay that has led her in the world of modeling, streaming, film production design, and video game marketing.

  • Craig Greathouse

    Dr. Craig Greathouse is a professor of political science at University of North Georgia and has lectured and written extensively on the international system, including security and strategic studies.

  • Jennifer J Greco

    Jennifer Greco is an astronomer turned science educator. She works as a member of the science faculty and the STEM coordinator at St. Ursula Academy.

  • Andrew Greenberg

    In addition to leading development on Emperor of the Fading Suns Enhanced, Andrew Greenberg runs the Georgia Game Developers Association and Southern Interactive Entertainment and Games Expo.

  • Daniel Griffith

    Daniel Griffith is an award winning documentary filmmaker whose previous work includes films by John Carpenter, Sam Raimi, Chris McKay, Seth MacFarlane, and David Lynch, to name a few.

  • Darrell Z. Grizzle

    Darrell Z. Grizzle is a queer horror, urban fantasy, and thriller writer. He is the author of A Very Lovely Murder and I Never Meant to Start a Murder Cult.

  • Stuart Grosse

    Stuart Grosse is an independent sci-fi/fantasy author writing in the GameLit/LitRPG space. He is best known for writing serial novellas with a signature of overpowered villains as protagonists.

  • Dr. Nicole Gugliucci

    Known as the “NoisyAstronomer,” Dr. Nicole Gugliucci earned a doctorate studying radio astronomy, did a postdoc in science education, and is an associate professor of physics in New Hampshire.

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H

  • Valerie Dawn Hampton

    Dr. Valerie Hampton, historical archaeologist, author, game maker, paranormal researcher, and Indie film producer, speaks on the intersection between popular fantasy and history, and has numerous publications.

  • K.T. Hanna

    K.T. Hanna is an author known for her series Library System Reset, Somnia Online, and The System Apocalypse Australia (with Tao Wong). She is powered by caffeine, Chipotle, and sarcasm.

  • Isabelle Hardesty

    Isabelle Hardesty is the author of several YA book series including Sea Witch High, The Destroyer Witch Chronicles, The Delacourt Shapeshifter Trilogy, and Viola the Vampire Witch.

  • Will Harris

    Will is a paleontologist, educator, and host of The Common Descent Podcast, where he applies his professional experience to entertaining and educational discussions about past and present life on Earth.

  • Anna Harrison

    Anna Harrison is an Atlanta native working in the distribution arm of LA's entertainment industry at Moonbug Entertainment and is also a senior staff writer and interviewer at Drink in the Movies.

  • Laura Hayden

    Author Laura Hayden is a lover of books, television, and film, and is also a founder and 12 time director of the Pikes Peak Writers Conference.

  • Drew Hayes

    Drew Hayes is an author from Dallas who has published several books, including Super Powereds, NPCs, Villains' Code, Fred the Vampire Accountant, 5-Minute Sherlock, and Roverpowered.

  • Jeff Hays

    Jeff Hays is a voice actor with tremendous range, a producer and narrator of over 200 audiobooks, a musician and composer, and founding CEO of Soundbooth Theater.

  • Tracie Hearne

    Tracie "Miss Magitek" is an award winning tabletop RPG content creator who runs an online community called MagiRPG. She is the storyteller for a Vampire the Masquerade series, Ancestral Blood.

  • Rick J Heinz

    Rick Heinz is an award winning TTRPG game writer, designer, and novelist for transmedia properties and sarcastic fiction about the end of the world.

  • May Hemmer

    May Hemmer has been making her way around the country as well as internationally. This 2017 Miss Montreal Burlesque is not only a burlesque performer, but a cosplayer.

  • Tony P Henderson

    Tony P. Henderson is a moderator, podcaster, and voice over artist known for the Tony P. Oddcast, In Addition, and Geek Vs podcasts.

  • Lucas Hernandez

    Lucas Hernandez is the education coordinator at the South Carolina Aquarium. He is also a member of the Sprites of Life podcast, that discusses what games can teach us.

  • Andrew Karl Hirsch

    Andrew Hirsch is a professor of computer science and engineering at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. Hirsch's group studies high-assurance programming, security, logic, and programming-language design.

  • Madaug Hishinuma

    Intense gamer, former teacher, and current mastermind of all around mayhem, Madaug Hishinuma first started writing in grade school. His current series include: Shadow Wars, Space Sovereign, and Sherrilyn's Worlds.

  • Greg Hodgin

    Greg Hodgin is the CEO of ZC Institute. He graduated from Emory University with a bachelor's in chemistry and from Georgia State University with a Ph.D. in political science.

  • Christian Hubicki

    Dr. Christian Hubicki is a robotics research scientist, lab director, tenured professor, and castaway on CBS' Survivor: David vs. Goliath. His lab's research focuses on robots that walk and run.

  • Storm Humbert

    Storm Humbert has published in Andromeda Spaceways, Galaxy's Edge, Writers of the Future, and more. He is the managing member of the Calendar of Fools and executive editor of Dragonbrae.

  • Walter H. Hunt

    Walter H. Hunt is a science fiction and historical fiction writer with 12 published novels, including three in the 1632/Ring of Fire universe. The most recent is 1637: The French Correction.

  • James A. Hunter

    James Hunter is a full-time ink slinger and the bestselling author of over 40 novels including Rogue Dungeon, Vigil Bound, Discount Dan, and the LitRPG epic Viridian Gate Online!

  • Topher Hunter

    Topher Hunter is a professional biomedical science communicator and amateur droid builder, with a passion for trying new things and helping others to not make the same mistakes he/they made.

