Professionals

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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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

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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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Lucy Blue

    Horror, mystery, and romantasy author Lucy Blue is a senior editor for Falstaff Books who published her first book, Forever Knight: These Our Revels, in 1998.

  • 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.

  • 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).

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

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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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Harmon Cooper

    Harmon Cooper is the award winning independent author of Doom System: Survivor, Pilgrim, Cowboy Necromancer, Arcane Cultivator, A Pub in the Underworld, Reborn Assassin, and many more.

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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.

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D

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

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E

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

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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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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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K

  • 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.

  • 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.

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L

  • 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.

  • 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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M

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

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N

  • 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.

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P

  • 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.

  • D.R. Perry

    D.R. Perry writes fiction for both YA and adult audiences. Among her works is Dragon Award nominated adult novel A Change In Crime.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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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R

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Stacey Rourke

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

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S

  • Tony Sarrecchia

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

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

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T

  • 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.

  • 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.

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V

  • 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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W

  • 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!

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Tao Wong

    Tao Wong is a sci-fi and fantasy author best known for his A Thousand Li, The System Apocalypse, and Hidden Dishes series of works.

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Y

  • 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.

  • 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.

Cancellations

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

    Featured Guests

    Featured

    Guests

    Guests

    Performers

    Performers