A.D. Sui (she/her) is a Ukrainian-born, queer, disabled SFF writer, and the author of THE DRAGONFLY GAMBIT. She is a Theodore A. Sturgeon Memorial Award finalist, and her Pushcart-nominated writing has appeared in Fusion Fragment, Augur, HavenSpec, and many others. She is a failed academic, retired fencer, and coffee enthusiast.

A L Davis writes fantasy novels that seek to explore everything in real life that both irritate and fascinate her. A neurodiverse Pisces with a penchant for trying to tackle big issues with a touch of humor, you’ll often find her writing long blogs with silly memes (definitely not instead of her latest book). When not so occupied, she can probably be found yelling about HIPAA at her day job in healthtech while her menagerie of four cats, two dogs, and a human partner roll their eyes.

Anselma Widha Prihandita (she/her) writes speculative fiction that peers into the dark corners of the human heart, both to trace the threads that shape oppression and to find a ray of hope amidst it. When she isn’t worldbuilding, she teaches college writing and works on her PhD dissertation on decolonial and transnational composition. She splits her time between the US West Coast, where she currently teaches and studies, and Indonesia, where she grew up and where her home remains. She attended the Odyssey workshop in 2023 on their Fresh Voices Scholarship, and the Clarion workshop in 2024 on their Octavia Butler Scholarship. Her stories are published or forthcoming in Cast of Wonders, khōréō, Haven Speculative, Ghoulish Tales, Mysterion, and Fusion Fragment.

Al Graziadei was born in Buffalo, New York and raised on Sabres hockey and video games, using their free time to write books inspired by both. Nonbinary and now living in Wisconsin, Al still plays plenty of video games and is a proud member of the Displaced Buffalo Sabres Fans group. Now that they've set aside their stick and mitts, they're making goals with their keyboard.

Alaina Wood is an award-winning climate communicator and climate optimist. She is the founder of the climate education and activism platform known as the Garbage Queen. Alaina is most well known for her Good Climate News series and climate doomism debunk videos as well as her research on how social media influences eco-anxiety rates in young people.

Alison Pearce Stevens has an M.S. in zoology and Ph.D. in ecology, evolution, and behavior and has worked with children of all ages through scientific outreach programs for much of her life. She has been writing about science for children since 2010, publishing more than 120 articles on science topics for Science News for Students, Highlights for Children, and ASK magazine, among others.

Amy Avery (who also writes self-published work under the pen name Avery Ames) is a graphic designer living in Kansas. She writes novels that toe the line between glittery and dark, for lovers of fairy tales, romance, and everything gothic. When not writing, she can be found playing video games, tending a small herb garden, crafting cocktails, or feeding her nail polish addiction.

Anas Abdulhak is a writer and poet from Damascus, Syria. They broke onto the indie comic book scene with their self published works Eleutheromania, Kill My Boyfriend, and Objects in the Mirror. They also released Etheres through Source Point Press. They enjoy writing character-driven stories that explore trauma and the human condition through a mix of prose and poetry.

Anna Kopp is a children’s author who lives in Ohio with her husband, two boys, and two cats. Anna loves creating fantastical stories for children of all ages, from picture books to young adult novels. When she’s not writing she’s playing video games or reading the latest books about lost princesses.

Ashleigh loves to write science fiction with queer romance, lots of laughs, and a dash of horror. Their short fiction has been published in Clarkesworld and in Monstrous Futures: A Sci-fi Horror Anthology. When not playing a Resident Evil game for the hundredth time, they work as a biomedical engineer in Tkaronto/Toronto.

Auden Patrick is a queer speculative fiction writer and future ghost who most frequently writes about fear, love, and monsters. His work has appeared in Apparition Lit, Beaver Magazine, among others, and he attended Cat Rambo's inaugural Wayward Wormhole Workshop in 2023. When he is not writing, he can be found knitting, obsessing over planner supplies, or haunting the local library.

Bastian Hart is a Michigan-based weird fiction author who grew up in a city named after a shopping mall. As such, their work often blends the abject and uncanny with a tv-colored nostalgia. Despite their day job as a librarian keeping them somewhat respectable, they can still be found lurking Michigan’s wetlands and writing love letters to the old gods. On this plane, however, their words have appeared in Baffling Magazine and Luminescent Machinations: Queer Tales of Monumental Invention, both published by Neon Hemlock Press.