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  • Eunice Ibama

    Eunice Ibama is CEO of Black Girls Anime, which is a platform celebrating Black girls who love anime, offering news, reviews, and entertainment that highlights their unique experiences.

  • Gogo Incognito

    Gogo Incognito is a professional nerd in cosplay, modeling, and dance, an emcee for various cons and media companies, and an entrepreneur who co-owns Corsair Distillery and Wild Spore Mushrooms.

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  • Chris A. Jackson

    Professional sailor, SFF fan, career biologist, gamer, and author, Chris's game tie-in work includes Pathfinder, Iron Kingdoms, Shadowrun, Arkham Horror, and Traveller RPGs. He has over 30 novels in print.

  • India R Jackson

    Dr. India Jackson is an astrophysicist, software engineer, NSF postdoctoral fellow, and the first Black woman to earn a PhD in physics from Georgia State University.

  • Kristin Jackson

    Kristin Jackson is the director of communications and graphic designer for Frostbite Pictures, has worked on art for Paramount Pictures, Dutch Boy Pictures, and indie filmmakers.

  • Matthew Jarrett

    Matthew Jarrett is an operations engineer specializing in new product introduction. He has experience in manufacturing engineering, process engineering, quality engineering, and continuous improvement in multiple industries.

  • Logan Jenkins

    Logan Jenkins cohosts Very Random Encounters and Game Mechanics. Together, the VRE hosts wrote The Ultimate Random Encounters Book. Jenkins has written two TTRPGs: I'm Sure… and Imaginary Friend Fight.

  • Alex Jennings

    Alex Jennings' writing has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Africa Risen, and New Suns, and he has been short-listed for numerous awards.

  • G. S. Jennsen

    G.S. Jennsen is a bestselling author of 20+ novels and short stories. Starshine was named one of the best sci-fi novels by a woman in the last 50 years.

  • Ai Jiang

    Ai Jiang is a Chinese-Canadian writer, Ignyte, Bram Stoker, and Nebula Award winner, and Hugo, Astounding, Locus, Aurora, and BFSA Award finalist.

  • Bernadette Johnson

    Bernadette Johnson is a writer whose works include over 50 technology articles for HowStuffWorks.com, books, and horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and mystery short stories.

  • ChristaCarol Sunshine Jones

    ChristaCarol Jones, writing as C.C.S. Jones, is a fantasy author and professional editor for national curriculum companies. Her debut novel, Magicbound, launched The Last Mage series.

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  • Charlie Kaufman

    Charlie Kaufman has a background in marine biology, environmental studies, and natural hazard preparedness. Kaufman has worked in environmental consulting, academia where he studied coastal erosion, and natural disaster impacts.

  • Kavura

    Kavura, with her husband Nayr, are the hosts of the StarPodTrek and StarPodLog podcasts. She produces Ladies Trek Library and is in several Star Trek fan clubs and fan films.

  • Lindsey Kear

    Lindsey Kear's costume designs / styling have been featured in a wide array of commercials, television, features, print, and red carpet. Kear is the founder of The Costume Consultant.

  • Philip D Keating

    Philip D Keating is the co-creator of Botched: A D&D Podcast. He also streams horror and retro games on twitch at ImaginaryNomad.

  • Charles Kelso

    Charles Kelso is half of the husband and wife puppetry team of Felt Nerdy. They have been performing together for over 10 years at conventions across the Southeast.

  • Darin Kennedy

    Dr. Darin Kennedy writes fantasy. His works include the Fugue & Fable trilogy, The Pawn Stratagem trilogy, the Songs of the Ascendant series, Carol, and The April Sullivan Chronicles.

  • Kris Kersey

    Kris Kersey is a passionate maker and cosplayer who shares his knowledge on 3D printing and maker projects through his YouTube channels, Kersey Fabrications and The OASIS Project.

  • Bethany DJ Kesler

    Bethany Kesler is a historian, writer, podcaster, and fabulous reader. Most of her work is under the pen name, DJ Gray, which she maintains for plausible deniability reasons.

  • John Gregory Keyes

    Greg Keyes is the author of over 30 novels, from original works to licensed universes including Star Wars, Babylon 5, Pacific Rim, Godzilla, and The Elder Scrolls.

  • Christina Nicole Kieffer

    Dr. Christina Kieffer holds a PhD (biology/ecology) and over 15 years experience in the paranormal. As a researcher, having backgrounds in climate change, ghosts, UFOs, and cryptids.

  • Roy Kilgard

    Dr. Kilgard is an astrophysicist who researches black holes in nearby galaxies and how they grow over cosmic time. He also lectures on astronomy in history, sci-fi, and pop culture.

  • Bethanne Kim

    Bethanne Kim is the publisher for the magazine Eric Flint's 1632 & Beyond. She currently writes alternate history (Eric Flint's 1632 universe) but has also written extensively about emergency preparedness.

  • Sue Kisenwether

    Sue Kisenwether has been writing and podcasting about sci-fi TV and movies since 2010. Most notably, she co-hosted Women at Warp, exploring Star Trek through a feminist lens.

  • Chonkey Kong

    Tristan Gibbon is a founding member of the evergreen comedy show Botched: A D&D Podcast. He also produces the D&D one-shot podcast Dragon Night Adventure Friends.

  • Dakota Krout

    Dakota Krout is an internationally bestselling author of fantasy and LitRPG with over 50 titles in his Completionist Chronicles, Divine Dungeon, Full Murderhobo, and Cooking with Disaster series.

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  • Steph LaMassa

    Astrophysicist Steph LaMassa works at the Space Telescope Science Institute on JWST and researches supermassive black holes.

