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/.
Guest of Honor
Author Megan Mackie writes something for everyone—she’s written cyberpunk, urban fantasy, paranormal demon romance, speculative fiction, post-post zombie apocalypse, steampunk, and mid-grade science fiction. She’s also a contributing writer for RPGs Legendlore and Legendlore: Legacies by Onyx Path. She’s a popular figure at comic cons across the country, so if you come across her, ask about the Lucky Devil series and prepare to get your mind blown.
Guest of Honor
Clara Meath is a comic book artist and writer. She holds a degree in Sequential Art from SCAD Atlanta where she graduated with the honor of Valedictorian. She has worked for a number of comic book publishers, but prioritizes writing, drawing, and Kickstarting her own creator-owned comics and graphic novels, as her true love is visual storytelling. Her most successful creator owned books have been ‘Edgar Allan Poe’s The Conqueror Worm’, and ‘Mother’47, both of which have been picked up for publication and are available from by Comics Experience Publishing.
Guest of Honor
Zach Howard is a freelance professional comic book artist of 23 years. His most notable employers include Marvel, DC Comics, Nickelodeon, Image, Dark Horse, IDW, Boom, Simon & Schuster, and Steve Jackson Games. Zach’s most popular projects are Hellboy, Wild Blue Yonder, Shaun of the Dead, Venom, Wolverine, GI Joe, The Cape, Aliens, and Batman. He has been nominated for an Eisner Award, multiple Indie awards, and received an Amazon Book of the Month selection for Wild Blue Yonder. He is currently working on Moonshine Bigfoot, a miniseries he co-created with writer Mike Marlow and artist Steve Ellis. In addition to his professional work, Zach is passionate about supporting upcoming artists and has dedicated much of his time to helping nurture the next generation of creators.
Musical Guest
Wylde Nept was started when a few of the guys found each other during a camping trip at a Celtic music festival and have been playing ever since.
Their music, primarily inspired by traditional folk, is lively, fun and sure get your face smiling and foot tapping.
"...wakes up your senses and gives you that kick to the eardrums you have been looking for."
~Carly Weber - The Gazette
"Iowa City's most raucous Celts." "Their take on traditional Irish tunes always has the audience singing along - But it's their original tunes that have solidified their place as a highlight of Iowa's musical landscape."
~Genevieve Trainor - Little Village
"Like a Celtic freight train, playing traditional and original Celtic Pub tunes."
~ Anonymous​
"If you like traditional/Folk, you must must must get these guys!"
~Angela W.
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