Brittney is a passionate storyteller, crafting emotional and immersive fantasy for both YA and adult readers. With a background in digital design and marketing, she has always found solace in art. However, after a challenging health journey, she turned to writing, and what began as a coping mechanism evolved into a journey of exploration, allowing her to traverse new worlds from the comfort of her home. Now, eagerly anticipating the release of her duology from Del Rey and Bloomsbury in 2025, Brittney invites readers into realms of magic and resilience.

Cassandra Jeanne Farrin is the Director of Erewhon Books and a US-UK Fulbright scholar with an MA in Religious Studies from Lancaster University in England, where she studied interfaith dialogue and intercultural communication. Her fiction was shortlisted for the Bath Children’s Novel Award once upon a time, and her poetry can be found in places like Frontier Poetry, Cirque, and concīs. She lives in Idaho with her identical twin sister and their three adoptive children.

Celia started telling herself stories at the age of six. They were about unicorns, and she made up an imaginary friend so her parents wouldn’t think she was crazy talking to herself all the time. Thus was born a love of storytelling, and the lifelong dream of becoming an author.  Celia has a BA in History from Yale University, where she tutored at the Yale College Writing Center. She currently works in HR analytics, and in her spare time is a developmental editor for a fanfiction anthology and a cast member of a tabletop roleplay podcast. Her usually Jewish, frequently queer short fiction has been published in multiple magazines and anthologies.

Charlie James is a comedian, writer and TikToker with over 400K followers. They earned their BA degree in comedy writing and performance from Columbia College Chicago. Charlie is an alumni of the Second City’s Severn Darden Program, as well as The io and The Annoyance Theaters’ programs. Currently, Charlie Tweets science jokes for Chicago’s Field Museum and is an editor for Funny or Die.

Chelsea Abdullah is an American-Kuwaiti writer born and raised in Kuwait, where she grew up listening to stories about mysterious desert creatures and wily (only sometimes likable) heroes. Consumed by wanderlust, she has put down roots in various states. After earning her MA in English at Duquesne University, she moved to New York, where she currently lives. When not immersed in her own fictional worlds, she spends her free time playing video games, doodling characters, and hoarding books she doesn't have the shelf space for.

Cheyanne Monkman is a Cree (Peguis FN), Red River Métis and Ukrainian speculative fiction author who loves anything dark, emotional, and magic-filled. If there’s a liminal space to be explored they’re gearing up for adventure. When they’re not writing, they work as an archaeologist—spending their days trekking through the forest, digging holes and squinting at really old things.

Clare Edge (they/she) is an author (and witch) who was raised in the Rocky Mountains. Their cozy middle grade fantasy series Accidental Demons (HarperCollins) follows the misadventures of a young diabetic witch who can’t stop conjuring demons when she tests her blood sugar. They hold masters degrees from the University of Limerick’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance (MA) & the University of Montana (MFA). Their graduate research explored how we make and translate meaning through story. 

D. Zollicoffer is a Canton, Ohio-based speculative fiction author. His obsession with "weird" stories can be attributed to his mother, who passed down her love for The Twilight Zone to him at a young age. Now—over two decades later—he blends the speculative influences of his youth with humor and modern sensibilities to craft imaginative stories about Black kids and young adults. He's a former gaming journalist and has self-published over thirty books (under a retired pen name). When he isn't writing, he enjoys reading, nature, and discovering new music.

Darianne is a young adult and middle grade author currently living in a small coastal town in Florida, where she is lucky enough to enjoy long walks on the beach nearly every weekend. When she’s not writing stories about grief, love, and towns that are just a little bit strange, you can find her eating the darkest possible chocolate or playing overly aggressive games of Scrabble. Unless it’s Friday night, in which case she’ll be at the dinner table with her large extended family enjoying fresh challah while half-heartedly telling her daughter and nieces to stop throwing bread at each other.