  • Erika Lance

    Erika Lance is a writer of horror, suspense, sci-fi, and a little fantasy. She is also the host of the Eerie Travels and Drinking With Authors podcasts.

  • Liz Landau

    Liz Landau is an award winning journalist, filmmaker, speaker, and science communicator. She serves as the multimedia lead for NASA's astrophysics division in Washington, DC.

  • Matthew Lane

    Matt Lane supports Fight's campaigns directly on the hill and is an expert on tech policy and multilayered legal matters that directly touch people's lives.

  • Ed Larson

    Ed Larson is founder of Tampa Deep Sea Xplorers, Inc. (TDSX) a manufacturer of autonomous underwater vehicles based in Tampa Florida, and is an alumnus of Georgia State University.

  • Greg Leatherman

    Greg Leatherman is an award winning game designer for the TTRPGs Glitter Hearts and The Mystery Business, and is a founding member of the actual play podcast Very Random Encounters.

  • Oriana Leckert

    Oriana Leckert is a writer, editor, cultural hipstorian [sic], and the head of publishing at Kickstarter.

  • Allora Lee

    Allora Lee is an independent author. She writes primarily in the fantasy and science fiction genres, with a focus on tales that explore the psychological aspects of portal fantasies.

  • C.B. Lee

    C.B. Lee is an author of bestselling young adult and middle grade fiction including the NYT bestseller Minecraft:The Shipwreck.

  • K. N. Lee

    K.N. Lee is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of epic fantasy, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance. She is also the host of Needed on Set.

  • Rob Levy

    Rob Levy is a writer, DJ, and podcaster who has been published in Doctor Who, Star Trek, and other sci-fi anthologies, and has written about pop culture for several outlets.

  • Philip Ligon

    Philip Ligon is an international bestselling author, Dragon Award finalist, and Imadjinn Award winner. His works range from steampunk to alternate history to fantasy.

  • K.A. Linde

    K.A. Linde is the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The Wren in the Holly Library and more than 50 novels.

  • Jeffrey Falcon Logue

    Jeffrey "Falcon" Logue has been a professional writer for over seven years. He has published 21 books, having started the dungeon core subgenre with his original, The Slime Dungeon.

  • FT Lukens

    F.T. Lukens is a NYT bestselling author of YA speculative fiction including the novels Otherworldly, Spell Bound, So This Is Ever After, In Deeper Waters, and Love at Second Sight.

  • Nich Lyle

    Nich Lyle (LCMHC, C-DBT, CSTIP) is a cosplayer and therapist who believes in the therapeutic power of pop culture. Professionally, he helps his fellow nerds embrace their individual superpowers.

  • Tara Lynne

    Tara Lynne is an author, event planner, fandom culture expert, public speaker, host of the Geek Saga and Sagas & Sass podcasts, and founded Ice & Fire Con.

  • Courtney Lytle

    Courtney Lytle is a practicing attorney who is a partner at CM Law's Atlanta office and an adjunct professor of law at Emory Law School.

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  • Megan Mackie

    Amazon bestseller, Megan Mackie is the author of The Adventures of Pavlov's Dog and Schrodinger's Cat and The Lucky Devil, Culinary Infernal, Dead World, and Working Mask series.

  • Scott Macmann

    U.S. Army veteran Scott Macmann writes, edits, and publishes a range of speculative fiction as executive editor of Dragon Street Press. He is current president of the Cincinnati Fiction Writers.

  • Sarah Madsen

    Sarah Madsen is an author and TTRPG designer. She has contributed to projects from Wizards of the Coast, Kobold Press, Draco Studios, Ghostfire Gaming, Cubicle 7, and others.

  • Terry Mancour

    Terry Mancour is the New York Times bestselling author of the epic fantasy Spellmonger series, as well as the ST:NG #20 novel Spartacus, and other works of sci-fi and fantasy.

  • ToniAnn Marini

    ToniAnn Marini is a professor and a project manager for BLAM! Ventures/Magnetic Press. She has credits in two Space: 1999 graphic novels and The Planet of the Apes RPG.

  • Cass Marks

    Cass Marks is a sci-fi filmmaker/comic book artist who loves astronomy. He is passionate about science outreach and sharing the marvels of the universe alongside his collaborator Alexandra Yep.

  • Audrey Martin

    Dr. Audrey Martin is a planetary scientist who studies the composition of asteroids and is a collaborator on NASA's Lucy mission. She is also a Walkabout the Galaxy podcast co-host!

  • Alex Matsuo

    Alex Matsuo is an author and paranormal investigator who has been seen on shows: Paranormal Revenge, Tubi's Scariest Places in the World, Haunted Hospitals, and Most Terrifying Places in America.

  • Milissa Maxin

    Milissa Maxin is a gaming industry expert who has led and created communities for Will Wright's Gallium Studios (The Sims, SimCity Creator), Linden Lab's Second Life, IMVU, and more.

  • Dan McClellan

    Dan McClellan is a public scholar of the Bible and religion. He received his PhD from the University of Exeter and has over a million followers on social media.

  • Charles A Mcfall

    Charles McFall, the "Rock God of Podcasting," is a digital media pioneer who began podcasting in 2004 and connects audiences through shows like Wise_N_Nerdy and Finding the Stories.

  • Morgan A. McLaughlin McFarland

    Morgan A. McLaughlin McFarland, MAPW, owns Salt Circle Games, publisher of the horror RPG Chill 3rd Edition. She is also a published fiction, nonfiction, and TTRPG author.

