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. See press-kit at https://www.jimchines.com/press-kit/.
Literary, Guest of Honor
Ten-time Hugo Award winner Lynne M. Thomas is the Co-Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher of the six-time Hugo Award-winning Uncanny Magazine with her husband Michael Damian Thomas. The former Editor-in-Chief of Apex Magazine (2011-2013), she co-edited the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords, as well as Whedonistas and Chicks Dig Comics. She moderated the Hugo-Award winning SF Squeecast and contributes to the Verity! Podcast. In her day job, she is the Head of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library and Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Rare Book and Manuscript Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of the largest public university rare book collections in the country.
You can learn more about her shenanigans at lynnemthomas.com.
Artist, Guest of Honor
Hi, I'm Chelsea, and I started Studio Eldeen in the fall of 2019.
As a kid I was always building or doodling something, and usually making a big mess about it. I spent lots of after-school hours working on projects. I went to Iowa State University, majoring in Integrated Studio Arts, but I must admit most of the things I have learned have come from either experimentation or Social Media. After many years doing the 9-5 thing, I finally decided to start up my own business January 2020. My Husband, Graeme, joined me in Studio Eldeen January 2022. He has a natural talent for digital modeling and 3D printing.
I have dabbled in many mediums over the years. I learned sewing and cross stitching from my mother and woodworking from my father. I discovered on my own the joys of knitting, crochet, drawing, painting, sculpting, origami, calligraphy, airbrushing, even nail art.
Most of our work is commissions- custom pieces requested by clients. Most of what is requested tends to be resin-based: dice, miniatures/figures, tumblers, etc, but we are always excited to learn new skills.
We love the problem-solving and out-of-the-box thinking required when creating something new.
My very first "studio" was my parent's living room. I would set up shop on the coffee table and do the projects in the back of Highlights Magazines.
Today, the spare bedroom in the home I share with Graeme, our 2 cats, and our dog is The Studio. It is my haven, my safe space, my place to play and create, and it is an absolute joy to be able to share this creative space with Graeme.
Literary, Guest of Honor
Michael Damian Thomas is the co-publisher and co-editor-in-chief of the 2016 Hugo and Parsec Award-winning and World Fantasy Award Finalist Uncanny Magazine. He was the managing editor of the Hugo Award Finalist Apex Magazine and co-editor of the anthologies Glitter & Mayhem and Hugo Award finalist Queers Dig Time Lords. Michael was also a contributor to the SF Squeecast podcast and is currently a contributor to the Down and Safe- Blake’s 7 podcast.
You can learn more about Michael at The Official Website of Michael Damian Thomas | Science Fiction and Fantasy Editor and Writer.
Guests of Honor
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.
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