Héloïse Stevance studied Physics and Astronomy at the University of Sheffield. After working as a support astronomer at the Isaac Newton Group in La Palma, she obtained her Masters of Physics. She subsequently started a PhD studying the 3D shape of Core Collapse Supernovae, and earned her title in Spring 2019. She joined the University of Auckland as a Research Fellow to research the evolution of massive stars to better understand how they die and produce Supernovae and Kilonovae. In 2023, she received a Schmidt A.I. in Science Fellowship from the University of Oxford where she is currently developing A.I. models for international sky surveys that can detect thousands of supernovae and other stellar explosions every year.

E.M. Anderson (she/they) is a queer, neurodivergent writer and the author of The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher. Her work has appeared in SJ Whitby’s Awakenings: A Cute Mutants Anthology, Wyldblood Press's From the Depths: A Fantasy Anthology, and Dark Horses: The Magazine of Weird Fiction. They have two master’s degrees and a feral passion for trees, birds, pole fitness, and Uncle Iroh. You can find them on Instagram, BlueSky, Facebook, and Tumblr at @elizmanderson

Ellen Meny is an award-winning writer and television host based in Washington, D.C. Her speculative fiction and non-fiction work has appeared in the Cut, Vox, Fireside Fiction, and the short story anthology Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove. She holds a BA in Communications from Clemson University. In her spare time, Ellen is a public speaker for several mental health organizations, using her lived experience to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health conditions. In her actual spare time, she enjoys running, traveling, and going down obscure internet rabbit holes.

Elliot Wake is a transgender author of books that blur the lines between genres. He writes pretty words about gritty themes. Aside from reading his brains out, Elliot enjoys being bad at video games, lifting weights without gaining muscle, seeing live music with earplugs, and ordering overpriced cocktails with his life partner. He lives in Chicagoland with his dog, Huxley.

Emily Riesbeck writes stories about the gravity of our bodies, and the orbits that they fall into. Their work includes It’s Your Funeral (Iron Circus Comics, 2020), Mountain (Cow House Press, 2022), and The Pirate and the Porcelain Girl (S&S, 2023). They live in Chicago with their two partners and cat, Yuri. When not writing, Emily enjoys doing silly voices in tabletop roleplaying games and sometimes daydreams of being an actor.

Emily Rosenthal is an illustrator and writer based in Baltimore, Maryland. Originally from New York, she graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in 2019 with a BFA in Illustration and Humanistic Studies. Since, she has created picture books and comics, taught art classes for kids, worked at a non-profit, and read a whole lot of books. She loves mixing the magical with the mundane. Her goal is to ground even the most outlandish idea in heart. Monsters, Jewish folklore, disability justice, and metaphors are just some of the places she finds inspiration.

Eric Smith is a literary agent and YA author from Elizabeth, New Jersey. As an agent with P.S. Literary, he's worked on New York Times bestselling and award-winning books. A lifelong lover of writing and books, he holds a Bachelor of Arts from Kean University in English, and a Master's in English from Arcadia University, where he currently mentors MFA students. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and son, and enjoys video games, pop punk, and crying over every movie.

After cutting their teeth on a steady diet of fan fiction in the Southwest of England, Esme Symes-Smith wandered north to Wales for their degree in literature and creative writing, then promptly migrated to Missouri after meeting their wife on Tumblr. Esme has been a ghostwriter, an editor, a frozen-yogurt seller, and a caffeine purveyor. They now wrangle preschoolers for a living and have a severe tea problem.

Gabrielle K. Byrne lives in the tangled wilds of the Pacific Northwest, where she writes fantasy for kids of all ages. Gabby loves rain, marine biology, Thai food, and naming pets (even ones she doesn’t own). When she’s not writing, she can be found fishing spineless beasties out of the Salish Sea. She is the author of Rise of the Dragon Moon and The Edge of Strange Hollow.

George Jreije (jer-age) is the Lebanese American author of many books including the acclaimed Shad Hadid children’s fantasy series, the upcoming Bashir Boutros fantasy series, and the upcoming graphic novels, Tarik's Bazaar Adventure and Lilo and the League of Librarians. He also writes short stories in collaboration with organizations like UNICEF and anywhere else he can spread his love of Arab culture. Additionally, George teaches Creative Writing with Gotham Writers Workshop and was the inaugural author-in-residence for the Concord Library in Massachusetts. He has been a guest of honor as well as the featured speaker for WriteHive, WorldCon, SCBWI and more. When not writing or teaching, he enjoys scouring the world for delicious food and visiting schools to spread his love of books!