  • Bob McGough

    Bob McGough is an author, podcaster, and indie tabletop game designer, best known for the Jubal County Saga urban fantasy series and the Books, Beards, Booze Podcast.

  • Brett A McGuire

    MIT Prof. Brett McGuire has a PhD in chemistry and has worked with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. His specially is astrochemistry.

  • Rachel McNeal

    Rachel McNeal is a PhD candidate who specializes in insect-microbe interactions at decomposition with applications in forensic entomology. Her other passions have emphasis on education and public outreach.

  • David McRaney

    David McRaney is a journalist fascinated with brains, minds, and culture. He created the ongoing podcast You Are Not So Smart, and his most recent book, How Minds Change.

  • Joseph Meany

    Dr. Joseph Meany is a science consultant and director of the Interstellar Research Group. He is a co-producer of the podcast series From Here to the Stars.

  • Ben Meeks

    Ben Meeks is an award winning sci-fi/fantasy author, a woodworker/turner, as well as a personality on the Books, Beards, and Booze Podcast. He excels at creative, outside the box thinking.

  • Violette L Meier

    Violette Meier, the great-granddaughter of a dream interpreter, is a lover of all things supernatural and loves to write paranormal, fantasy, horror, among other genres.

  • Jason R Merrill

    Jason R. Merrill is a senior software engineer by day who is a purveyor of vintage gentleman's accessories on the side, curating the collection at Blackbird Finery.

  • Stephanie Mirro

    Stephanie Mirro writes bold, adventurous fantasy for readers who love a little heat with their heartbreak—and maybe a splash of chaos.

  • Katherine Monasterio

    Whether editing fiction, RPG sourcebooks, or podcast anthologies, Katherine lives for strengthening the written word, and for creating it as the author of novels, novellas, and award winning short stories.

  • Christopher G Moore

    Christopher G. Moore is an award winning filmmaker and screenwriter. He directed a segment in the horror anthology Worst Laid Plans which is now on streaming.

  • Casey Moores

    Casey Moores is an award winning author of military sci-fi, historical fiction, and fantasy, and is a USAF Academy graduate who spent 17 years as a rescue/special ops C-130 pilot.

  • David Moscato

    David Moscato is a paleontologist, science writer, and host of the Common Descent podcast, applying experience as a fossil hunter, researcher, and educator to discussions about life on Earth.

  • Mr. Damon's Shadow Puppet Theater

    Damon Young's work includes shadow puppet segments for Marvel's Hawkeye on Disney+ and the Great Wolf Lodge. Mr. Damon's Shadow Puppet Theater brings captivating performances to schools, libraries, and theaters.

  • Bill Mulligan

    Bill Mulligan works as a special effects technician, writer, director, actor, and producer. He is a contributing writer to Gruesome magazine and the Decades of Horror podcast.

  • Mark Muncy

    Mark Muncy is the bestselling author of the Eerie Florida and Eerie Appalachia book series from History Press. He is also the host of the Eerie Travels podcast.

  • Amy J. Murphy

    Author Amy J. Murphy is a two-time Dragon Award finalist. Having recently completed the Allies and Enemies series, she now volunteers as an Apex Magazine slush reader.

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  • Nayr

    Nayr, with his wife Kavura, are members of the Starfleet Command fan club and serve aboard the USS Athena. They are the hosts of both the StarPodLog and StarPodTrek podcasts.

  • Mark Robert NeCamp Jr

    Mark NeCamp, Jr. is an author, teacher, public speaker, and modern student of the occult. He has been the “paranormal adviser” for the indie horror flick The Circle.

  • James P. Nettles

    James Nettles is a business and technology consultant, speculative fiction and nonfiction author, founder of Author Essentials workshop company, and a founder of the ConTinual convention.

  • Matt Nitchie

    Matt Nitchie is a local Atlanta actor, puppeteer, and co-host for Dragon Con's own Late Night Puppet Slam.

  • Jeffrey Nix

    A fantasy author, scientist, and national champion martial artist with a master's degree in applied psychology, Jeffrey Nix writes the web serial, Alias & Apocalypses.

  • Nancy Northcott

    Nancy Northcott's 18 published books include science fiction, romance, and internationally acclaimed historical fantasy. She has worked with Hachette/Grand Central and Falstaff Books and independently.

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  • Megan O'Russell

    From the epic fantasy world of Ilbrea to the vampire-plagued dystopia of the domes, author Megan O'Russell offers readers 31 books across eight series.

  • Alix Oliver

    Alix Oliver is an award winning writer, producer, and director in the tv and film industry.

  • Melissa Olthoff

    Melissa Olthoff is a sci-fi and fantasy author, a military veteran, is published by Baen Books and CKP, and is best known for sneaking romance into everything she writes.

  • Jon R. Osborne

    Jon R. Osborne hails from Indianapolis. He writes modern fantasy and military science fiction, and his novel A Tempered Warrior was a 2018 Dragon Award Best Fantasy finalist.

  • Gary Otto

    Gary Otto is involved as a producer in the development of several Uwe Boll films including the Rampage series and the In The Name of The King film series.

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  • Jon Padfield

    Dr. Jon Padfield is an engineer turned state representative, turned business professor. He teaches graduate courses in data analytics and is a long-time privacy / free speech advocate.

  • James Palmer

    James Palmer is a writer of sci-fi and pulp adventure, author of the Shadow Council Archives, and editor of the Monster Earth series, League of Monsters, and Southern Fried Cthulhu.

  • JM Paquette

    Author of the Klauden's Ring saga as well as the Conjuring Fascination, Rockstar Fairy Tales, and Shawarma Warrior King series, JM Paquette writes fantasy and paranormal romance novels.

