Author, Guest of Honor
Nicholas Meyer is an award-winning author, screenwriter and director. His body of creative work in publishing, film and television spans more than five decades.
Meyer’s most recent Sherlock Holmes novel, The Return of the Pharaoh from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D. was published by Minotaur Books in November 2021.
He’s the author of seven previous novels, including The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1975), a Doyle pastiche in which Sherlock Holmes met Sigmund Freud. The novel sold more than two million copies, stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for forty weeks, and won the British Gold Dagger award from the British Crime Writers’ Association. Two years later, Meyer received an Academy Award nomination for his screenplay of the eponymous film, which starred Nicol Williamson, Robert Duvall, Alan Arkin, Vanessa Redgrave and Laurence Olivier.
Meyer made his directing debut in 1979 with a film he wrote, Time After Time, starring Malcolm McDowell, Mary Steenburgen and David Warner. He went on to direct Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Other directing credits include Volunteers (Tom Hanks, 1986), The Deceivers (Pierce Brosnan, 1988), Company Business (Gene Hackman, 1991), Star Trek VI, The Undiscovered Country (Christopher Plummer, 1992) and the HBO film, Vendetta (Christopher Walken, 1999). His screenplays include Sommersby (Richard Gere and Jody Foster, 1993) and contributions to Fatal Attraction (1987) and Dreamworks’ Prince of Egypt (1998).
His other books include Target Practice, which was nominated for an Edgar Award, and three other Holmes pastiches, The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols (2019), The West End Horror (a New York Times bestseller) and The Canary Trainer; as well as Confessions of a Homing Pigeon. Meyer’s memoir, The View from the Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood, was published in 2009.
Meyer directed ABC’s The Day After (1983), which remains the single most-watched television film ever made (100 million people in one night) and was nominated for fourteen Emmys. Additional work includes a two-part miniseries, Houdini (Adrien Brody, 2014) based on his father, Bernard C. Meyer’s biography. He is the co-creator of the Netflix series Medici—Masters of Florence, starring Dustin Hoffman, and worked on STAR TREK: Discovery for CBS Access.
Born and raised in New York City, Nicholas Meyer was graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in theatre and filmmaking. He lives in Santa Monica, California.
Fan Guests
Steve and Jenny met at the ICON room party at DemiCon, and ICON has been a big part of their life ever since. Jenny was in TICC productions for several years before becoming the Consuite Queen. When she started running the Consuite small budgets were stretched by baking for months before the con. She enjoyed running the Consuite because everyone wandered through eventually to talk to her. Steve loudly and frequently protested that he wasn’t on staff, she was, but year by year “just helped her out” more and more. He started by hauling stuff in and hauling it out again, but took over putting down plastic, making the fudge, chopping the vegetables, and other small things. The Chainmail Guy sometimes let workshops, teaching others to play with metal. He sold shiny things at the DemiCon Dealer’s Room, but not at ICON because “gotta help Jenny”.
Artist, Guest of Honor
Although born in Syracuse, New York, Mitchell was raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was named for Maria Mitchell, the first woman astronomer, who was his great grandaunt on his mother’s side. His mother was an artist who worked in oils and taught him the rudiments of mixing, blending and care of his equipment. Painting remained a hobby while Mitchell first worked in the hotel and restaurant industry, then returned to school in 1980 to earn an associate degree in Electrical Electronics Technology from Oklahoma State University. He then worked as a field service engineer until 1988. Following a divorce in 1989, Mitchell combined his love of science, science fiction and painting into a new career in fine art and illustration. For two years, Mitchell apprenticed at the Robert Fields Gallery in Tulsa, where he learned the important skills of matting, framing and art conservation. He then attended his first science fiction & fantasy convention in 1991. During that time he also studied art at Tulsa Junior Collage and served as president of the Tulsa Artist’s Guild while building his business. In 1996, Mitch moved to Austin, TX, where he lived and worked for almost four years and served as Director at Large for the Association of Science-Fiction and Fantasy Artists (ASFA). In December of 1999, Mitchell moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and in the fall of 2000 enrolled at the Pennsylvania State University. He earned a Bachelor Degree in Humanities in 2004 followed by a Master of Arts in 2006. His thesis and creative production was entitled “Astronomical Art: A Historical Analysis and Exhibition of Digitally Created Work.” Mitchell has lectured at universities, worked in film, taught art, edited publications and appeared as Artist Guest of Honor at over a 25 science fiction conventions, winning over 55 awards. His work has been published both domestically and internationally as cover art for books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, posters, trading cards, newspapers and fine art editions. Mitchell is a lifetime member of the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists, serving as regional director for several terms and President.
Papa & Mama of ICON
Joe is an American science fiction author. He is best known for his 1974 novel, The Forever War. He has been a published author since 1969, when his first short story was published in Galaxy magazine. His work has won numerous awards, including (but not limited to) 5 Hugo awards, 5 Nebula awards, and a Grand Master Nebula award. Many of his works were inspired by his experience serving in the Vietnam War. He recently retired after thirty years of teaching at MIT in Cambridge, MA. Recent books include Earthbound, published in 2011, which was the last book in a trilogy that began with Marsbound and Starbound. Joe’s newest novel, Work Done for Hire, was published in 2014. In addition to being an award-winning writer, Joe is also a poet and a painter, and a founding member of ICON. Gay (Mary Gay Potter) Haldeman has a Master’s degree in Spanish Literature from the University of Maryland and another in Linguistics from the University of Iowa. She has recently retired from teaching in the Writing Center at MIT after thirty years, specializing in English as a Second Language. She resides in Florida, where she manages Joe’s career. She has been doing science fiction conventions since 1963 and loves to meet new people. After more than 50 years of marriage, she still thinks Joe’s the best thing that ever happened to her.
Toastmaster
Jim C. Hines has been ICON’s Toastmaster almost every year since 2012. He’s been writing even longer than that. His first novel Goblin Quest, the humorous tale of a nearsighted goblin runt and his pet fire-spider, came out in 2006. Since then, he’s finished the goblin trilogy and published a total of 15 books, including the Princess series of fairy tale retellings and the Magic ex Libris books, a modern-day fantasy series about a magic-wielding librarian, a dryad, a secret society founded by Johannes Gutenberg, a flaming spider, and an enchanted convertible. He’s also the author of the Fable Legends tie-in Blood of Heroes and a new middle-grade fantasy called Tamora Carter: Goblin Queen. He’s currently finishing up the Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse trilogy, his first foray into humorous SF.
Jim’s short fiction has appeared in more than 50 magazines and anthologies. He won a Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer back in 2012. He currently lives with his two children in mid-Michigan. You can find him at www.jimchines.com or on Twitter as @jimchines.
We have secured a group rate of $116 per night plus taxes and fees.
Let us know your intention to attend ICON 47 in October and we’ll be sure to contact you about programming opportunities.
Share your interest in attending here