Gina is an author raised in northwest New Jersey. Her stories discuss mental health and disability, and she wraps it into a fantastical (and sometimes horrifying) world. By day, Gina works in higher education, focusing on improving the health literacy of the campus community. When she’s not creating fictional worlds, she loves watching Broadway shows, playing board games, and purchasing too many candles.

Grace Reilly writes swoony, spicy contemporary romance with heart–and usually a healthy dose of sports. When she’s not dreaming up stories, she can be found in the kitchen trying out a new recipe, cuddling her pack of dogs, or watching sports. Originally from New York, she now lives in Florida, which is troubling given her fear of alligators. She is the author of the Beyond the Play series.

Gwendolyn Clare writes science fiction and fantasy. Her short stories have appeared in Clarkesworld, Asimov's, Analog, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies, among others, and her poetry has been nominated for the Rhysling Award. She holds a BA in Ecology, a BS in Geophysics, a PhD in Mycology, and swears she's done collecting acronyms. She lives in central Pennsylvania with too many cats and never enough books.

Hannah is a biotech founder by day and YA and adult sci-fi/fantasy writer by night. She was born in Jiangxi, China, grew up in central Pennsylvania, and currently resides in the Bay Area. As a queer, adopted, Asian American woman, she proudly represents all of her intersectional identities.

Hannah K. Zhang is a college student studying classics and creative writing. She writes mostly YA fantasy in the realm of novels, and dabbles in short fiction and poetry. She hopes to help expand literary and cozy fantasy into the YA sphere.

Hannah K. Zhang is a college student studying classics and creative writing. She writes mostly cozy, literary fantasy in the realm of novels, and also dabbles in short fiction and poetry. When not writing, Hannah can be found trying to read.

Harry Szabo grew up on a small family farm, surrounded by a ragtag family of humans and animals. After a brief stint in a coffee shop, they earned both their MA and MFA in creative writing, and their short fiction has been published in See the Elephant, Quaint, and Hello Horror. Rose now lives in Richmond, VA where they've started collecting people and cats of their own, and spends their days teaching writing at VCU.

Heidi Lang managed to stumble upon the two best jobs in the world: writing for kids and walking dogs. If she's not out on the trails surrounded by wagging tails and puppy kisses, she's probably hunched over her laptop working on her next book.

Hemant Nayak is a fantasy writer and ER doc living in the Pacific NW in his free time he plays with his dogs a lot, occasionally plays in the famous rock band ROCKURONIUM, and even plays D&D with a bunch of fellow goofballs. According to one of his Amazon reviews, he is “glacially cool and debonair” but his wife might disagree!

Jared Pechaček is an artist and writer based in Seattle, Washington. He is also a host of the Tolkien podcast By-The-Bywater. When he's not doing any of that, he's cooking, baking, or sewing something to wear to the opera.

Jesmeen Kaur Deo is an Indo-Canadian writer and student from northern British Columbia. She loves books that can make her laugh and tug at her heartstrings in the same paragraph. When not wrapped up in stories, she can be found biking, voicing ads at her university radio station, or struggling to open jars.

Jess H. Gutierrez is a speaker and former journalist whose work has been published in Northwest Arkansas Times, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Siloam Springs Herald Leader, and the Fayetteville Free Weekly. She has earned several awards from the Arkansas Press Association. She also won the fifth-grade spelling bee despite the fact that everyone thought that Crissy Eaton would take the title. She lives in Northwest Arkansas with her firefighter wife who is way cooler than she is, their three wild kids, a surly bulldog named Hank, a cattle-herding yorkie poo named Bella, and six chickens who refuse to lay eggs.

As a lawyer and daughter of Guatemalan and Cuban bakers, Jessica Parra never objects to an extra slice of cake. She's a Los Angeles native who loves to write about Latinas with big hair (and even bigger dreams), complicated families, cats living their best lives (all nine of them), and the healing magic of acceptance. When she isn't drafting books you can find her sipping kombucha, cuddling with her kitties, or co-piloting the Millennium Falcon at Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge.