  • Sean M Patton

    Sean Michael Patton is a principal for SMP Designs. He has designed over 40 stage productions, eight short films, five features, and specializes in pieces for film, television, and media.

  • Muscle Nerd Jerry Peacock

    As co-founder of Muscle Nerdz, Jerry has been blending the worlds of nerddom and fitness since 2017. He works to promote fitness motivation and healthy living to everyone.

  • Ken Peek

    Ken Peek supported NASA programs including Hubble Servicing, Space Shuttle, and International Space Station missions. Peek now supports the NASA Artemis program for a commercial lunar lander provider.

  • Matthew Scott Penick

    Matthew Penick is a cosplayer turned designer and founder of the costume design company Ribbons and Rivets. He began with humble origins, showing wares at local Renaissance Festivals and conventions.

  • Gabriel Perez

    Gabriel Perez is the composer and audio engineer for the Quid Pro Roll podcast and lead narrative and sound designer for the Heartlands Arena VR-RPG.

  • Sarah Philips

    Sarah Philips (she/they) is a community organizer, abolitionist, and creator from Houston, Texas. They currently work as a campaigner at Fight for the Future.

  • Shane Pierce

    Shane Pierce is a filmmaker from West Virginia, where he established the indie media studio Butter Chicken Pictures. His second feature film, Ambrosia!, is touring the international film festival circuit.

  • Berta Platas

    Cuban born fantasy author and artist Berta Platas writes YA fantasy and witchy cozy mysteries, many co-authored with longtime friend Nancy Knight.

  • Alex Platt

    Alex Platt has been a podcaster since 2017. Her work includes Animorphs Anonymous, Horse Girls, Dungeons and Dracon Beams, Late Starters, Surprise Attack Book Club, and a few others.

  • Noel E Plaugher

    Noel Plaugher writes fiction and nonfiction. He is the author of Standing Qigong for Health and Martial Arts and the urban fantasy series The Lady Dragon of Chinatown.

  • Gary Poole

    Gary Poole is the founder and host of Robot Battles, edited four bestselling anthologies set in John Ringo's Black Tide Rising universe, and runs the Southern Fandom Resource Guide website.

  • Ashley Poston

    Ashley Poston is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Dead Romantics, The Seven Year Slip, and A Novel Love Story.

  • Phillip Pournelle

    Phillip Pournelle is a science fiction author, war game designer, operations analyst, and military strategist. He has published several short stories for Baen and contributed to the latest Janissaries novel.

  • SK Prince

    SK Prince writes about every hero shifter she can, tripping them up when their fated mate steps into their life. Her books are full of misdirected magic and supernatural sass.

  • Marx Pyle

    Marx Pyle is the author of Obsidian Monsters, co-editor/co-author of Dragons of a Different Tail and Tales of Monstrosity, and co-hosts GenreTainment and GenrePlay.

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  • Ellie Raine

    Ellie Raine is the award winning fantasy author of the NecroSeam Chronicles, a high fantasy epic series which has won several awards including first place in fantasy for Writer's Digest.

  • Seven Rasmussen

    Dr. Seven Rasmussen (she/they; SFWA) is an astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. Her writing has appeared in Scientific American, The Planetary Society, Science Magazine, and her forthcoming book.

  • Daniel A. Reed

    Daniel A. Reed is the founder of the West Virginia Skeptics Society and a regular contributor to the Skeptical Inquirer magazine and website.

  • Rachel Rener

    Rachel Rener is a multi-award winning, internationally bestselling contemporary fantasy author best known for her Gilded Blood series and has sold over a quarter million books.

  • Rose Reynolds

    Rose Reynolds has published 34 novels under the pen names TJ Reynolds and Atlas Kane. A trans woman and combat veteran, she is home in the progression fantasy/LitRPG communities.

  • Tatiana Rice

    Tatiana Rice is the director of AI Legislation at the Future of Privacy Forum. Her work focuses on the intersection of AI, data privacy, and civil rights/liberties.

  • B. A. Richards

    B.A. Richards is a transmasc author writing fantasy and romance, often at the same time! Their debut novel, A Happy Beginning, was released in Jan 2025 by City Owl Press.

  • Omisade Richardson

    Dr. Chateé Omísadé Richardson is a healer, educator, educational/counseling psychologist, and a growth facilitator. She is also an author, keynote speaker, and panelist.

  • Ryan T Rimmel

    Ryan Rimmel is the author of the Mayor of Noobtown LitRPG series, several series of LitRPG books in publication including Sir Crabby, Fifth Era, Sword of Justice, and more.

  • Gray Rinehart

    Gray Rinehart is a USAF space operations veteran, a writer, and singer/songwriter. His music has been on The Dr. Demento Show and he is the "Slushmaster General" for Baen Books.

  • Aaron Michael Ritchey

    Aaron Michael Ritchey is the author of 58 novels under various pen names. He has been an Amazon All-Star and his book, Armageddon Girls, was a Dragon Award finalist.

  • Rob Roberts

    Rob Roberts is an internet broadcasting veteran in video games. He is also a seasoned live host of cult movie screenings and horror themed variety shows.

  • Dennis Lee Robinson

    Dennis is the one of the creators and the DM behind Botched: A D&D Podcast. He is also the writer/creator behind the award winning graphic novel series Lycan: Solomon's Odyssey.

  • Merle S Robinson

    Retired DoD analyst, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and lead designer for National Security Decision Making Game (geopolitical live-action role-play). Outreach director - Connections USA and co-founder of Connections Online.