Jessie writes award-winning books about brave kids exploring fantasy worlds, girls who love science, boys with hidden talents, and friendships among kids of all backgrounds. Proud to be biracial, she's equally at home chowing down on dan tat or apple pie. She aims to celebrate the unique and diverse experiences of being biracial through writing and cooking. When she’s not writing, Jessie is a dietitian who raises three kids and tackles her mission of tasting every chocolate in the world.

Jill Tew grew up watching Farscape, Hercules, and Xena with her dad every week, and always had the latest copy of Animorphs tucked in her backpack. Now she writes the kinds of stories she loved as a kid, with characters she wanted to see more of— Black heroines asking big questions, saving the world, and occasionally falling in love along the way. Jill enjoys belting showtunes on the way to Target and baking in her spare time. She is also a co-host of Afronauts Podcast, which provides writing tips and community for Black aspiring speculative fiction writers. Jill lives in Atlanta with her husband, children, and a needy Dalmatian named Gus.

Jonny Garza Villa (they/them) is an author of contemporary young adult literature with characters and settings inspired by their own Tejane, Chicane, and queer identities. Whatever the storyline, Jonny ultimately hopes Latines, and, more specifically, queer Mexican American young people will feel seen in their writing. Their debut YA novel Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun was a Pura Belpré Honor Book and a Kirkus Best YA Fiction of 2021 selection, and their YA novel Ander & Santi Were Here was chosen as a Barnes & Noble YA Book Club pick and is an AudioFile Earphone Award Winner. When not writing, Jonny enjoys reading, playing Dungeons and Dragons, visiting taquerías, listening to Selena, and caring for their many plant children. They live in San Antonio.

Growing up in an immigrant Argentinian household, Juli found a passion for reading and writing at a very young age. Now a neuropsychology undergraduate student pursuing a diploma in creative writing, she enjoys using fantastical elements in order to analyze, explore, and critique her past experiences and the world around her. As such, most of her work carries a strong political undertone. She was also raised in a half-Jewish, half-Catholic household and identifies as bisexual, neurodivergent, and disabled.

K. M. Enright is the Sunday Times’ Bestselling author of MISTRESS OF LIES. Find out more about his writing at kmenright.com or follow him on social media at @KM_Enright.

Kate McMillan is an artist and woodworker from Houston, Texas. She graduated from Yale in 2016 with a degree in architecture and currently works as a concept artist for animation, where she gets to make up worlds that don't exist for a living. She loves creating stories that explore themes about mental health.

Kati Bartkowski was originally drawn to illustration before she got swept up in the world of words. Nowadays she's a fan of creating fantastical creatures and feisty heroines in both mediums. If she's not reading, writing, or drawing, she's probably chasing after her high energy little girl.

Katie lives in historical Massachusetts with her four cats. She primarily writes historical Young Adult books, leaning into fantasy and adventure more than anything else. Her dream is for her books to be a safe place for teens and young adults to find representation and to experience trauma, hardship, romance, and adventure through her characters without ever putting themselves at risk. Katie has been vocal on social media about her experience with infertility, and was even invited by NBC to write a personal essay for the Today Show on the matter.

Katie Schenkel is a comic writer best known for the critically acclaimed graphic novel series The Cardboard Kingdom. Her other books includes The Wolf in Unicorn's Clothing, Basketball Camp Champ, My Slime is Alive!, and Alice, Secret Agent of Wonderland. She also writes for video games as a narrative game designer. Midwest to her core, Katie lives in Chicago with her partner Madison and their three pawed rescue dog named Moira.

KD Fisher is a New England-based writer of authentic, heartfelt LGBTQ+ romance. When KD isn't writing they can be found hiking with their overly-enthusiastic dog, obsessing over plants, or cooking elaborate meals. They love classic country, perfectly ripe tomatoes, and falling asleep in the sun.

Kelsea Yu is the Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author of Bound Feet, It’s Only a Game, and Demon Song. She has over a dozen short stories and essays published or podcasted in magazines such as Clarkesworld, Apex, Nightmare, PseudoPod, and Fantasy, and in various anthologies. Find her on Instagram or Twitter as @anovelescape or visit her website kelseayu.com.