  • Lezli Robyn

    Lezli Robyn is an award winning author and executive editor/associate publisher of Arc Manor and its imprints. She is the current editor of the Galaxy's Edge anthology series.

  • Jynxie Rose

    Jynxie Rose is a LGBTQIA+, Neurodivergent/AuDHD, family friendly content creator. Her community, The CephaloSquad, fosters a safe/cozy environment that fights bullying and raises awareness of mental health and self care.

  • Mera Rose

    Mera Rose is a professional production designer and costumer, a disabilities advocate, podcaster/streamer, the president of CosInternational, and former vice president and president of the International Costumers' Guild.

  • Meredith Filak Rose

    Meredith Rose, a senior policy counsel at Public Knowledge, a consumer advocacy organization in Washington, DC, where she focuses on tech, copyright, fandom, and music, is also a SFFH author.

  • Cory Scott Rosenberger

    Cory Rosenberger is a licensed attorney in Georgia. He specializes in criminal law, both prosecuting and defending criminal defendants at different stages of his career.

  • Robert W Ross

    Robert W. Ross is the author of the award winning Sentinels of Creation contemporary fantasy and Paradigm 2045 sci-fi series, and is a guest lecturer at Ga Tech and KSU.

  • M. A. Rothman

    USA Today bestselling author, M.A. Rothman, has a strong background in science and math. His writing spans the genres of science fiction, techno-thriller, and his unique spin on epic fantasy.

  • Stacey Rourke

    Stacey Rourke is the award winning author of works that span genres, but possess the same flair for action and snarky humor.

  • S.L. Rowland

    S.L. Rowland is a bestselling author of cozy fantasy series Tales of Aedrea and the LitRPG series Sentenced to Troll, Pangea Online, and Path to Villainy.

  • Ashley Ruhl

    Ashley Ruhl is the narrative director on Star Wars: The Old Republic. A 14 year veteran of the video game industry, she has credits in game design, cinematics, and writing.

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  • Tina Hesman Saey

    Tina Hesman Saey is a senior writer covering molecular biology for Science News magazine. She has a Ph.D. in molecular genetics and a masters degree in science journalism.

  • Tony Sarrecchia

    Tony Sarrecchia is a writer and narrator who creates audio dramas, including the award winning Harry Strange Radio Drama and Everything Evolves.

  • VivSai Sayborivong

    Award winning cosplayer with over a decade of experience, she specializes in intricate armor designs and fabric work. A passionate educator, she leads workshops on Worbla and LEDs.

  • Daniel Schinhofen

    Daniel Schinhofen has published over 60 books since 2016, receiving name recognition in the LitRPG and GameLit community. He has published in multiple other genres as well.

  • Anne Schlea

    Anne Schlea writes two series: The Retribution Universe and The Fallen. She enjoys blending true history into urban fantasy to create a dynamic world for her readers to step into.

  • Jen Lil' Bit Schleusner

    Jen Schleusner, aka Lil Bit, has been a Dragon Con staple since 2010, a co-host and producer of the Dragon Con Report, ESO Network board member, and digital media creator.

  • Stephen Seitz

    Stephen Seitz is a craftsman, DJ, and tournament organizer at gaming panels for Dragon Con. He built giant, wooden Nintendo Game Boy Advance consoles, ready for gaming!

  • Shawn Sellers

    Shawn Sellers has spent 20+ years investigating the paranormal, UFOs, cryptids, and unexplained phenomena across the U.S. Sellers holds multiple degrees and serves as education director for the Alabama Alliance.

  • Bruce Sentar

    Bruce Sentar writes romantic fantasy for men in the LitRPG, fantasy, and urban fantasy spaces. He has numerous accolades, 40 published books, and over 100k reviews on Amazon.

  • Ingrid Seymour

    Ingrid Seymour is a USA Today bestselling author of 57 novels, specializing in fantasy romance, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance. Her hit novel A Prince So Cruel gained viral success.

  • Isaac Sheff

    Dr. Isaac Sheff is a computer scientist working on distributed systems research, with a background in security, programming languages, and blockchains.

  • Jeri Red Shepherd

    Red is a 15-time #1 international bestselling, award winning author. With over 125 titles across fiction, TTRPGs, and nonfiction, her work spans Gaxx Worx, Legends of Avantris, Gundak, DCC, and more.

  • Channing Scott Sherman

    Channing Sherman, co-host of the Dragon Con Report podcast, is a digital media creator, journalist, and podcaster. He co-founded the Black Geeks of Dragon Con.

  • David Sherrer

    David Sherrer is a lifelong gamer and story teller, and is the marketing director of Chenoweth Press and lead game designer of Chenoweth Games.

  • Lydia Sherrer

    Award winning and USA Today bestselling author Lydia Sherrer is best known for her Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus universe novels full of snarky humor and a talking cat.

  • Aron Siegel

    Aron Siegel is a producer and sound mixer whose work includes The Unwanted, Implanted, Thor: Ragnarok, DC's Black Lightning, Walking Dead, and Vampire Diaries.

  • R Alan Siler

    R. Alan Siler is an editor, publisher, musician, podcaster, filmmaker, owner of kOZMIC Creative, and the author of four books about Doctor Who and a children's book Lucy Can't Dance.

  • Tamsin L. Silver

    Tamsin Silver is a New Mexico based author who writes historical fantasy and urban fantasy. She is also the creator/writer/director of the web series, Skye of the Damned.

  • Ernie Silverberg

    Ernie Silverberg, a lifelong tinkerer, found his ultimate passion in pinball. Combining mechanical, electrical, and design skills, he has built five custom machines, including League of Legends and Vox Machina.

  • Allen Slonaker

    Allen Slonaker joined CPRI in 2007 and currently serves on CPRI's Board of Directors. Slonaker has a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Virginia Commonwealth University.

  • Wayland Smith

    Wayland Smith has been published in most genres. His novels include In My Brother's Name, a terrorist thriller, and the Wildside series about superhuman mercenaries.

  • Fruity Snacks

    Fruity Snacks is an instructional designer who owns the Eorzean Aquarium and Eorzean Museum Network, and has a YouTube channel for teaching how to catch fish in Final Fantasy XIV.

  • Arley Sorg

    Arley Sorg is an associate agent at kt literary, asco-editor-in-chief at Fantasy Magazine, senior editor at Locus, and associate editor at Lightspeed & Nightmare.

  • Sarah J. Sover

    Sarah J. Sover is the author of the urban fantasy Fractured Fae series (Fairy Godmurder, Faed to Black) and the comedic fantasy Double-Crossing the Bridge, from Falstaff Books.

  • Spat

    Spat Oktan of SpatCave Studios is an FX makeup artist, costume/prop maker, and author known for his MOBCon book series, his crazy costumes, and makeup effects.

  • John J Spearman

    John Spearman is the award winning author of Mercenary Navy, Jonah Halberd, Perseverance Andrews, and Sandy Pike series of science fiction novels, and the FitzDuncan fantasy books.

  • Teresa Spinelli

    Teresa Spinelli is a mission director of the Cygnus spacecraft, resupplying the International Space Station. She is the youngest and first woman certified to lead the Cygnus Flight Operations team.

  • Kevin Stallard

    Kevin Stallard has been in the IT security business for 30+ years, but has always been a video gamer. Recently working at Activision/Blizzard, Stallard is working on a new title.

  • Darcy Staniforth

    Darcy Staniforth is a scholar, writer, performer, and paranormal investigator. Research areas include race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, ideals and institutions, and death, dying, and grief in American culture.

  • Dot R Steverson

    Dot is a podcaster, producer, digital storyteller, and game designer based in Atlanta. Currently, she serves as the marketing director for Kobold Press.

  • Shami A Stovall

    Shami Stovall is a two-time Dragon Award nominee for best YA Fantasy. She co-owns her publishing company, Capital Station Books.

  • Brandon H. Strauss

    Brandon Strauss is a forensic entomologist and the resident grossologist of the Science Track. You will often find them grossing out their fellow panelists to the audience's amusement.

  • Ian Randal Strock

    Ian Randal Strock is the award winning author and publisher responsible for Release the Virgins and Jewish Futures. He previously edited for Analog, Asimov's, Science Fiction Chronicle, and Baen Books.

  • Sunlight of Astora

    11 time award winning, Johnny Goodwill "Sunlight of Astora" creates costumes based off of dark fantasy and horror video games, along with props and effects for tv and film.

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  • Jam Tailor

    Jam Tailor is a costumer, pattern maker, and sewing instructor specializing in stretch fabrics. As lead designer at Mister Pierre Fashion, they design for performers, AVN nominees, and stage productions.

  • Anthony Taylor

    Anthony Taylor is a writer, pop culture expert, and the co-chair of Atlanta's Monsterama Convention.

  • Erin Nichole Taylor

    Erin Taylor is a licensed mental health therapist and paranormal investigator. She has written five nonfiction paranormal books, and her current work is expected to be published in Fall 2025.

  • Sean H Taylor

    Sean Taylor writes short stories, novellas, novels, graphic novels, and comic books. He has written for such diverse bosses as IDW Publishing, Gene Simmons, and The Oxygen Network.

  • Lee Terrill

    Lee is a cohost of the actual play podcast Very Random Encounters. She is an avid table top gamer and mostly enjoys cooperative board games.

  • Mandisa Lateefah Thomas

    Mandisa Thomas is the founder and president of Black Nonbelievers. She has been featured in the documentaries gODTalk and Contradiction, and on CBS Sunday Morning and CNN.com.

  • Lee Tien

    Lee Tien is legislative director and the Adams Chair for Internet Rights at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Before joining EFF, Tien specialized in Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation.

  • Mel Todd

    Bad Ash Publishing owner and author, Mel Todd, has written and published over 40 stories. Specializing in stories of wonder without romantic plot lines, her books are devoured by fans.

  • Alison Tracy

    Alison Tracy Wynn, PhD is a senior research scholar with the Stanford VMware Women's Leadership Innovation Lab. As Alison Tracy, she writes YA and adult sci-fi/fantasy.

  • Jack Trammell

    Jack Trammell is a professor, author, researcher, and student of the paranormal. His books and talks range from vampires to Artificial Intelligence. He is vice president of CPRI in Virginia.

  • Trekspertise

    Kyle Mackenzie Sullivan is a director and camera operator in the world of film and television, working on projects that include A24, Magnolia Pictures, and Outdoor Channel.

  • Jesse A Trotter

    Solar Wolf Cosplay is an award winning cosplayer and has been published in several cosplay magazines such as Cosplay Realms. His work has been in several cosplay showcases.

  • Hayley Tsukayama

    Hayley Tsukayama is associate director of legislative activism at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, focusing on state legislation. Before joining EFF, she was a consumer technology reporter at The Washington Post.

  • j m tuffley

    JM Tuffley writes about pop culture for various outlets, and contributes to Need Coffee Dot Com's Weekend Justice podcast.

  • TVsTravis

    A podcaster and content creator, TVsTravis, AKA Travis Crawford, is the host of Wait, You Haven't Seen…? and co-host of Those Were the Days, GORE, and Let's Watch Highlander podcasts.