Keshav Kant is the Executive Director of Off Colour, an entertainment consultant, and a coauthor of "X Marks The Spot: An Anthology Of Nonbinary Experiences." Her critic and cultural commentator work has been featured on Off Colour, Metro UK, Paper Magazine and Buzzfeed. When she's not writing or working, you can usually find her on Twitter (RIP) or TikTok talking about race, gender, and how she once again broke her book-buying ban for another adult fantasy or sci-fi that caught her eye.

Kyle W. Kerr is a 2015 Pitch Wars finalist and has had a short story published in the inaugural issue of the Vine Leaves Literary Journal. He has studied under award-winning and bestselling authors like Gary Braver and Steve Berry. He currently lives and works in Boston.

L.D. Lewis (she/her) is an editor, publisher, and Shirley Jackson award-nominated writer of speculative fiction. She served as a founding creator and Project Manager for the World Fantasy and Hugo Award-winning FIYAH Literary Magazine. She also serves as the founding Director of (Hugo-nominated) FIYAHCON, Researcher for the (also award-winning) LeVar Burton Reads podcast, and pays the bills as the Director of Programs and Operations for Lambda Literary. She once chaired a Nebula Conference and Tech Directed a Nebula Award Ceremony and runs the Ignyte Awards. She frequently bothers the publishing industry by authoring studies about the treatment and experiences of racially/ethnically marginalized authors in speculative literature.

Laura High is a New York actor and comedian. She received her B.A. in Theatre Performance from Nazareth College. Laura has had lead roles on TV shows, and national commercials. Laura performs stand-up comedy at venues like Broadway Comedy Club, Bananas, and headlined Carolines on Broadway. Laura has been featured on the New York Comedy Festival and won the 'Broadly Funny' Divison at the 360 Stand Up Festival. Laura is a rising content creator. Laura has gone viral several times on TikTok and her following has grown exponentially in a short amount of time. Laura writes, produces, and edits all of her own work.

Lauren Gibaldi is a public librarian who's been, among other things, a magazine editor, high school English teacher, bookseller, and circus aerialist (seriously). She has a BA in Literature and Master's in Library and Information Studies. She lives in Orlando, Florida with her husband and daughters.

Lindsay Henry is a writer from St. Charles, Michigan. Her work has been published in numerous online publications, including HuffPost, Amy Poehler's Smart Girls at the Party, Mogul and Girls Leadership. By day, she works as a writer for a national developer, design-builder and real estate management company. By night, she writes about life & love & feelings & people: both real, and the ones she makes up in her mind. She lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with her husband and their trusted sidekick, Daisy the chocolate labrador retriever.

Lindsey Duga is a young adult and middle grade author with a passion for fantastical worlds and reluctant heroes. Inspired by all of her favorite series and fandoms, she wrote her first novel in college and went on to debut in YA fantasy with Entangled Teen. Her most recent YA is a contemporary drama titled ROYAL HEIRS ACADEMY (Jan 2025) with Christy Ottaviano Books / Little Brown Books for Young Readers, with an upcoming sequel in 2026. She also writes middle grade horror where her ghost stories are featured at Scholastic Clubs & Fairs. When she's not writing, she loves playing cozy games, reads romcoms obsessively, and kicks back with a new anime.

Lindz created their beloved LGBTQ+ family webseries Queer Kid Stuff in 2016 which now has 4M lifetime views and counting! They are the author of “Rainbow Parenting: Raising Queer Kids and Their Allies” and host of the Rainbow Parenting podcast. Their work has been featured by them.us, Forbes, Good Morning America, Kidscreen, NBCOut, Teen Vogue, Shondaland, New York Mag, and Parents Magazine among other publications. The Huffington Post calls Queer Kid Stuff a “groundbreaking YouTube educational resource.” Teen Vogue praised their episode on consent during the height of #MeToo that “shows exactly why there’s no excuse not to grasp consent. Even toddlers can understand it.”

Australian author Lynette Noni studied journalism, academic writing, and human behaviour at university before venturing into the world of fiction. She is the #1 bestselling author of The Prison Healer series, The Medoran Chronicles, and the Whisper duology. To date, she has won three ABIA awards and a Gold Inky Award, and her books are published in more than 20 countries across the globe.

M.V. Pine is an engineer who rescues and removes failing dams. Their queer scifi, fantasy, and horror short stories have opened several anthologies. You can often find them traveling out of one backpack, either to investigate an engineering flaw or in search of their next novel idea.

Makana Yamamoto was born on the island of Maui. Splitting their time between the Mainland and Hawaiʻi, Makana grew up on beaches and in snowbanks. Always a scientist at heart, Makana fell in love with sci-fi as a teen–they even led the science fiction and fantasy interest house at their college. Fiction became the perfect medium for them to explore their interests as well as reconnect with their culture, coalescing into a passion for diverse sci-fi. They love writing multicultural settings and queer characters, as well as imagining what the future might look like for historically marginalized communities. In their free time, Makana likes to hoard dice for their Dungeons & Dragons games, experiment in the kitchen, defeat bosses with their guildmates, and get way too invested in reality competition shows.

Marie Denee founded The Curvy Fashionista in 2008 with the ambitious dream to bring plus size fashion and its champions to mainstream audiences. Marie’s goal was to bring plus size fashion to places where true inclusion of plus size people and representation of, was absent. Marie’s mission is to encourage plus sized women to unapologetically be who they are with confidence and style. This passion is echoed throughout our content; centering, celebrating, and exclusively featuring plus size people.

Marissa Macy is a queer fiction writer, filmmaker, and improviser based in Austin, Texas. Her time nannying and teaching writing summer camps has sparked a passion for making kids laugh and getting them "hooked on books." Her experiences as a queer kid in Texas schools has shaped the stories she tells: ones that show LGBTQ kids that they aren't alone. When she's not conjuring up imaginary worlds, Marissa loves being an "adult theater kid" in the Austin Improv Community, cooking overly-ambitious meals for friends, and sweating in the Texas heat.

Mars Sebastian is a Brooklyn-based artist, writer, nerd, and lover of the cosmos. In addition to being an award-winning digital marketing and content professional,  Sebastian is a lifelong vocalist, performer,  and lover of books and storytelling. Previously published works include an essay entitled “My Body: A Crime” published in Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy, and Girls Can!: Smash Stereotypes, Defy Expectations, and Make History! published with National Geographic in 2020. She enjoys making art that feels both fun and terrifying, spending her days dreaming up books and TV shows that mix fantasy, sci-fi, and horror.

Mary G. Thompson is the author of The Word, Flicker and Mist, and other novels for children and young adults, as well as the forthcoming sci-fi novella A Small Universe. Her contemporary thriller Amy Chelsea Stacie Dee was a winner of the 2017 Westchester Fiction Award and a finalist for the 2018-2019 Missouri Gateway award. Her short fiction has appeared in Dark Matter Magazine, Apex Magazine, and others. Mary is originally from Eugene, Oregon, where she attended the University of Oregon School of Law. She practiced law for seven years, including five years in the US Navy JAGC, and now works as a law librarian. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children from The New School and completed the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television's Professional Program in Screenwriting.

Matt Acuña is a Burbank-based Writer for TV Animation, and has worked for Bento Box, Wild Canary, Disney Junior, and Frederator Studios. He’s very passionate about creating stories about small creatures going out on soul-searching journeys, and has used bugs, rats, and frogs to explore personal concepts such as going against the grain, bullying, and growing up mixed-race. Outside of his work he spends his time with his two loud, small cats, Mona and Magnolia, who are most likely all over him at this very moment.

Maya Kern is a fat, queer author and artist best known for her high fantasy romance novel Spitfire, her homegrown skirt empire, and her self-published comics, which include the webcomic Monster Pop! as well as several short form fairytale comics. Maya is a staunch lover of messy, heartfelt romances that are as heart-wrenching as they are spicy. She is a huge advocate for fat liberation and body positivity, which factor prominently into her writing, art, and clothing design.

Melissa Cristina Márquez is a fiercely proud Hispanic marine biologist, wildlife educator, professional speaker, and presenter. She has given two TEDx talks on sharks and female scientists, and her work has been highlighted in NPR, Allure, Disney+, BBC, National Geographic, Good Morning America, and more. In 2021, Melissa was featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30: Science list and the InStyle "50 Badass Women" list. Melissa holds a BA in Marine Ecology and Conservation from New College of Florida and an MSc in Marine Biology from Victoria University. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Mexico, Melissa aims to bring attention to the importance of diversity and inclusion with her writing.