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  • Kimberly Unger

    Kimberly Unger created her first video game back when the 80-column card was the hot new thing. Unger is the Phillip K Dick award winning author of The Extractionist.

  • Brian Urbanek

    Brian Urbanek has worked in the games industry as an designer, engineer, and team leader for 30 years. His best known works include Call of Duty and XCom2.

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  • Forrest Valkai

    Forrest Valkai is a biologist and science communicator. On YouTube, TikTok, and shows like SkepTalk and The Atheist Experience, Valkai has raised tens of thousands of dollars for charity.

  • Nicole Vanner

    Black Girls Anime is a platform celebrating Black girls who love anime, offering news, reviews, and entertainment that highlights their unique experiences.

  • Marie Vibbert

    Hugo and Nebula nominee Marie Vibbert's short fiction has appeared in Nature, Analog, and Clarkesworld. Her debut novel, Galactic Hellcats, was long-listed by the British Science Fiction Award.

  • R.R. Virdi

    R.R. Virdi is a two-time Dragon Award finalist, Nebula Award finalist, and USA Today bestselling author. He is the author of The Grave Report and The Books of Winter.

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  • Jamie Waggoner

    Jamie Waggoner is an author, podcaster, Pagan priestess, and occult expert. Author of Hades: Myth, Magic and Modern Devotion, and co-host of The Way of the Weaver podcast.

  • Constance G.J. Wagner

    Constance G.J. Wagner, writer, editor, poet, playwright, and Tolkien scholar, speaks regularly and passionately on all things Middle-earth at both academic and fan-friendly events nationally and internationally.

  • DL Wainright

    DL Wainright uses their degree in world religions and lifelong love of horror to write creepy books that incorporate folklore and mythology, which means someone gets eaten in every one!

  • Jasmine Walt

    New York Times bestseller Jasmine Walt has been writing and publishing for almost a decade and is best known for her Of Dragons and Fae trilogy and The Baine Chronicles.

  • Rilo W Ward

    Rilo W. Ward is a podcaster who hosts Guild of Calamitous Podcasts, centered around The Venture Bros; as well as a writer for the [adult swim] news website adultswimcentral.com.

  • George T Watson

    George Watson is a co-creator, executive producer, and writer of the fantasy film Sorcerority as well as the comic book. He is also co-directing the recently announced feature film Fanged.

  • Sean Weiland

    Sean Weiland is an award winning video game program manager, voice actor, bartender, and podcaster and currently hosts the Tipple Theory podcast.

  • Dave West

    Dave West is an actor and interviewer who also hosts game shows, wrestling events, and rock 'n' roll concerts. He can be found on the Needless Things YouTube channel.

  • Alex White

    Alex White wrote the game Alien: Rogue Incursion, two Alien novels, The Cold Forge and Into Charybdis, a Star Trek DS9 novel, Revenant, and the Starmetal Symphony and Salvagers trilogies.

  • Jennifer Whitworth

    Jennifer Whitworth is a NASA engineer working at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. She supports Artemis and Gateway Payload Integration for experiments destined for the Gateway Station or Lunar surface.

  • Katharine E. Wibell

    Epic fantasy author Katharine E. Wibell's acclaimed novels include The Incarn Saga series and The Djed Chronicles series. The Guardian's Speaker novella series is an adult dark Viking fantasy.

  • Arras Marie Wiedorn

    Arras Wiedorn is a zoologist and animal behaviorist who has worked for years in public education. They currently work as the head of public programs at a nature center in Ohio.

  • Valerie Willis

    Valerie Willis is a book designer and award winning fantasy romance author. Works include Writer's Bane series, The Cedric Series, and more as V.C. Willis and Honey Cummings.

  • Sadie Witkowski

    Sadie Witkowski is currently a research programs lead for Slack. In her free time, she hosts the podcasts In Defense of Fandom and Carry the Two.

  • Marisa Wolf

    Marisa Wolf writes SFF that ends with hope, no matter how hard the circumstances. She has co-authored novels in shared universes and authored solo novels in her own worlds.

  • Trisha J. Wooldridge

    Trisha J. Wooldridge (child-friendly T.J. Wooldridge), is an award winning pan-genre, pan-media, chaos word witch specializing in diverse dark fantasy and horror.

  • Vanessa Ionta Wright

    Vanessa Wright is an Atlanta-based filmmaker and The Renegade Film Fest founder and director. She is currently in production on her next feature film.

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  • Ben Yalow

    Ben Yalow has attended about 900 cons and worked on a third of them, including having chaired the 2023 Worldcon in China. He has edited four books for NESFA Press.

  • Alexandra Yep

    Alex Yep is a poet turned astronomer working at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia. She teaches physics and astronomy, researches young star clusters, and directs the Bradley Observatory.

  • Jessi Ann York

    Jessi Ann York's first two stories, Phases of the Shadow and Women of the Mere, were mentioned as standouts in The Best Horror of the Year Vol. 13.

  • Bryan Young

    Bryan Young has written in the BattleTech, Robotech, Doctor Who, and Shadowrun universes. Most recently, he wrote the companion book for The Big Bang Theory.

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  • Mark Daniel Zoran

    Mark Zoran is the award winning creative behind Razorfly Studios Inc, providing picture perfect custom service to private collectors and the industry alike.

Cancellations

The following previously confirmed guests will unfortunately not be able to attend Dragon Con this year.

  • Lucy Blue
  • Harmon Cooper
  • E.K. Johnston
  • D.R. Perry
  • Tao Wong
Featured Guests

Featured

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Guests

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Performers

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